Apple Crumble Ice Cream

One of my all-time favorite desserts is Annie's Apple Crumble, so named because a wonderful lady named Annie shared her recipe with me. This particular apple crumble is always a huge hit at potlucks. My husband likes it best when served with a scoop of ice cream. So tonight, with an apple crumble baking in the oven, I thought...why not mix them together? Genius! (And the best part is that you only need part of the apple crumble for the ice cream, so you will have more crumble leftover!)

First, the apple crumble recipe. Then the genius mash up.

Annie's Apple Crumble

5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced approx. 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
1 cup sugar, divided into two ½ cups
½ cup flour
½ cup rolled oats
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
½ cup vegan margarine, such as Earth Balance

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, toss the apples with lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Place the apples in a lightly oiled 8 x 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking dish. Sprinkle ½ cup sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes.

While the apples are baking, make the crumble topping. Mix the flour, remaining ½ cup sugar, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Cut the margarine into small pieces and mash it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. The mixture will be crumbly and coarse.

When the first 10 minutes of baking are over, spread/sprinkle the topping over the apples. Bake (still at 350) for another 30 – 35 minutes, or until the topping is golden.

Ice Cream

2 cups soy creamer (or any non-dairy milk)
1 cups soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
dash nutmeg
2 tablespoons arrowroot
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup Annie's apple crumble, with the apple bit kind of chopped a little so it'll mix in easier

Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer, soy milk, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a saucepan. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Stir in vanilla extract.

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. Meanwhile, take your apple crumble--be sure it's not hot anymore!--and scoop out about 1 cup. If there are any large apple slices, cut them up a little so they will mix more easily into the ice cream. Break up the crumble topping if it's baked into a solid mass. The goal will be to spread the crumble bits throughout your ice cream base.

Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Add the apple crumble in the last 5 minutes of freezing.

All I Want for Christmas

Cross-posted from my other blog:

One of the most challenging aspects of being sick has been that I can't do all--or even a fraction--of the things I used to do. Some things I miss are small, like burlesque dance classes or trying new cookie recipes. Other things are much larger, and the one thing I most want to do again is leaflet for Vegan Outreach.

I'm an activist. But the key component there is "active." And I just can't be active the way I want to be. Back in 2003, when I realized that my calling was animal rights activism, I had this light bulb moment--this is what I'm supposed to do during my time on this planet. It was a moment of absolute clarity of purpose.

When I started volunteering for Vegan Outreach, I found what I believe to be the single most effective way to channel my activist energy. I leafleted schools in Arizona, and when we moved to California, I jumped in with both feet. I leafleted across the Bay Area, and I'd go on road trips to Southern California to leaflet schools in San Diego and Orange County. All told, I've handed out over 54,000 Vegan Outreach booklets on college campuses.

In the past year, I've handed out zero booklets. I've simply been too sick get out into the field. Which is where I know I belong. But I can't do it right now.

Which is where you come in. Yes, you, dear reader! Because Vegan Outreach doesn't run on energy alone. We've got the most amazing staff and group of volunteers, and our outreach efforts have been massively successful. In the fall semester of 2008, we reached over 130,000 more students than we did in the spring semester. And while we couldn't do this without the energy of our members, we also couldn't do it without financial support.

As you know, I'm on the VO board of directors, and I get the financial reports. I can tell you that we don't waste money. Our paid staff members take exceedingly modest salaries, so that the money donated can be used for our stated purpose: to decrease suffering.

Every Christmas Nick and I ask for donations to Vegan Outreach, so this request is not going to come as a surprise. However, this year I'd like to ask you VERY LOUDLY. Because I've been sick, I haven't been able to contribute my physical energy to Vegan Outreach. I honestly cannot express how frustrating (and depressing) this has been. So if I could have one magic wish this Christmas, it would be to regain my full health so that I could jump back into leafleting and making this world a better place, one little piece at a time. But I'm not going to be well by Christmas. I've got months, if not years, ahead of me.

So I'm asking that, rather than purchasing a gift for me, you make a donation to Vegan Outreach in my honor. Vegan Outreach runs on energy and generosity. You can't give me energy, but you can direct your generosity. Any money you would spend on a gift for me, no matter how small, I would prefer be given to Vegan Outreach. Nothing could touch me more, especially this year.

You can donate securely online at VeganOutreach.org. We currently have a matching donation challenge, so your donation will be doubled--so remember to mark your donation for the matching challenge in the "comments" section of the donation form!

Cranberry Sorbet

Growing up, I never had fresh cranberries. The only cranberries I'd have all year were that disgusting cranberry jelly stuff in a can. Luckily, my horizons have expanded since then. Still, I don't much care for any sort of cranberry relish on Thanksgiving.

Luckily, Habanero reminded me about the magic that is cranberry sorbet. So mix it up a little this Thanksgiving and Christmas, and replace your relish--or that nasty jelly stuff--with sorbet!

I don't have my own cranberry sorbet recipe (I use one from a cookbook), but here are some fabulous links to get you started on your sorbet adventure:

Fresh Cranberry Sorbet from the Fat-Free Vegan
Cranberry Sorbet with Grand Marnier from About.com
Cranberry-Pineapple Sorbet from Recipezaar.com

I like to top my cranberry sorbet with some toasted chopped walnuts, but candied orange peel would also be lovely. Or go naked and just enjoy the sorbet on its own!

Thanksgiving Spotlight

Next Thursday (November 27) is Thanksgiving here in the United States. I hope all of my readers will have a wonderful holiday. Unfortunately, vegans can end up feeling out of place at many tables, if celebrating with friends or family who insist on having a huge dead bird on the table. And proposing your own vegan Thanksgiving might not go over so well with everyone (but give it a try anyway). Often a compromise must be reached--even if we don't like it.

So this year I'd like to spotlight Pumpkin Ice Cream. It's one of the first ice creams I ever tried, back in the day when it was absolutely impossible to find more than four flavors of vegan ice cream, even at specialty stores. I still love this ice cream, and it's perfect this time of year. (If you want to make it really decadent, you can use part or all coconut milk.) I think it will please even the most critical non-vegan relative.

Gluten-free ice cream?

I recently received an excellent question: Which of my ice cream recipes are gluten-free?

I am not super-familiar with strict gluten requirements--much of this will depend upon how sensitive an individual is to gluten. Many foods may have been exposed to gluten during manufacturing, so when in doubt, ask the company. For example, you might need to check if your preferred brand of chocolate chips or vanilla extract is totally gluten-free. Companies are usually good about responding to consumer questions (and they might already have a FAQ on their website). Also, the more companies hear that there is a demand for gluten-free products, the more likely they are to produce them! (Same goes for vegan products--so make your voices heard!)

In general, most of my recipes are gluten-free if your non-dairy milk is totally gluten-free--and it probably is. My recipes tend to follow this formula:

non-dairy milk + sugar + flavor base (fruit, extracts, spices, etc.) + arrowroot = ice cream

So usually you're in the clear. And some of the recipes that would otherwise contain gluten can be made gluten-free if you make simple substitutions. For example, if you use gluten-free cookie dough in the Cookie Dough Ice Cream recipe, even if other people would use a wheat-based dough.

However, if you are in doubt, play it safe and pick another recipe that you know you can enjoy. If you have questions about a particular ingredient (or gluten-free diets in general), this is an excellent resource. They've got lists of safe and unsafe ingredients, info about particular companies, and much more.

If any of my readers have tips or gluten-free vegan recipes to share, I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Anyone got a great GF brownie recipe? Cookies? Got a GF vegan blog? Inquiring minds want to know.

Barack-y Road Ice Cream

Can we make a delicious rocky road ice cream? Yes, we can! Can we make it without dairy? Yes, we can! Can we make it without soy? Yes, we can! Gluten-free? Yes, we can!

To celebrate Barack Obama, I wanted to bring together bipartisan elements--coconut and chocolate, marshmallow fluff and almonds--to create one amazing ice cream. An ice cream that celebrates multiple flavors at once, that reaches out even to non-ice-cream-lovers, offering a friendly hand, inviting them into the ice creamery of our country.

Just as we can change coconut milk, sugar, and chocolate during the ice-cream-making process, our support of Barack Obama can lead to massive and much-needed change in our government. Can we make ice cream? Can we create change? YES, WE CAN!

3 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips
2 T. arrowroot
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. chocolate extract (optional, but yummy)
1 c. Suzanne's Ricemallow Creme (or 1 c. chopped vegan marshmallows)
1 c. chopped or sliced almonds

Mix arrowroot with 1/4 cup coconut milk and set aside.

Mix the remaining coconut milk, sugar, and chocolate chips in a pan, heating gently to melt the chocolate, whisking every minute or so. Once the chocolate has melted, bring the mixture to a low boil. When the mixture has just started to boil, remove from heat and immediately stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should cause the mixture to thicken a little; it will thicken more when cooled.

Add vanilla and chocolate extracts.

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. Freeze according to ice cream maker instructions, adding the chopped/sliced nuts in the last five minutes of freezing. If you are using chopped marshmallows, add these with the almonds. If you are using the marshmallow creme, transfer the ice cream to your storage container in batches. Layer the marshmallow fluff with the ice cream. You could also drag a butter knife through the mixture to additionally swirl the fluff (kind of like when you make a marble cake). Stick the thing in the freezer to bust out at your next campaign party.

-----------------------------

Now that you've got your ice cream, I'm stepping aside for my guest blogger and sous-chef, my wonderful husband, Nick:

Hello fellow ice cream fans,

In 2004, I watched both presidential debates, and vice presidential debates. I shouted at the screen, I picked over the rhetoric afterward, and when election day came I voted. That night I watched the results come in, one state at a time, with a mounting sense of dread and disbelief. How, I asked myself, could the country made such a fundamentally wrong choice? It was only this winter, as the new presidential campaign got underway that I realized one of the major problems in 2004.

I hadn't gotten involved.

The country chose the way it did partly because I (and others like me) sat on the sidelines and expected the world to change. Which is why I'm writing you today. This year I'm involved.

I'd like you to join me.

If you remain unconvinced that Obama's the best choice, I'd like an opportunity to convince you a few paragraphs from now. But if you already know you're going to vote for Obama, then here's what you can do to take your support to the next level:

1. Register to vote. Depending on where you live, the deadline may be fast approaching!

2. Volunteer for the campaign. The Obama campaign has made it really easy to volunteer. For instance, this spring, I called voters in key primary states. All I had to do was click a few links and dial some numbers. If you're not into calling people, there are dozens of ways to get involved. You can volunteer a few hours a week and make a difference.

3. Donate to the campaign. Even just a few dollars can make a difference! (This is my personal fundraising page.) Small donations make a big difference in this campaign. Unlike previous campaigns, a huge percentage of Obama's money comes from ordinary citizens like you and me. More money will help the campaign hire organizers, make phone calls, and take our message to every state in the country.

Ok, I hope you're already clicking on links and getting involved. Thanks in advance for your support, I know that your effort will pay off on election day.

I'll sign off now, but not before I present my summary case for Barack Obama.

--- Why I'm Supporting Obama ---

There are lots of reasons I think Obama will be the superior president. Here are the top 3:

1. Climate Crisis
There's no greater threat to our society, prosperity, and the planet than unchecked global weaming. I'm pleased to say that John McCain has actually engaged with this issue, and may even do something about it if he's elected. However, a brief look at each candidate's website reveals who is really serious about the issue. John McCain's energy plan starts with ... more drilling for fossil fuels.

Compare for yourself:
Obama
McCain

If you need any further proof, John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, is on record as of October 2 saying that she does not believe that climate change is caused by humans. The planet can ill-afford four more years of head-in-sand climate change policy.

2. Leadership
I started working for the Obama campaign in early spring, shortly after I spent some time online watching the top Democratic candidate speeches. As I listened to Obama's message, and the way he phrased it, I realized that I was watching a leader I could support. Not just "hold my nose and vote for." Here was a leader who spoke to what was best in us as a nation, who believed that we could rise above our differences and deliver a better future for the world. Here was a candidate who inspired me.

I think that he will be able to inspire others too. This nation needs change, and change can be hard. We'll need a leader who can get us all pulling in the same direction.

If you want a taste of what I'm talking about, Obama's convention speech is an excellent example. I also thought his speech on race was powerful.

3. Iraq
I believe that the Iraq war has been a national nightmare--a long, bloody distraction from urgent issues that we could be solving. I could go on and on, but you all have heard enough about this terrible disaster.

In short: Obama has opposed this war since 2002. McCain has stood with Bush and backed the war since the beginning.

Obama's top priority is bringing an end to the war. McCain's is "succeeding" (whatever that means). I trust that Obama has the judgement and temper to bring a swift end to the war and turn us back to saner (and safer!) foreign policy.

4. (Bonus!) Economy and Taxes
Obama's tax plan funds our government in a significantly more progressive way, while John McCain's plan increases the tax inequality that began in the Bush administration. Check out this analysis.

---- Why Obama Needs Our Help ---

While millions of Americans support Obama, and I still think he'll win, the recent media circus around his running mate has boosted John McCain's campaign. Obama's fortunes have always depended not only on the voting public, but on his supporters. Those who donate time, money, and enthusiasm. I'm hoping to expand his base.

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you on the campaign trail,

Nick

Sabbatical

I apologize for the lack of new recipes. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been ill for some time. And as much as I love ice cream and blogging, I'm reserving what little energy I have for more mundane tasks. My illness is not life-threatening, but it's a major pain in the ass. I'm running at about 20% capacity, both physically and mentally, and I've had to put much of my life on hold.

It's been a difficult time, but I've used the experiences I've had to learn and grow. Clouds and silver linings, lemon and lemonade, all that crap. Seriously, though, while I am very frustrated with being ill, I think that this period in my life has taught me a lot about patience, acceptance, and what I value most.

I have started a new course of treatment (combining Western and "alternative" medicine), and along with the support I've received from Reiki and shamanic healing, I have reason to be cautiously optimistic about my prospects for recovery.

I'd like to thank all my readers who have expressed concern and offered support, even though I've not been delivering the recipes for which this blog was created. I hope that soon I will return from my little sabbatical and dish up some crazy delicious vegan goodness.

Stevia, Splenda, and Other Sweet Things

I'm asked about sugar alternatives so frequently that I figured I should just write a post about the topic. I have no personal experience with using stevia or artificial sweeteners. My husband and I don't care for them at all. My husband has a very strong dislike of stevia in particular. So I've never used it in my ice cream recipes.

However, a little Internet research has led me to believe that you could probably substitute 1 teaspoon of pure stevia (no fillers to bulk up the powder) per cup of sugar in my ice cream recipes. I think that Splenda can be substituted cup for cup (1 cup sugar = 1 cup Splenda). Of course, there are many other sugar alternatives out there, but with a little experimentation, you can probably find something that works for you.

I'd love to hear your comments about what you discover. It will help other readers, too, because I have no plans to abandon my evaporated cane juice (or whatever you want to call it).

Measurements

When I started this blog, I didn't realize that I'd have so many readers, much less that they would come from so many different parts of the globe! So I hope I can be forgiven for not mentioning until now that all of my ingredient measurements are "we're afraid of the metric system and refuse to join the rest of the world" American-style. Furthermore, I tend to abbreviate cups to "c." and teaspoons to "t." So here's the breakdown of what it all means:

• C. = cups. If liquid, it means a 8-oz liquid cup. If dry, it means a dry measurement cup.
• t. = teaspoon.
• T. = tablespoon.

Here's a handy website for converting cups and teaspoons and the like into grams.

P.S. I again apologize for the lack of new recipes. I've got one in the works, but I'm still rather ill. I'm exploring both traditional and non-traditional, Western and non-Western treatments, but it is a very slow process and very little is helping. My illness is not life-threatening, but it does slow me down quite a bit.

Coconut Bliss: A Review

Fear not, dear readers! My recent absence from blogging is not because of my very bad veganness or because I'm bored with ice cream. Unfortunately, I've been ill for a few months now, and haven't had the time or the energy to make up any new recipes. (And, no, before you ask, I am not ill because I am vegan. I've seen four internists, six specialists, two naturopaths, two acupuncturists, and one shaman. No one has suggested that my diet has any relation to my ongoing illness.)

Anyway. Since I'm not up to making my own ice cream, my poor husband has had to start buying his ice cream at the grocery store. However, this led to a wonderful discovery! I heard about Larry and Luna's Coconut Bliss from a reader quite some time ago, but I didn't purchase any until recently. My husband found it at our local co-op, and it was on sale. Normally this runs about five or six dollars a pint--yikes! Since it was on sale, though, he picked some up for us to review. Our sample: Cherry Amaretto.

The verdict: I love that I can recognize all the ingredients on the label: organic coconut milk, organic agave syrup, organic cherries, organic vanilla extract, organic almond extract. Cool. (They're also gluten-free, which is great for those with allergies.) Also, the texture was quite creamy, though it does freeze pretty hard. The label says to let it sit at room temperature for five to ten minutes before serving. I'm too impatient and would just microwave it for a few seconds to soften it up. And, most importantly, it was yummy. I think my husband polished off the entire pint in about four days.

Unfortunately, this brand isn't available nationwide yet. Their website says you can check stores in Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Hawaii, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. If your local Whole Foods or other health/natural food store doesn't carry it, you can always request that they try carrying it!

The Very Bad Vegan

Apparently, my last post about Guinness Ice Cream has alienated about half my blog readers, who are convinced that I am a VERY BAD VEGAN.

They are so very right. I am a terrible vegan. Once I bought fortified juice that contained vitamin D3. I eat in restaurants that serve meat, and I don't harangue the staff about whether my food is cooked on the same grill as animal products. I have accidentally purchased cereal that contained honey--and then ate it anyway. I don't own a copy of Animal Ingredients A to Z.

Actually, I did own a copy once, shortly after becoming vegan. I remember flipping through the pages and feeling overwhelmed that I would have to memorize this long list of often obscure ingredients and contact each company from whom I purchased food or other products to ask if they used, at any point, any one of thousands of animal-derived ingredients. Part of me thought that this would make me way hard core, the baddest-ass vegan on the block. The rest of me thought that maybe this vegan thing was, like all my friends kept telling me, way too extreme and difficult and not at all practical.

Since then, I've come to realize that obsessing over minute traces of hidden ingredients (or accidental "contamination" in restaurants) makes veganism look like it's not very much fun and takes way too much work. I'd much rather people spend time with me and come away with the impression that veganism isn't a militant all-or-nothing battle to prove my street cred, but rather a way to reduce the suffering of animals. I personally agree with Matt Ball, co-founder of Vegan Outreach and generally supernice guy,

Conversely, for every person we convince that veganism is overly-demanding by obsessing with an ever-increasing list of ingredients, we do worse than nothing: we turn someone away who could have made a real difference for animals if they hadn't met us! Currently the vast majority of people in our society have no problem eating the actual leg of a chicken. It is not surprising that many people dismiss vegans as unreasonable and irrational when our example includes interrogating waiters, not eating veggie burgers cooked on the same grill with meat, not taking photographs or using medicines, etc.

Instead of spending our limited time and resources worrying about the margins (cane sugar, film, medicine, etc.), our focus should be on increasing our impact every day. Helping just one person change leads to hundreds fewer animals suffering in factory farms. By choosing to promote compassionate eating, every person we meet is a potential major victory.

Admittedly, this results-based view of veganism is not as straightforward as consulting a list. Areas of concern range from the example we set to the allocation of resources, asking questions such as: Do I bother asking for an ingredient list when with non-veg friends and family, perhaps not eating anything, and risk making veganism appear petty and impossible? How should I spend or donate my limited money and time?

Situations are subtle and opportunities unique, thus there can be no set answers. But if our decisions are guided by a desire to accomplish the most good, we each have enormous potential to create change. (link)

That said, if you don't want to use Guinness in your ice cream because it might contain isinglass, I'm sure you can find a different beer. I don't know of one, because I don't drink beer. I couldn't tell you the difference between a pale ale and a stout. When I do buy beer for my husband, it's almost always from one of our local microbrews and I have no idea if they use isinglass or not. Because, as we have established, I am a very bad vegan.

I'm OK with being a bad vegan. You can stop reading my blog if you want, as some have threatened. You can even modify my recipes to your standard of veganism. That's cool with me.

I'm more concerned with making veganism fun and accessible, and in pursuit of that goal I play around with ice cream, write this blog, and do a lot of volunteering for Vegan Outreach, handing out thousands of copies of "Why Vegan" and "Even If You Like Meat" on college campuses, at festivals, and outside of concerts. Is that enough to let me into the vegan club?

Guinness Ice Cream

Danielle F. sent me this recipe. She says, "I'm not a vegan, and frankly, I know nothing about it, but I have a friend who is lactose intolerant, and I found this recipe for Guinness ice cream that I wanted to try but wanted her to be able to eat, so I adapted it using your website and recipes. Thought I'd share. I realized afterwards that Guinness is actually a genius choice for vegan ice cream because it already has a creamy flavor."

I use arrowroot powder to thicken my ice creams, but Danielle skipped the arrowroot altogether, so I'll leave it out of the recipe, as well. Here's Danielle's awesome creation:

2 c. soy creamer (or other non-dairy milk)
1 c. soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
12 oz. Guinness
3/4 c. sugar

Whisk ingredients together by hand. For best results, chill before freezing. Then freeze according to your ice cream maker's directions. Enjoy! Raise a scoop in honor of Danielle!

Danielle notes that this recipe made more liquid than her ice cream maker could handle in one freezing cycle. So you can either scale back the amounts, or freeze in batches. Don't overfill the ice cream maker. It makes the baby Jesus cry.