Vegan Galaxy Berry Swirl Ice Cream

I wanted to make a red, white and blue ice cream for the 4th, but I never thought that I would end up with a beautiful galaxy ice cream.  Most of the time in my kitchen, recipes sort of go like this.  It is an experiment, I am not exactly sure how it will turn out, and I build on it as I go, writing down the process so I can share it if it is a successful recipe.  So, I have made ice cream hundreds of times before, I know how to do that, but I wasn't sure if I wanted an ice cream cake, or just a berry ice cream that was scooped.  If I mixed all of the berries together in the ice cream and blended it, then I wouldn't have a pretty red, white and blue ice cream, it would just be purple.  So I decided to make layers of ice cream in a container.

I made a vanilla almond coconut milk ice cream base which was delicious, silky and tasted better than any dairy that I remember having before going vegan. It was like the heavy cream of vegan milks if you will. I figured I would freeze it in the ice cream machine, then divide it in two and make one blueberry flavor and one strawberry raspberry flavor. It worked well, but when I was whisking the berries into the vanilla ice cream, it created these lovely swirls of color, and it looked kind of patriotic to leave some white in with the colors. I froze it like that in a container, and I expected it to be pretty, but what I ended up with was galaxy ice cream.

You know, the galaxy trend that you see everywhere nowadays, like the galaxy prints on clothing, galaxy doughnuts etc...you know those beautiful swirling colors that look like a galaxy? Well this ice cream looked like that, so it was only appropriate to give it that name.  Just a beautiful accident.  I love it when my experiments yield better than expected results.  Because you know sometimes, I mess up and have to throw out a recipe and that makes me very sad.  Luckilly it doesn't happen often and the good times more than make up for the mess ups.  Anyways, now I have this delicious ice cream to enjoy for the 4th of July to feel festive with!  I hope you are all having a wonderful day with your families and friends at your BBQs and get togethers!

Vegan Galaxy Berry Swirl Ice Cream
Makes 6 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 15 oz can full fat organic coconut milk
• 1 cup raw almond or cashew butter
• 1/2 cup soft, pitted medjool dates (if they are not soft, soak them in filtered water for 30 minutes before using)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh organic strawberries and raspberries (mixed together)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh organic blueberries

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients but berries in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to directions. Alternatively, if you do not have an ice cream maker, pour it into a bowl, and whisk every half hour until it is to the consistency of a thick malt.
3. Meanwhile, while the ice cream is churning, puree the strawberries and blueberries separately and place in separate bowls.
4. Divide the ice cream between the two bowls, and fold in the berry mixture leaving streaks of white.
5. Spoon into a freezer safe container with a lid, alternating the two flavors, and continue to freeze until firm enough to scoop (at least 4 hours or overnight). If it becomes too firm, simply let it sit out for 15 minutes before serving.