All Fruit (&/Or Veggie) Ice Cream

Crazy Cool Treats From The Garden And Beyond

First of all, I should explain that I don’t get out much. Thus, stuff that’s old hat for many folks is often screamingly new and exciting to me. Anyway, this weekend I combined perennial planting (one of my favorite all-time activities) with a trip to The Mall, a place I rarely visit. In fact, I only go if somebody else will drive! Naturally enough, I didn’t find more perennials there, but I DID come home with a totally fun gadget that makes sorbet that’s as creamy and rich flavored as ice cream even though it only includes frozen fruit (or vegetables).

Called Yonanas, this gizmo grinds frozen foods into creamy puree with the texture of soft ice cream. The original recipes are based on frozen ripe bananas, which I often have on hand, since I never know if my grandson will be in banana mode or not. As a single person, I often find it a challenge to use up fruit before it gets overripe, so this machine seemed like a great idea. When bananas or avocados or raspberries or blueberries are edging past their prime, I freeze them, sometimes for months on end. Now I have something new to do with the bounty, just in time for summer.

Beyond Bananas

The really good news is that if you run short of bananas, you can take the basic idea all over the place. In just a few days, I’ve moved past banana strawberry “ice cream” to peach blueberry sorbet, avocado basil sorbet, and banana almond sorbet with chocolate chunks and toasted coconut flakes stirred in. In the process of making pineapple ginger sorbet, I discovered that the Yonanas is not a Vita Mix replacement or even a blender. In fact, you have to cook harder, stringier and/or denser foods before freezing and using them, or figure out a work-around. This is not an industrial strength machine (though they make them, apparently), so it works best when you stick with soft stuff that’s been frozen at least overnight, then partially thawed.

The strength of the gadget is that it makes soft sorbet or ice cream in a few seconds (if you don’t count freezing/thawing times). If you don’t have one of these things, you can get a similar effect by grinding fruit in a food processor, then freezing the slush in an ice cream maker (just freezing it will make it rock hard). The other trick is that works best is to peel bananas BEFORE freezing them…

Ice Creamy Banana Strawberry Sorbet

2 ripe, peeled, frozen bananas
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 teaspoon minced fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
pinch of sea salt

Thaw fruit for 10-15 minutes. Feed one banana into the Yonanas, follow with the strawberries and end with the other banana. Stir in mint, lime juice and salt to taste, serve and enjoy! Serves 2-4.

Peach Blueberry Sorbet

2 ripe, peeled, frozen bananas
1 cup frozen peach slices
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

Thaw fruit for 10-15 minutes. Feed one banana into the Yonanas, follow with alternating half-cups of berries and peaches, then end with the other banana. Stir in vanilla and salt to taste, serve and enjoy! Serves 4.

Avocado Basil Sorbet

This one makes a great palate cleanser or starter course on a warm evening…

2 ripe, peeled and frozen avocados
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Let avocados thaw for 10 minutes, then put through machine. Stir in remaining ingredients and serve. Serves 4.

Banana Almond Sorbet

2 ripe peeled frozen bananas
2 tablespoons (or more) almond butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons chocolate chunks
2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes
2 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds
pinch of sea salt

Thaw fruit for 10-15 minutes. Feed bananas into the Yonanas, stir in remaining ingredients and serve. Serves 4.

Pineapple Ginger Sorbet

2 ripe, peeled, frozen bananas
1 cup frozen pineapple slices
1 cup frozen strawberries
2 teaspoons fresh minced ginger root
pinch of sea salt

Thaw fruit for 10-15 minutes. Feed one banana into the Yonanas, follow with alternating half-cups of pineapple and berries, then end with the other banana. Stir in ginger and salt to taste and serve. Serves 4.

I’m sold! What do you think?