Wonderfully easy Strawberry Ice Cream

      Carrying on to the end of Strawberry week I have to admit I’ve strayed. I had a wandering eye and some other Frozen delights caught my attention. After making my Wonderfully easy Strawberry Ice Cream I had to apologize to my Strawberries for flirting with other fruits. I had to promise that Strawberries will always come first during Strawberry week.

      Admittedly it started with frozen Strawberries, some plain Greek Yogurt, and a couple of flavourings. But once the frozen Cherries and Bananas caught my eye I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Turning them into wonderful frozen treats was inevitable.

      The addition of Greek Yogurt is nice because of its thickness… it holds up really well.

Flavour ideas for Strawberries and other frozen delights

     All the recipes basically start the same. Pick a frozen fruit and think about what might go well with it. This is where I looooovvvveee my cookbook “ Culinary Artistry “, it’s doesn’t have any recipes but gives you a laundry list of what ingredients go with what.

      So far it has never failed me, even if I get in a pinch or I’m just tired. All I have to do is pick one ingredient and pair it with something on the list. Voila, the start of a beautiful dish with very little thinking involved.

      Granted Irish Cream was not on the list for Strawberries in the Culinary Artistry book. But you don’t need to think very hard to know that Irish Cream goes with almost everything…right? lol

easy strawberry Ice Cream ratios and hints

      I find the proportions of one cup frozen Fruit to 200g of Yogurt makes a good creamy mix. If you’re just making a midnight snack that amount is good to start with. If you’re planning on a few friends coming over or saving some for later, just multiple the proportions evenly.

      Hint: If you plan on putting the Ice Cream the fridge for an extended period of time it will probably harden up. Break it back up, a quick zap in the food processor, drizzle a little water as it’s running and it will turn right back into a creamy delight.

The Creamery

      Simple toss the frozen Fruit into a food processor along with the Yogurt and sweetener and blend. It might take a minute or two and you might have to scrape down the sides a couple of times but it will turn into a creamy smooth Wonderfully easy Strawberry Ice Cream.

      After the Fruit, Yogurt and Sweetener have gotten creamy leave the processor on and add additional flavours. Toss in Irish Cream, Vanilla or Cinnamon the options are many, mix, taste and decide if you’re happy. I like to go with a plain Yogurt when making mine so I can control both the amount and type of sugar in my ice cream. But there is the option of using a flavoured Yogurt like Vanilla or Coconut. Keep in mind that these Yogurts already have loads of Sugar added. If you plan on using flavoured Yogurt leave out the Sugar… I like honey in the recipe.

Storing Strawberry ice cream

      If you are planning on eating right away, dive in but if you are putting it in the freezer for later there are a couple of things to keep in mind. The heat of the processor will start to melt things right away so have a container ready to go before you start creaming the ingredients.

      The secret is to re-mix the Ice Cream every 30 – 45 minutes after it first goes into the freezer. Break up the ice crystals around the edge and stir them back into the middle. Do this several times until the mixture is fully frozen and resembles hard, spoonable ice cream. If you don’t do this you may end up with a fairly solid block of ice.

      If you end up with a block of flavoured Ice not to worry. Do your best to break it up, put it back into the food processor, add a little water while it’s running, and cream it again. Ice is ice and fruit is fruit… that is the beauty of this ice cream. You can keep doing it over and over again.

      So get creative, see whatever frozen fruit you have sitting in your freezer, grab a tub of thick greek yogurt and think. What could I put with this? Maybe start by opening the liquor cabinet and see what liqueur has been sitting around for awhile. Don’t be afraid to mix in some Herbs like Rosemary, Mint or Thyme. And don’t forget a splash of Vanilla, which is essentially the Salt of desserts.

      Churn it all together in a food processor, grab a little liquid chocolate delight, maybe a hot toddy and…Enjoy!