Roasted Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

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Roasted Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

Roasted Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

Ice cream has many faces. To young children, ice cream is a delight, enchanting both the mind and the mouth. The frozen treat leaves a sticky smudge all over their faces as they attempt to lick the bowl clean. In the heat of a wild summer, ice cream cools down the body during warm afternoons, bringing a smile to anyone who happens to find a towering cone in their hands. Ice cream can also be a comfort food, a friend in moments when the world just isn't in your favor.

During my college years, my friend and I developed a ritual to coping with boy trouble whenever we found ourselves in a wearisome place. The routine always began with a hesitant call on the phone; once the strain of the situation became evident in one of our discordant voices, it was time to take action. The solution for these problems was always the same—ice cream. The grocery store became a fixture in those moments, as we'd wander the frozen food aisle carefully choosing the chilled tonic that would heal our wounds.

Roasted Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

In the eve of twilight, we'd walk our heavy souls to a nearby park, with spoons in our back pockets, and dig into the melting cream, eating more than we should have dared. Just as the remaining ice cream would melt into a pool in the bottom of the container, the rush of sorrow and heartbreak and the unfairness of love would come spilling out of one of our hearts. As one bared her soul to the other, the other would open her ears, hoping the simple act of listening would lift just a part of burden the other carried. Some nights we'd find solutions to the problems together, but more often than not the troubles would hang in the air, unsolved and unresolved, as a satisfying answer failed to appear.

When the sugar would gather in our bloodstreams, we'd find ourselves on the park swings, cursing men and love with every pump of our legs. Higher and higher into the air we would fly as the metal chains of the swings began to shake. In those moments, with a belly full of ice cream and a dear friend by our side, the weight of the world would lift an inch off our shoulders for just a moment and we could begin to feel free.

Roasted Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

To me, ice cream has always been a healer—a healer of broken hearts, hot summer days, and scraped knees. Ice cream has the uncanny ability to ease the troubles of life and bring lightness to the heaviest of situations. Ice cream, in its own way, is a carrier of happiness. In the chocolate swirls, strawberry chunks, and Neapolitan flavors, there holds a promise of smiles, happy moments, and ice cream smudged faces.

This is why I love ice cream.

Roasted Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

Roasted Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream is light and creamy, with bursts of strawberry flavor. Strawberries are sliced, drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and sweetened with a spoonful of sugar before roasting in the oven until the berries are dark and sweet. The ice cream is very simple to assemble (and dairy/egg-free!). The flavors alternate between spoonfuls of smooth coconut and bright strawberries.

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Coconut Scones

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Coconut Scones

Coconut Scones

After my holiday in Hawaii, I drifted into island time. Without a salty ocean to wade into or a sandy beach to sip cocktails on, I opted for hot showers and drinking sweet, red wine in front of the television. After the sunshine and shaved ice, it was hard to go back to a reality full of work, workouts, and cooking my own dinner. I held onto island time much longer than I should have, trying to convince myself that it was okay to pretend I was on vacation when I clearly wasn't. I was putting off work, eating poorly, and didn't set foot into the gym for months.

Eventually even I realized these bad habits needed to change.

Coconut Scones

I set myself back to a proper work schedule. I completed a month long vegan challenge to jump start a healthier diet. Finally, after avoiding it for too long, I gathered up my courage and faced the gym this afternoon.

Before I caught island time fever, I prided myself on the fact that I regularly made it to the gym five or six hours a week. I was a fixture in the mornings, taking cycling classes and toning through weight lifting. For the first time in my life, the muscles in my biceps couldn't be crushed flat by a set of strong hands. I had calf muscles that surpassed those of my ballerina sister who can dance on the tips of her toes. I could even visibly flex my back muscles. I was proud of the sweat that dripped down my face and the results I achieved.

Then, I threw it all away.

Coconut Scones

I hesitantly walked into the gym this afternoon. The building rests only a couple blocks from where I live now, making it all the more shameful I haven't set foot in one since I moved. I got a membership to bribe myself into regular attendance and headed off to my first class in three solid months—circuit training. There were four of us in the class and it became blatantly obvious that I was having a hard time keeping up. Weights I used effortlessly just months before, suddenly felt like lead bricks in my hands. I was more than half a beat behind in my jumping jacks and I couldn't jump rope to save my life. In hindsight, I really should have chosen a yoga class.

I slowly walked back home with a proverbial tail between my legs, my muscles wobbling like a bowl full of Jello. The "truths" I had been telling myself (You're still in shape! You didn't get winded walking up that flight of stairs, it must have been from the heat) unequivocally became lies. Luckily, it's never too late to head back to the gym and fix the ails of neglect (which I'll do right after I make another batch of these scones).

Coconut Scones

These coconut scones are a delicate, subtle way to begin the day. These scones are a triple coconut threat, holding coconut oil, coconut milk, and coconut flakes in their flaked layers. The scones are dairy/egg-free, but you'd never guess it. The finished scones are glazed in a sweet coconut glaze before serving, which adds just the right amount of sweetness. This is my new favorite breakfast sweet and may be the best scone recipe I've shared with you.

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Chocolate Cherry Cake

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Chocolate Cherry Cake

Chocolate Cherry Cake

A month ago, I was unprepared to take on vegan baking. As a traditional baker (and purveyor of butter and cream), it was a sincere challenge for me to alter everything I thought I knew about baking. I complained about it loudly to anyone who would listen, as I scraped attempt after attempt into the trash. It wasn't that I didn't do enough research before creating recipes; I simply didn't have the experience with vegan baking to make the recipes my own.

I was unreasonable and, as a few of you pointed out, unfair to take my frustration with my own inadequacy at vegan baking out on a lifestyle choice. For this, I apologize.

Chocolate Cherry Cake

After two weeks of struggled baking, a switch finally clicked. The cakes and cookies that came out of the oven no longer went into the garbage can, but were proudly shared with family and friends. My goal to create vegan recipes that did not use hard-to-find or unusual ingredients was becoming a reality and I couldn't be happier. The recipes were not only dairy-free and egg-free, but absolutely delicious in their own right. It was an inspiration.

Even though my vegan challenge is over, I confess I haven't gone to the store to buy butter or eggs just yet (gasp!). When I find myself faced with a warm oven, I don't feel like I'm done creating and experimenting with vegan recipes. Over the next couple weeks, you might spot a few more popping up (and I think you'll fall in love with them as much as I did).

Chocolate Cherry Cake

Recently, I had several pounds of cherries resting in the refrigerator. They were an impulse buy at the market when I saw the price tag had considerably dropped. I ate my way through half the sweet fruit before I realized they were going to go bad before the rest would get eaten. One of the downsides to living alone is that when you buy pounds of several varieties of fruit at once, there is no conceivable way you'll be able to eat them all by yourself (note to self: lesson learned). With a chocolate craving in the back of my mind, and a love for cherries and chocolate, a cake seemed to be in order.

I honestly could have eaten half of this cake in a single sitting. It seems only fair to advise you, this cake should come with a warning label.

Chocolate Cherry Cake

This Chocolate Cherry Cake has a rich, chocolate base with sweet, bursting cherries. The cherries are folded into a basic chocolate cake batter before rising delicately in the oven and the final cake is topped with a dark, decadent chocolate glaze. Use high quality chocolate for the best flavor. I love to eat this cake chilled from the refrigerator, but it can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature. This cake is simple to garnish and aims to impress.

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