GLOW

I've been brainstorming up an ice cream recipe for a couple of weeks now, and after watching my husband consume almost 3 containers of Ben & Jerry's this week, I decided that the time had come to  end the torture and try it out. I successfully made two kinds this weekend, and the one I'm sharing with you today is actually a bastard child of Ricki's cashew cream that is used in her Rutabaga Gratin which I so dearly love. (A variation on that recipe is soon to come as well.) I do not own an ice cream maker, so the texture of this is not exactly true to form, but it satisfied my cravings perfectly, and if you have experience using an ice cream maker, I'm sure you would know what to do to modify this for your appliance. Another option is to follow Ricki's non-ice-cream-maker ice cream instructions here, which I will most likely try in the future. This layered dessert reminds me of a more refined version of Friendly's peanut butter ice cream, which I so dearly loved as a child. It only makes about 2-3 servings, but as I have so little self control when it comes to sweets, I find it in my favor to make small batches so that I don't overdo it. My cravings perfectly coincided with the SOS Challenge this month, January's ingredient being coconut oil.

1 3/4 CUP UNSWEETENED HEMPMILK

1 CUP RAW CASHEWS

1/2 CUP TAHINI

2 TBS COCONUT OIL, MELTED

1/2 TSP VANILLA POWDER

1/4 TSP STEVIA POWDER

PINCH OF SEA SALT

ABOUT A 1/2 CUP COARSELY GROUND ROASTED HAZELNUTS

PLACE CASHEWS IN A BOWL. IN A SMALL SAUCEPAN, SLOWLY BRING HEMPMILK TO A BOIL, STIRRING REGULARLY, AND THEN POUR OVER THE CASHEWS. SOAK FOR 30 MINUTES. IF USING A BLENDER, POUR MILK, CASHEWS, TAHINI, SEA SALT, VANILLA POWDER & STEVIA IN, AND BLEND UNTIL CREAMY. MELT THE COCONUT OIL AND POUR IN WHILE BLENDING. IF USING A FOOD PROCESSOR, STRAIN THE MILK INTO A BOWL, PUT THE CASHEWS INTO THE PROCESSOR, AND SLOWLY ADD THE MILK, TAHINI, AND OTHER INGREDIENTS AS IT GETS CREAMIER. TAKE 2 GLASS JARS OR CONTAINERS OF YOUR CHOICE, AND SPOON THE CREAM IN, ALTERNATING WITH LAYERS OF THE GROUND HAZELNUTS. EACH JAR WILL BE ABOUT 1/2-3/4 FULL. SEAL AND FREEZE. IT SHOULD BE READY TO CONSUME IN 2-3 HOURS, OR YOU CAN FREEZE AND THEN THAW FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES AT ROOM TEMPERATURE.

BACKYARD FIREWORKS AT MIDNIGHT, FOOTPRINTS IN THE SNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF NEW YEAR'S MAGIC BEFORE HURRYING INSIDE FOR WARMTH

I hope all of you survived the holiday season, and have found yourselves entering the new year with renewed energy and hope for 2011. I'm a big fan of ushering in the new year with proper ceremony, which for me involves doing something out of the ordinary, something that joyfully represents a shift in energy and perspective. This year that entailed a trip to the country, to enjoy the company of some of my favorite people, who also happen to be some of my favorite artists. I felt so blessed to be in their company, and even more blessed that our wonderful host, Courtney, after studying my previously posted list of food restrictions, actually came up with wonderful dishes that I could eat to supplement the food that I brought with me from Boston. This was a first for me, and it was such a healing experience to be able to partake in everything on the table. I truly couldn't ask for a better way to enter into a new year. My only regret is that I didn't get better photographs of the tasty fare! (With the sun going down by 4:30 pm, winter in New England is not kind to food photographers.) Not pictured is my root vegetable lasagna, my pesto chickpea flatbread, and most regrettably, the amazing lavender lemonade that Courtney made for me which was, in my mind, far superior to the alcohol that I was passing on.

This chickpea spread is dense, creamy and versatile, working as a dip, spread, and in my mind, even a faux-egg salad sandwich substitute. (It could surely be tweaked to satisfy that craving more appropriately, but the hint is there, and it's gratifying.) We spread it on Kim's Pumpkinseed Teff Bread, which I made for the evening, and in the days following, I used the leftover spread to make sandwiches with avocado and spinach, and used the rest as a generous dollop on top of a grilled breast of chicken with a spinach arugala salad, which was phenomenal. Try it and tell me what you think!

1 15 OZ CAN CHICKPEAS/GARBANZO BEANS

1/4 CUP TAHINI

1    TBS TOASTED SESAME OIL

1/2 TSP SEA SALT

1/4 TSP NUTMEG

1/8 TSP ALLSPICE

JUICE OF HALF A LEMON

LOTS 'O' FRESH DILL (I USED A FEW TBS, FOR SURE, BUT ADD TO YOUR OWN TASTE)

DRAIN CAN OF GARBANZO BEANS*, PUT BEANS IN FOOD PROCESSOR WITH REMAINING INGREDIENTS AND PUREE, ADDING MORE DILL AS DESIRED.