Dessert @ 226 - Banana Ice Cream

I find bananas to be one of nature's most perfect foods. Peel and eat for a midday snack. Slice and top your cereal or oatmeal for breakfast. Stir into cakes and quick breads for a celebration. Saute with brown sugar and butter for dessert. I mean, real talk, bananas can do just about anything. But, for a fruit that is so versatile, some people find the banana to be vile and even, offensive. One such person is my sister. On a recent trip to Boston for a sisterly (and new niece) visit, I asked her to buy a few breakfast bananas for me, while she went to the store to procure some other necessities. She winced and squished up her nose, like the thought of plucking them from their shelf in the produce section might just do her in. Really?



The world's second (First is mango. Crazy, no?) most popular fruit just got winced. I was shocked. I secretly can't wait for her to start feeding her baby mushed up bananas, because even a banana lover can become a temporary banana hater when pushing spoonfuls of light brown mush into a baby's mouth. And then quickly sliding fallen dollops off their onesies and from in between their neck rolls. Nauseating, I tell you.



Are you looking for a point? Okay, the point is banana lovers and banana haters alike need to try this ridiculously easy technique for ice cream that is totally B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Sorry, had to do it. It has one ingredient. You can't not try a recipe that has one ingredient and very few steps. Okay, it's super simple. Here we go.

1) Peel and slice some bananas. Use as many as you think your crew will eat. I usually do 1-2 per person. Ripeness is of no concern. I've used bruised and bound for banana bread. I've used perfectly ripe and even slightly green. You cannot screw this up. Obviously, the riper your bananas are, the sweeter. And sweet is good here - because, well, it's ice cream. And it's supposed to be sweet.

2) Put your banana slices on a Parchment Paper covered baking sheet, in one single layer. Find room in your freezer. Good luck.



4) After a few hours, retrieve your bananas. Slide them all into the bowl of your food processor. And whirl them around. It takes a moment, you might have to move them around with a spoon. Keep buzzing until their completely smooth. Don't get too crazy though. Your machine will get warm and begin to melt the bananas.



5) Once smooth, scoop into bowls and serve immediately.* If you've got your fancy pants on, top with caramel sauce, blueberries, honey, peanut butter or almonds. All of which I have tried. All of which are ridiculous. Yes, we make this a lot.



So, come on banana haters, ice cream lovers, dieters, calorie counters, lactose in-tolerators, gluten freers, veganizers...ummm, everyone. It's just bananas. But it tastes like a chilly bowl of what you would eat while sitting on a cloud in heaven. Yeah, it's that good.

*Leftovers get pretty hard in the freezer. Not inedible. But, not as good as the first time around.


Enjoy! Hopefully you're having a better hair day than our friend, Beckett. If not, he's here to assure you, the ice cream will taste just as good.