What do you do with 2-3 lbs of very overripe bananas? Obviously you can bake all day - banana breads - banana muffins - banana baked anything! But why bake when you can whiz up ice-cream?This is Banana "Ice-Cream" from TEV. What I love about this treat...
-Simple & quick to make.
-No ice-cream maker needed (just food processor).
-Delicious soft-serve texture.
-Wholesome and can be soy-free.
-You can vary it with sweeteners, flavorings, chocolate, nuts, etc.
-Kids love it!
In fact, I served it to our older girl and she said "mmmmm, mom, this is yummy. This is the bestest ice-cream I've ever had!". This from my very food-choosy girl. Our younger daughter ate it after first coating her arms, feet, and high-chair (guess she knows bananas are good for the skin - ha). She's also 'choosy', but does enjoy munching on the odd shoe, book, and of course any choking hazard in range (oh, my stress level)!
Couple of notes:
- It IS best freshly made and hardens a lot once refrozen with a textural change. You can re blend it though, or make smaller batches.
- Measuring the frozen banana chunks is far from exact, so add the soy (or other non-dairy) milk in small amounts to start until you're happy with the taste/texture.
Instead of freezing bananas whole, when overripe I remove the peels, slice them, and put them in a ziploc container (about 4 cup size). Then, when frozen, I can wedge out chunks with a butter knife and use in smoothies, ice-cream, etc. Even better would be to lay the slices/chunks individually on a large lined baking sheet, place in freezer on sheet, and then transfer frozen chunks to a container (so they don't stick together). For me, the route of less steps works best, so straight into the container they go!
Now, about ice-cream... has anyone else noticed a change in Soy Delicious Decadent ice-cream? Unfortunately, not a good change, imo. I have always lovedthe Peanut Butter Zig-Zag. I've dug into a couple of pints lately that have no pb zigged or zagged in there - just sort of blended with the chocolate - what? Also, I tried two pints of the Praline Pecan (which I USED to love), and the ice-cream tastes like they have used flax in there that has gone rancid. Ditto for the white mint-y part of the Chunky Mint Madness. I'm pretty certain I know my ice-creams... what's going on? Am I the only one noticing this?...
26 comments:
Dreena, my dear! I love this post. I love your recipe from TeV too, I've made different versions of it. You are right about re-freezing.
As for the Soy Delicious, the only pint I've had in a while is the Mint Madness cookie one and it was still good to me. The only change I have heard about is that they are going to put sealed plastic under the covers. I love that. I have major issues with buying ice cream that can easily be opened. I'm sorry to hear about the flavors. Write to them and ask, they always respond to me quickly.
Some batches do have flaws. Make sure you have the container still so you can give them serial numbers and they can match the batch you are talking about. Sometimes during transport (especially out here in the heat) I've found the ice creams to be different, sometimes like you minus the zig and zag of goodness. Did you check the ingredients with the one you think has flax? Gosh, I would just write to them or copy a link to this post! I'm curious to know what other people think, but they may not eat as much ice cream as us! I hope this is not a permanent change... uh-oh.
Okay...aside from the bananas...it sounds good...hahaha...you know my "thing" about naners! :)
Thanks for all the encouragement.
I must admit I enjoyed the gravy alot and thing I will make it again. I think the Cheesy-Nutty Sauce for my Macaroni needs something...not that it was bad...just a little different. umm.....GARLIC??? lol
I ordered a bunch of books on the inter library loan program which they can get from all over the state. Thank God because our library is slim pickin's for vegan books.
Anyhow, I found a cheese sauce on RecipeZaar today I might try over the weekend...need to get more lemon juice and tahini tho. I am jazzed I am getting into tahini for more things than just hummus.
Speaking of hummus...will there be any new hummus recipes in your new book???
I like banana ice cream and even made it chocolate one time, simply by adding cocoa powder and a small amount of agave. Rich loved it and it was healthy! Cherie
I just, for the first time, bought a carton of the Peanut Butter Zig Zag because of everyone's raving about it. It did not have any zigzags in it, just looked like chocolate ice cream to me. It tasted good but I have nothing to compare it with since this was my first time.
I have discovered another soy Ice Cream at Whole Foods that is soooo good by a company called Temptations. I had the chocolate and my friend had the cookie dough. They also have a mint chocolate one that I'm getting next time. Ever heard of this company?
Mmm, banana ice cream.
I don't buy a lot of Soy Delicious, so I can't help you there. Leslie seems to have it covered anyway. :)
I keep tasting something citrusy in all of their flavors.
My zigs have been very chunky and tasty. I must be getting everyone's peanut butter. :)
I haven't tried the banana ice cream yet but it looks good. This sounds like something my dad would really enjoy. I'll have to make it for him next time my parents come over. And speaking of bananas and TEV, I love the Maple Banana Bread and I make it at least once or twice a month. It freezes so nicely too.
My husband was complaining about the same thing with the Peanut Butter Zig Zag last week! That's his favorite flavor. Glad to know we're not the only ones missing the pb in our Soy Delicious.
This is my first time commenting on your blog. I have been reading your blog for while. I have to totally agree with you the Peanut Butter Zig-Zag. I have to totally agree with you the there was no zag (peanut butter) or should I say very little. And I just bought my today. I'm in California. I would be curious to know the serial number of any one hardly any peanut butter there's.
Ooh, Starla you are so lucky to be able to get Tempation! They don't distribute out west yet. :(
Dreena, I was just saying to Jim last night "This Soy Delicious sucks!" We got some cherry chocolate kind and the chocolate chunks were the lowest grade chocolate I've ever had, horrible! And the cherry part just tasted off, it left a really unpleseant aftertaste, like when you eat things with artificial sweetener. Yuck! My favorite kind is Turtle Trails, I'll have to pick up a pint soon and see if it's been ruined, too.
Your banana ice cream looks heavenly. Someone was just in the store the other day telling me to use my juicer (I have a Champion) and alternate frozen bananas with spoonfuls of peanut butter. It's gotten really cold here in Portland suddenly, though, so I doubt I'll be eating anything icy too soon!
Dreena! Oops you did it again. That looks so creamy & scrumptious.
wow, you and leslie know an awful lot about ice cream!
hi Dreena!
i had an "everything dreena" cooking day today! I made (for the first time) your sunflower lentil pie which was delicious! And the easy oat bars (I added dried cherries to mine). Then I made the coconut-lime cookies. is the batter supposed to be really...runny? They tasted delish, but looked a little crazy since they spread out to encompass the entire tray! I made the spelt version (adding in the extra flour) and followed the recipe faithfully, so not sure what happened. Any advice?
Thanks!
Aimee
Ok, I say we all collect our serial numbers with our corresponding locations and we should tally them up and send them in to the company.
Based on the responses (minus the lady who has everyone's peanut butter zigzags), it seems that there is an overall lower quality of the product. I'm due for some more soon, so I'll check again. For now, I say we figure this out and make the company investigate and change it. I guess I just love ice cream that much. Am I in way over my head or is this a good idea?!
Great stuff Dreena. As soon as i saw no ice cream freezer, you won me over quicker than usual (and that's always super quick, by the way). It's so great to know that overripe bananas don't always have to be either tossed or used in a mad frenzy of baking!
I made some Pineapple Muffins or Cupcakes without the frosting and they were good but very moist, very moist. I blogged about it. Swing by when you can - let me know what you think or if there are any tips you may have.
Dreena,
Now that you mention it, we have gotten a couple of iffy pints of Soy Delicious (purely decadent) here! We attributed it to our small food co-op where we buy the stuff, thinking maybe they didn't store them at the right temperature. But after a couple of bad ones (the peanut butter zigzag and the one with chocolate covered almonds-forgot the name!) we got a pint of chocolate brownie almond (my favorite) and it was really good. Leslie's right- we should be collecting serial numbers!
P.S. Starla, I've been wanting to try the temptation ice cream, but they don't carry it where I live (Syracuse, NY). I have to go bug the store manager to order some!
Ahhh, Leslie, yes... how could you NOT love a post about our favorite food?!! I like the idea of the sealed plastic containers, but as you have read - and commented on again - there are some other bizarre changes going on! I think I *will* e-mail them. I was in contact with them before about my 'mmmm' post to let them know about it and the bloggers comments, so I think they should know that we don't want missing zig-zags, and don't want funky after tastes either! (and no, there is no flax in there - it's just odd the taste that it has - I had to stop eating the Praline Pecan, just not nice tasting).
Ha, Harmonia, I don't think there is any sub for the bananas in banana ice-cream!! :) Sorry - know you don't dig 'em! Oh, yes, quite a few hummus recipes in the new book - I think you'll love them too - I'm excited about them!!
Oh, yes, Cherie - cocoa and chocolate is great in there! I have melted chocolate and then swirled it in just a touch at the end. Good after freezing too! Can never go wrong with chocolate. :)
Hi Starla - yes, see, it's not just me!! Disappointing when you hear all the buzz about it, and then it's not the pb zig zag you expected it to be. I haven't seen that other ice-cream, but there are brands we don't get here (booo!), like Rice Cream and Soy Dream. So, so, so, sad... I would try them all!
Primary consumer, yes, I think Leslie and I are "on the case"!
Kristin, no fair... give it back!! :)
Emmy, tell your hubby that he is among the rest of us missing the pb in the ice-cream. We must get it changed back! I'm so pleased you like making the banana bread so much. I love it too with the maple flavor, and yeah, it does freeze pretty well! I like adding pecans or walnuts to it, but our girls like it - of course - plain!
Ha, thanks Gaia, I DO like making desserts and anything ice-cream when I can! Oh, and I'm glad you're having some good ice-cream there!!
Hi Suzanne, I'm glad you added your comment today - thanks... sounds like there is a zig-zag trend here!
Hey Kris! YES YES! That's the same thing I noticed - a funky aftertaste that just makes the ice-cream not pleasant at all. I can't even recommend something like Praline Pecan now that I've had two pints that taste peculiar. I don't have a Champion juicer, but I love that idea and just did something similar with another batch of banana ice-cream using my food processor. Made it more creamy and better after freezing too! oh, and I eat ice-cream all through the winter - seasons don't affect my ice-cream indulgences at all... :)
Ha, thanks Urban Vegan. I am now on a kick with it making batch after batch. Funny how we get in food patterns/ruts with things!
Yes, Megan... perhaps TOO MUCH!
Ha, that's cute Aimee, you are cooking up a storm it sounds! With the coconut lime cookies, they can sometimes be affected by the density of the flour and humidity (so can the other cookie recipes). Though, they certainly shouldn't spread right out on the pan. If you followed everything to the letter and used the full 1 1/4 cups of flour, then next time I'd suggest just getting a guage of the batter as you are mixing it. If it is looking too thin, add another tbsp or two of flour - but you may not need to, keep that in mind, and you can make the cookies a little smaller too - that helps them from spreading and falling apart too easily. Bummer that it didn't work out - sorry to hear that. If you still have the batter, then keep it, break it up and use it to mix into/or top ice-cream. mmmmm. Ice-cream solves every baking misfortune - ha!
Thanks, Kleo... I know, I was looking at this huge bowl of seriously brown speckled bananas that were on the verge of being totally past overripe and not usable, thinking I might have to do a lot of banana baking, but then got the lightbulb ice-cream moment - yay for that!
oooo sounds great! Could a blender be used instead of a food processor? Is there tofu in it? Just wondering.
Thanks for blogging about this. I would never have tried it if I hadn't seen it first!
YUM! This banana ice cream looks so delicious. And with no special ice cream maker required - I'm sold! The weather here is still a beautiful 83 degrees so I think I'll definitely be making this soon.
I like the banana idea--I've done something similar, I think, and it's VERY tasty! Would love to try your recipe sometime, whenever I can splurge on another cookbook! :)
I just wanted to say that I'm like the biggest fan of Purely Decadent ice cream, and I haven't noticed anything different or unusual about it lately. Just this past week, we've gone through a pint of Peanut Butter Zig Zag and Cherry Nirvana, and they were both as yummy as ever. And we recently discovered Soyatoo whipped topping. I've been slathering it all over everything, including the ice cream! ;) Has anyone else tried it? It's so good, especially on top of the Purely Decadent!
Dreena, the banana ice cream sounds delish! I can't wait to make it.
http://harmonia.bloggoing.com/2006/09/15/back-photosnonot-photos-of-my-back-lol/
Check out this picture post when you have time! It features 2 of your VLV recipes!
Harmonia, those pineapple muffins sounded over the 'top', so to speak. (were you a Seinfeld fan - 'top of the muffin to you'??! Anyhow, pineapple is scrumptious in baked goods - I like it in carrot cake for that moistness it gives. I checked out your photos too - wow, you have some great "back photos" - ha! that was cute. You are cooking a ton of food, girl! :) I can tell you really love that quinoa casserole - I'm jazzed that you do!!
Bazu, the first time I had an 'off' pint of praline pecan, I returned it because I thought the store had some responsibility, or that they would tell the supplier or something. Now, the second time, and with the change in the pb zig zag, I know it's something else. Thanks for sending your note along too! :)
Julie, hmmmm, a blender may be tricky because it would need a lot of liquid to get the frozen bananas moving and pureed. The food processor will cut right into the frozen chunks - but not without a fight! I have to hold the food processor to the counter sometimes!! But, just for the first 30 seconds or so, and then it's fine. You don't have a food processor? You need to get one... this instant! :) Oh, and no, there isn't any tofu in there - just a little non-dairy milk which you can choose to use soy, rice, almond, etc.
Well Melissa, I'm totally glad I blogged about it now! I wasn't going to, because a lot of people know about making 'banana ice-cream' - I'm not winning any culinary awards with that recipe! ha!! But, I thought, "hey, I'm making it here, I may as well snap a photo and pop it on the blog". Glad I decided to now, because I think you and your daughter would love it, and I can see you adding more healthy stuff to it too!!
Oh, Vivacious, I'm a tad envious of your weather. I am a summer girl all around. When fall/winter comes I just want to stay in front of the fireplace with a tea (and ice-cream - cold/hot, I eat it anytime)!! It was beautiful here just up until a few days ago, and now I can feel a chill in the air... no summer, don't go!!!
Hi Laura... thanks! hey, and maybe you'll win again next time I do another contest!! You never know...
Hi anonymous, thanks for dropping a note and well, I'm really pleased for you that all your ice-cream is still super nummy!!! I've heard tons about the Soyatoo topping, but we don't have it here yet... hmmm, should check on that with our store here. Anyhow, thanks for the note! :)
Hey Dreena! Love ice cream but not bananas. I look at the photo and imagine a different flavour because it does look soooo good.
I would definitely take Leslie's advice and contact the company. In food service, we have a lot of recalls. Even at the wine store there are sometimes issues with certain batches. It could be anything. Maybe one of their suppliers is having a problem with a product and don't know, and then the ice cream people don't know - it just filters down. Leslie's ice cream is OK, so maybe it's an issue only in Canada. Tell them for sure. Their name is on the line and people do talk. Oh boy, do they ever! They were good enough to respond to you before and I'm sure they would appreciate being told something just isn't right with their product. If you hear back, let us know.
That looks so so fantastic! Your kids are so lucky to have a mom who makes them just amazing foods! I have to look for the book where you got the recipe from. I also linked your blog if that is okay.
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