Instant Blueberry Ginger Ice Cream (vegan, raw)

When we first moved in our new home, I was a little sad about the natural light situation. It did not take me long to figure out that the south-facing part of our home was in the shade after I returned home from work. For the last 3 years, in 3 different homes, the south-facing window was the source of my foodie photographs.

While I am still trying to perfect my new photography zone, the backyard shade has a different utility: shade for our backyard patio. A welcome respite from the blazing summer sun, it almost behooves us to only invite people over for evening BBQs. And eat our dinner outside, as well.

Totally working on that.

This weekend was especially hot and totally ice cream weather. I wanted ice cream and I wanted it now, so I finally made Gena’s lovely blueberry ginger ice cream. I love blueberries and I love ginger, and never would have thought to combine them. It was marvellous. The classic banana soft-serve ice cream is even creamier with cashew cream and a gorgeous purple hue from frozen blueberries (wild blueberries for the best flavour). I made this in my vitamix and was too impatient to wait for the cashews to be completely blended so they added little bits to the creamy base. Fresh blueberries were a good textural foil. In any case, this is highly recommended. Soak the cashews if you have enough forethought for a creamier base.

I have been pinning many homemade vegan ice creams for the summer months, especially Sondi’s Vegan Dulce de Leche (she has a new ice cream flavour every Friday), Alissa’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Covered Pretzel Banana Ice Cream and Sofia’s Chocolate Amaretto Ice Cream with Cherry Sauce. I just need to work on a bigger freezer. 😉

Any fabulous treats you recommend for beating the summer heat?

I am sharing this with Simple and In Season.

Instant Blueberry Ginger Ice Cream (vegan, raw)
Adapted from Choosing Raw (earlier version seen on Gena’s website here)

1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least an hour and drained (optional, but for best results)
1 cup frozen blueberries
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cm piece of fresh ginger (approximately 1 tbsp grated) — add more if tolerated
2 frozen chopped bananas
non-dairy milk, as needed
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1. Place drained cashews, frozen blueberries, lemon juice, ginger and a touch of non-dairy milk into your high-speed blender or food processor. Process until completely smooth, using a damper for your high speed blender. Add bananas and continue to process until smooth. Add non-dairy milk if needed, but try not to use too much because this is an ice cream, not a smoothie. This can be frozen and reblended in the food processor for a creamy treat at a later time.

Serves 2.