Allergy friendly, Dairy Free Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Hot fudge Sauce

This is a basic coconut ice cream recipe I adapted from a chocolate coconut recipe. We've found that canned coconut milk is remarkably versatile. I was surprised that the coconut flavor adapts so easily to so many other flavors without an overwhelming coconut flavor. We had ice cream very similar to this in Thailand -- they made it fresh on the boardwalk and then scooped out a fresh coconut and served it in the shell with the shavings! It's super easy ice cream and once you get hooked on it, you'll want to have some on hand all the time! I've even converted Bryan, who can have regular ice cream. He actually prefers this now! Store it in a microwaveable container -- it does freeze harder than dairy ice cream so I zap it in the microwave for a minute or let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes or so until it's soft enough to scoop. Oh, and a word of warning. DON'T eat it as soft serve right after you make it. If you're a fan of soft serve, you can eat a gallon without trying...Coconut milk is easy to come by. Even here in Gillette any grocery store or even Wal-mart carries it. Usually you can find it in the ethnic food section by Chinese/Thai food.

To top it, here's my dairy free, corn free chocolate fudge sauce recipe. It stores great in the fridge. If you have any left.

Vanilla Bean Coconut Milk Ice Cream (Dairy-free, egg-free, corn-free, soy-free)

3 cans unsweetened canned coconut milk (I use 2 cans regular and 1 can lite)

1 c sugar (or about 6 T agave)

1 vanilla bean

3-4T vanilla

Scrape vanilla bean and add with pod to 1 can coconut milk. Cook over med. heat for 5-10 minutes. Chill. Combine remaining ingredients in blender and blend. Pour all into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions for freezing. Serve soft serve or freeze as desired.

*Note: Blue Bunny ice cream has great reusable containers! Find a friend who buys it and steal their containers! Or ask me...I have extras!

Allergy Friendly Fudge Sauce

2 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (or 6 T cocoa powder plus 2 T coconut oil)

1 c rice, coconut, almond or other milk

3/4 c sugar

2 T. brown rice syrup or sugar syrup (see my cinnamon roll recipe or corn syrup if you can...)

3/4 tsp vanilla

Combine chocolate and milk. Heat to boiling over low heat, stirring constantly (especially as it heats up). Cook, stirring, until mixture is smooth and blended. Add sugar and syrup. Increase heat to medium until boiling. Continue boiling without stirring until sauce reaches 220 on a candy thermometer or soft-ball stage. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Store in sealed container in refrigerator. Sauce will thicken as it cools -- serve hot or cold.

Variations:
We've tried several various variations on this.  These are our favorites!  P.S  I can not for the life of me remember where the original that we worked with came from.  I know it was a chocolate coconut milk ice cream...if I remember, I'll post it, but it's been so long I have no idea...

Pumpkin Pie ice cream:
1 recipe Vanilla Bean minus the vanilla bean addition

Add:
3/4 a large can pumpkin
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Serve with crushed graham crackers and/or the fudge sauce (above).

Raspberry Rum:
1 recipe Vanilla Bean minus bean and sub out vanilla for rum extract (or get brave and add rum!)
1 1/2 c frozen raspberry crumbles (or just crumble them yourself)

Tropical:
1 recipe Vanilla Bean minus bean and sub out vanilla for rum extract
1 can (not the small ones) crushed pineapple, drained
1 c frozen shopped mango (partially thaw and chop smaller if desired, or add it to the blender)

Mint Chocolate Chip:
1 recipe Vanilla Bean minus bean and sub out vanilla for peppermint 1 T mint (or to taste)
Add chocolate flaked off a Lindt 80% or higher bar for a soy free version, or mini chips if soy is tolerated.  Add green food coloring if desired.
May also be made with the chocolate base for Double chocolate mint.

Steps

Since we made the decision to adopt, I've been keeping a diary of just thoughts and venting along the process with the idea that eventually I would share that. Since our news is now public, I thought I'd slowly start posting these. Many of these are from months ago already when we were trying to come to grips with what we believed we were being called to. This first one is from very early on in the process:

Reading the World Vision magazine has new meaning. Each step of the adoption process, I find myself struggling with a new aspect of it. First came the realization that, as much as we like to think we are above the past, there is still a price on humanity. How much is a child’s life worth? Not the intrinsic value, but a true, monetary price tag. Would I pay 10,000 to save a child? 20,000? 50,000? Can a child truly have a price tag? And the answer, as hard as it is to come to grips with is, yes. Each step has a price tag that hurts.  For the price of a luxury car, I can bring home a child. For half the price of a house, ransom one child. One. In Russia alone, there are 600,000. The zeroes after that are staggering. What can taking one child from that truly accomplish? For every one that is taken out, how many are left? For me, the price of a car hurts. For others, it may be impossible. How it will be provided is still unknown. But what it will provide is clearly and tangibly evident. It will provide a chance. A chance to not be a statistic. A chance to know the love of a family. The protection of a father. The care of a mother. The loyalty of a sibling. A chance to go to church. A chance to be introduced to Jesus. Can we really put a price on that? Can we really say no when all it takes is a step of humility, of saying that no life is more or less valuable? Of saying that I could let my standard of living suffer a little to give someone who has nothing, everything?

Today it was the picture of a little girl that reduced me to tears. The truth is, somewhere in Russia, my daughter is probably already born. When my boys were born we did everything we could to give them the best possible start for their future. We read to them. We played with them. I nursed them. If they cried, we were there. If they were hurt, we were there. If they were sick, there was medical attention when needed and love and cuddling when it wasn’t needed. They had the softest clothes, a warm bed, a stuffed animal to snuggle with. We made sure their new little teeth were brushed, they were clean and their skin taken care of. She will have none of that. There will be no one to answer her cries. There will be no one devoted to giving her the best possible care and start in life. Somewhere, she will have no one to pick her up if she is sad, or make her laugh just to see a new smile. She will not have anyone rejoice over her first words, or each new facet of her personality. Somewhere, she has nothing. And I can’t even know where. I can’t even know her face. I think that this will prove itself to be the best growth of prayer I will experience. I literally have no control. I can not do the best I can. ALL I can do is pray. Pray for protection of her mind, soul and body. Pray for comfort when she needs it. Pray for compassion from those who may give it. Pray for her parents, whoever and wherever they may be. That they may be comforted in knowing giving her life is a gift. That they may one day know Christ. That they will know that their daughter is being given a second chance to have a life they could not give her. That their sacrifice to keep this life is amazingly valuable to our family. All I have right now is really all I could give. What is more important than placing our trust solely in the hands of God? Of knowing that He who fashioned every little minute detail of her body, her brain and soul, is more than sufficient to cover the lack she now faces. He sees. He sees the injustice. He sees the mountain of paperwork that I can not move on my own. He sees all the roads converging on that one where we step on the plane in Russia and she steps off an American citizen. He’s been faithful before, and He will be faithful to complete what He has called us to do.