Experimenting with Ice Cream

I think I've decided that spring is officially the worst season here. The days are getting longer, which makes it seem like we should be able to spend more time outside, and like it should be getting warmer. And these two things are sort of true, but not to the point that it is really nice to spend time outside, or that it is objectively warm. The past couple of days we have had highs around 16°F and lows around -2°F. This is somewhat warmer than it was, but still fairly pathetic spring weather. Since it warmed up and melted a bit and has now gotten cold again, the roads are filled with deep ruts of ice, and there are hard ice piles and ice boulders on sidewalks and in parking lots. There will be more melting and refreezing, more lakes of ice, and everything is dirty and brown. Everyone I talk to is tired of winter and wishing it would end, and many people who have lived here for a long time truly do seem to be deluding themselves into thinking that it is normal for winter to end sooner than it does. Everyone is a bit stir crazy, and all small talk is about the weather, and how we should all be living in warmer climates. I am getting the sense that this is typical of March and probably April here. It is enough to get anyone feeling a bit antsy and gloomy.

In response, I have gone on a bit of a homemade ice cream kick. It started with the thin mint ice cream. Then last weekend I made some chocolate coconut milk ice cream for a friend's birthday. She is currently not consuming dairy, I had seen this recipe and wanted to give it a try, and it turned out perfectly. I would definitely encourage anyone looking for a vegan ice cream recipe to check it out. I've spent some time checking out several food blogs and ice cream blogs (they do exist), and wanted to try it out this recipe for ice cream that does not use eggs, but achieves some of the same benefits (creamier, less melty) using another method. Right now, in the freezer waiting to be tried, is an experiment with that ice cream base, flavored with cinnamon, vanilla, and sliced almonds. I will let you know what we think of it :-)