Banana "ice cream"

Is there a better season than summer to truly appreciate ice cream?

There's not much better to celebrate a hot, sunny day than a bowl, or cone of icy, creamy goodness. I like ice cream in most of its forms, and am not really picky about flavours (though I probably would pass on strawberry). I think I've eaten ice cream, or some variation, in almost every country I've visited, from the refreshingly lemony gelato in Italy, to custardy ice in Portugal, and even to pretty passable stuff in Cuba, which is surprising given the skinny state of any cows we saw.

But since all those places are pretty far away, I needed a much closer solution for my ice cream craving. When I saw this recipe on TheKitchn for easy ice cream using only one ingredient, and I happened to have that one ingredient in my own kitchen, it was a convenient coincidence.

I've used frozen bananas before in smoothies, and know they lend a nice texture, but have never thought to enjoy them just on their own. But why shouldn't they make a great "ice cream"? They should -- and do!

I'm not even going to call this a recipe, because it's ridiculously simple. Start by chopping up two ripe bananas into coin-sized pieces and freeze them. Two hours should do it, but I left mine for about two days before I got around to doing anything with them, and they were fine. (Though I would recommend wrapping your plate in plastic wrap if you leave for more than a couple of hours to prevent browning.)

Frozen on the plate, and a bit tricky to remove. I left the plate on the counter for a minute or two while the fruit softened enough.

Then add the frozen pieces to a blender, or food processor and whiz to your heart's content. I used my mini chopper for this job. I also added a spoonful of coconut, because banana and coconut go so well together.

Blend for a bit and you'll end up with a silky mix you'll swear is actually ice cream. Taste it and you would think dairy somehow jumped into your blender when you weren't looking. It will even form scoops just like the real thing!

My combination with coconut was yummy, and next time I think I might add in a scoop of peanut butter. You might also think about adding in chocolate chips (dark or white), or walnuts might be good too.

So stay cool this summer and give banana ice cream a try!