Today we’re celebrating Keenan’s 29th birthday with my homemade Vegan Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream. A special treat to mark a very special moment in our lives. I can vividly remember the tiny house in Leucadia where he was born. It had a pony-wall separating the bed from the main room and a sweet yellow bathroom where most of my laboring took place. What a beautiful night that was, with my sweet husband and midwife at my side, we welcomed Keenan Francis Kelly into our lives.
While the kids were younger, most birthdays called for a special cake. The kids loved coming up with a theme and then helping execute the decorating. It was quite the ordeal and something I still treasure to this day. They learned how to plan and execute an idea, and I learned patience and letting go of perfection! Both incredible gifts.
Now that my children are getting older, and both Megan and I can no longer tolerate gluten or dairy, we’ve shifted from creative cake decorating to a more sophisticated idea of a birthday treat. We still have the decorating bug but our special treats have taken a different form.
Alter Eco Foods is one of my favorite companies. I love their products and the passion behind the products. I had to include their Dark Quinoa Organic Chocolate Bar in our special birthday creation for Keenan. It gave our creamy cherry concoction a crunchy chocolate twist.
- Meat of 1 young Thai coconut
- 1 cup soaked cashews (soaked overnight)
- 1 cup coconut or almond milk
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 cup froze organic cherries
- 1 Alter Eco Dark Quinoa Organic Chocolate Bar - Broken into small chunks
- Prepare coconut meat, making sure to remove any debris and wood pieces.
- Place all ingredients (except chocolate bar) into a high-speed blender. (Chocolate bar chunks will be folded into the ice cream after it comes out of the ice cream maker).
- Blend until creamy.
- Pour mix into your ice cream maker. Follow instructions for your specific machine.
- Remove cream from ice cream maker and fold in chocolate chunks. Place in an ice cream container and freeze until ready to serve.
- vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free
- All recipes and images are protected under copyright laws and owned by Kris Kelly and Goofy Foot Foods.