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).