In the spirit of pleasure and fun, I’m sharing two simple and completely delicious recipes with you here today. You don’t need an ice cream maker, but you will need a blender, and possibly a lock for your refrigerator… My caramel sauce seems to disappear even when there’s no ice cream in sight!

Banana Ice Cream with Cashew Caramel Sauce

Banana Ice Cream
Prep Time:  5 minutes
Yield:  2 large servings or 4 small servings

4 frozen, ripe, peeled bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp high mineral salt
¼ cup purified water to blend

1. Break frozen peeled bananas into pieces and place into blender.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend, safely pushing the bananas down into the blades of the blender with the designated blender plunger until you achieve a soft serve ice cream consistency
3. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh berries, sliced banana, shredded coconut, raw cacao nibs, raw nuts or nut butter, raw hemp seeds, or my decadent Cashew Caramel Sauce (recipe below)
4. Stored in an airtight container in the freezer, my Banana Ice Cream will keep for up to 3 months. Remember you will need to thaw prior to eating.

Cashew Caramel Sauce
Prep Ahead: Date Paste
Prep Time: 10 minutes

1/2 cup raw cashew butter
½ cup coconut nectar, maple syrup or agave syrup
½ cup date paste (**see note)
2 tsp vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, seeds only
1/8 tsp high mineral salt
¼ tsp maple extract (optional for fuller flavor, if NOT using maple syrup)

1. Place all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the blender carafe with a spatula.
2. Stored in a sealed jar in the refrigerator, caramel sauce will keep for 3 weeks or more. Once refrigerated, the sauce will need to be warmed before serving in order to achieve proper consistency.
3. To warm, place the jar into a warm dehydrator at 105 degrees for 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, place about 2-incehs of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Turn off the heat.  Place the jar of caramel sauce in hot water and let sit for 10 minutes.  The sides of the jar should be high enough so that the water from the saucepan cannot flow into the jar.
   

**  Date paste sweetens and thickens raw desserts.  To make date paste, place 32 pitted Medjool dates in a medium mixing bowl and cover with purified water, letting them soak for 20 minutes.  Drain the dates and reserve the soak water.  Place the dates along with ½ cup soak water in a blender and purée into a smooth paste. Stored in a sealed container, date paste will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months in the freezer.