Vegan Diner (33 page)
Authors: Julie Hasson
When the ice cream is thick and almost done, slowly drizzle the melted chocolate through the hole in the top of the ice cream machine, in a thick and steady stream. As the ice cream freezes, the chocolate will firm up into chunks. Remove the ice cream from the machine and stir a bit, to break up the large pieces of chocolate.
Serve right away or transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.
Homemade vegan ice cream
is super easy to make. Of course there's a little equipment involved, but that goes without saying. A good ice cream maker can be found for about $50, and sometimes even less than that. I love to make ice cream year-round, since nothing beats the flavor and texture of homemade.
Tip:
If your ice cream maker doesn't have a pouring hole in the top, you can still make the chocolate chunks. Scoop about a third of the finished ice cream into a storage container and drizzle a third of the chocolate over the top. Use a spatula to swirl the chocolate through the ice cream, and repeat with more layers of ice cream and chocolate, making sure the chocolate swirl gets all the way through the ice cream. Freeze until ready to serve.
Malts and diners go together like Fred and Ginger.
Personally, I think that a malt is best enjoyed alongside a veggie burger, although it's just as delicious for dessert.
MAKES 2 SERVINGS
2 cups store-bought vegan mocha swirl or coffee ice cream
½
to
¾
cup vanilla soymilk
â
cup dairy-free malt powder
1 tablespoon instant coffee, optional
In a blender, add the ice cream,
½
cup soymilk, malt powder, and instant coffee if using. Blend until smooth. If the blender seems to be bogging down a bit, you may need to add another 2 to 4 tablespoons of soymilk. Start with the smaller amount, as you want the malt to be thick, not runny.
Pour the malt into glasses and serve right away.
Variations:
For a vanilla malt, use vanilla ice cream in place of the mocha swirl, and a teaspoon of vanilla paste or extract. For a chocolate version, use chocolate ice cream and a drizzle of dairy-free chocolate syrup. You can also make a cherry chocolate malted, substituting cherry chocolate chip ice cream for the mocha swirl. In other words, let your imagination go wild!
Tip:
You can make this with homemade ice cream; just make sure it's pretty well frozen first. Regular malt powder that you find in the grocery store contains dairy. Look for powdered malt extract, which is a non-diastatic barley malt, and is made from the evaporated concentrate of barley malt (check the packaging for the correct variety). The malt extract can also be used as a natural sweetener. Look for it in natural foods stores and online.
Hollandaise Sauce with Tarragon and White Wine
Mushroom-Pecan Sandwich Spread
This syrup is a delicious blend of buttery agave nectar
and pure maple syrup. With the rising cost of pure maple syrup, this is a more economical pancake topping that's even better than the original, if I do say so myself.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
½
cup agave nectar
½
cup pure maple syrup
¾
teaspoon pure maple extract
In a small saucepan, combine the agave and maple syrup, stirring until combined. Warm the maple mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, just until warm.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the maple extract. Let the syrup cool completely. Store the syrup in a covered bottle or jar in the refrigerator.
Look for agave
nectar in grocery and natural food stores. Both the light and dark varieties will work in this recipe.
Homemade strawberry sauce is fantastic on waffles and pancakes
or drizzled over cheesecake. It always brings me back to the days when my grandmother would take me out for breakfast at her local pancake house. I would always order the strawberry waffles.
MAKES ABOUT 2
â
CUPS
1 pound frozen strawberries, thawed
½
cup granulated sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons cornstarch
In a medium saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and
½
cup of water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture into the simmering strawberries, stirring well. Continue stirring and cooking the sauce until it is thickened and glossy. Remove from the heat and serve warm.
This is the gravy that I love to serve on biscuits,
for the ultimate in comfort food breakfasts. Depending on your group and what you're serving this gravy with, you may want to double the recipe. Trust me when I say this.