Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

This summer has flown by much faster than I could have imagined.  It was only yesterday that I was anticipating Karen's wedding, and now, it's the 20th of August and I'm dreaming up what my Halloween costume will be!  Truthfully, the last few months have been incredibly busy for me and Dayv.  It's been difficult to find the time I once had to spend endless hours in the kitchen, now only having a couple hours here and there to squeeze in.  I look forward to when time slows down a bit, which will hopefully occur during the autumn.

When life gets busy, it's easy for me to push simple tasks to the back-burner, with the excuse that I just don't have time to accomplish them.  Like making ice cream.  When I first got my ice cream maker last summer, I was all about making Dayv homemade ice cream, especially since he's a fanatic for it and eats it every night for dessert.  But lately, I just haven't found the time.  Two weeks ago, I got a big fat wake-up call when Dayv accompanied me to Whole Foods and spent over $10 worth of ice cream he picked out, only to have it last until the middle of the week.  Two pint sized ice creams do not a week's worth of dessert make(I usually buy one of these along with a pint, which has a few more serving sizes in it, but Dayv prefers the fancy-shmancy flavors).  It was time for me to start making homemade ice cream again.

The fact is, I really do love making ice cream.  It isn't time consuming at all and I love thinking up different combinations to try.  The options are really endless.  This ice cream hit me when I was getting ready to cut up and freeze a banana to later use for a smoothie.  Why not put it in ice cream instead?, I thought.  The peanut butter and chocolate chips were an obvious addition, which I knew Dayv would appreciate.

The ice cream was a success and Dayv happily put it in his belly.  He loved the flavors and texture, and did not mention one word about missing his beloved Peanut Butter Zig Zag.  So it's now become one of my mid-year resolutions to make homemade ice cream every week and not rely on freaking expensive prepackaged ones.

As soon as I finished churning this ice cream and washed the bowl, I immediately placed it back into the freezer.  I am determined to continue to make homemade ice cream every week.  In fact, I've already dreamed up a new delicious flavor for this week!  I can do this ;)

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
2 cans full-fat coconut milk
3/4 cup vegan sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
3 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 banana, cut into very small pieces
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Chill one can of coconut milk overnight.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine other can of coconut milk with sugar.  Whisk continuously until all sugar granules have melted.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.  Transfer to a bowl, cover, and chill in refrigerator until cold(You could also put it in the freezer to speed up the process).

Combine peanut butter, almond milk, and maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium low heat.  Continually mix until the consistency is very smooth and has thinned out a bit.  Remove from heat.  (You can do this in the beginning of the ice cream churning).

When the coconut milk mixture is cold, combine with other chilled can of coconut milk.  Whisk until the mixture is smooth in consistency(it's ok to have some little lumps).  Transfer to ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions.  Mine takes about 25 minutes.  After about 15-20 minutes, add in the peanut butter mixture.  Allow it to completely mix in with the coconut base and become uniform in color.  Next, add in banana chunks, and allow them to fully integrate into the ice cream.  Lastly(about 2 minutes until ice cream is finished churning), add in mini chocolate chips.

When ice cream is finished processing, transfer to a freezer-safe container with a lid.  You can eat it immediately and it will have a nice soft serve texture, or place in freezer.  Remove frozen ice cream from freezer approximately 10-15 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!