Signs and Symbols

For many of us the holiday season is one filled with gatherings of family and friends, gifts, eye-catching décor and of course good food.  The once a year traditions are some that we look forward to all year long.  Decking our halls, finding the perfect gifts for our friends and loved ones and whipping up our favorite holiday dishes all culminate to make our holiday experience enjoyable.  Some enjoy the same mouthwatering menus year after year as part of their holiday fun.  Others are always on the hunt for a fun new recipe to add to their holiday enjoyment.  Either way, we get to indulge in some of our favorite holiday foods.  For me, these foods become part of my signs and symbols of the holiday season.  Growing up I would look forward to chocolate peanut butter bars, fudge, peanut brittle, sugar cookies, creamy carrot soup and homemade rolls, to name a few.  Even the smell of these foods cooking would rain a shower of Christmas spirit down upon me.  I was always very excited to open gifts and I always appreciated any and all gifts I got, but it really was the food that made Christmas special to me.  

 With that in mind, I have made food a very important part of our holiday celebration in hopes to create those same feelings of bliss and delight for my husband and children.  It has taken me a few years to put a menu of tradition in place.  The menu that does indeed excite my family includes a breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls and fresh fruit salad, a creamy tomato and basil pasta dish for dinner and a dessert platter filled with sugar cookies, gingerbread cupcakes and chocolate peanut butter bars. I will admit it definitely takes much effort to pull this all off but I don’t mind a bit. I know that the results of my time and work in the kitchen are very much appreciated and loved. I truly wouldn’t have it any other way. 

 A Sprinkling of Treats

Throughout the weeks leading up to the 25th of the 12th, I pepper in a few other seasonal treats such as homemade cinnamon bread, peppermint hot chocolate and homemade dairy free peppermint ice cream.  The bread takes some time and effort to make, the hot chocolate is fairly quick and so is the ice cream.  The ice cream  takes less than 10 minutes of prep time before putting the mixture into the ice cream maker.   

Homemade ice cream is very easy to make and the results are amazing.  My husband and I received an ice cream maker as a wedding gift, many, many…..many years ago. Over the years it has certainly earned its place in our appliance cabinet. I make many tasty treats for my family.  In the summer I make fruit sorbets and ice cream with fresh fruit and berries.  In the fall I make vanilla ice cream to go with our homemade apple pie and of course peppermint ice cream is the star of the holiday season.  The little machine is truly a treasure.  

Enjoying some homemade Peppermint Ice Cream has become a holiday tradition for my family. This is a dairy free recipe made with a few simple ingredients.  Don’t let dairy free recipes turn you off.  There are so many amazing and healthier alternatives to dairy.  This ice cream is beautiful and delicious.  My family can eat the entire batch in one day.  There have been a few occasions where I have made two batches within 24 hours, but only if everyone is on the Nice List.  

There are five simple ingredients in this dairy free ice cream.  Coconut milk, sugar, vanilla and peppermint extracts and crushed peppermint candies make up this short ingredient list. The most wonderful thing about making your own ice cream at home, is that you are in complete control of what ingredients go into it.   We are a dairy free family, so having a recipe for a variety of dairy free ice creams is a must have.  One of the main ingredients in my dairy free recipes is organic canned coconut milk.  I was very hesitant to use anything coconut for a very long time.  I do not like the taste or the smell of coconut, but I finally decided to give it a try.  I am glad I did because I was pleasantly surprised to find out that recipes made with canned coconut milk have  little to zero taste of coconut.  This peppermint ice cream doesn’t have a bit of coconut flavor.  The canned coconut milk is used in place of dairy because it does a fantastic job replacing the fat of the dairy ingredients.  I use canned coconut milk in many recipes. It gives the food a nice creamy consistency.  I mostly use the light canned coconut milk, but you need  full fat canned coconut milk to make ice cream.

Dairy Free Peppermint Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 Full Fat 15 oz Cans of Coconut Milk

¾ Cup of Sugar

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of peppermint extract

¾ cup of crushed hard peppermint candies

***You will also need an ice cream maker.  If you are in need of one, there are many options available at various price points.  Amazon has a nice selection.***

Directions

1. Follow the manufacturer's directions for the prep of your ice cream maker. I have to freeze my tub for about 24 hours prior to using it. 

2. Crush ¾ cup of hard peppermint candies.

3. Put all ingredients, except the candy,  in a mixing bowl and whisk together until the sugar is dissolved. 

4. Pour into the ice cream maker tub and turn on.

5. Let it mix for about 25-30 minutes.

6. Add the candy during the last 5 minutes of mixing. 

You can choose to eat it right away, it might be a soft serve consistency or scoop it into a freezer safe container with a lid and let it freeze to a harder consistency.

Show Us Yours!

If you make this we would love to hear about it!  Send us a pic on Facebook Messenger or Instagram Direct Messaging at Grow Your Lunch Oh.  Who knows, your picture could be featured (with your permission of course)  in one of our upcoming posts, emails or newsletters!