There is something primal, ancient in the practice of making food.

The home-making arts have been trod upon and given plenty of flack as “womens-work.” But this, my friends, is just one more way the patriarchy intends to put down femme power. Home and hearth are the core of culture. The world we build is a product of the places we sleep, sweep and keep. There is plenty of magic to be had in the homestead life if only we have eyes to see. There is healing in the long-simmered broths. There is love in the dusty corners.

Home is where we learn how to be human.

And, ideally, where we learn how to be comfortable walking around naked.

I think of this as I blend and crack and slice and simmer. I am participating in the ritual of creation that my ancient ancestors knew. My tools are shinier, and my ingredients more exotic. But in essence, I am laughing with the voice of my grandmothers and great-aunts. I am stirring with the muscles of my grandfathers and great-uncles. I am gathering, mixing, tasting and seasoning my way through each season of my life. I am them, become known. Cut from the same cloth, with a dye suited to my century.

Spreading ice cream out in a chilled pan, I think to myself: I am a female animal manifesting my heart magic through food.

This is how I love myself, and love my lover. This is how I feed the soft animal of my body and how I nourish my consciousness. This is how I make delight from disparate ingredients. And how I manifest my intentions and prayers as tangible, touchable and tastable things.

So here is a bit of my love made known. A recipe, a gift so that we can share this experience of becoming dessert together. That's right, we can all embody the soft, luscious greeny-ness of matcha ice cream sandwiches for the betterment of our souls. Why not, I say? We're made equally of joys and sorrows. So let's not make excuses for why we need to become matcha macaroons today.  

These ice cream cookie sandwiches are a summer rainstorm of tropical green tea goodness. Part chewy coconut date macaroon cookies. Part luscious raw vegan matcha ice cream. Each element is fabulous on its own. But together? On a hot Summer day there's nothing better. 

They're simple yet decadent; Subtle yet striking. The green tea flavor is mild as opposed to grassy. The caramel sweetness of the cookies plays nicely against the subdued sweetness of the ice cream. 

To top it off these vegan matcha ice cream sandwiches are wonderfully simple! I love it when a recipe ends up so easy that a child could make it. The recipe is made up of only 10 ingredients total. Most of the work happens in a blender, food processor and ice cream machine. The rest is waiting for everything to freeze. 

The cookies are made of dates, coconut oil, coconut flakes, pine nuts and vanilla bean. The ice cream is made of coconut cream, dates, coconut oil, matcha and vanilla.

If you like dates, coconut and matcha… clearly this dessert is for you!

I have to say, this is probably the best vegan ice cream I’ve ever had. And it definitely holds its own compared to premium cow-dairy ice cream! It’s creamy, fluffy and rich without weighing you down. No lie, Logan and I ate the rest of the ice cream straight out of the tin while watching Wet Hot American Summer last night (for the 10th time).

And of course you should feel zero guilt about this dessert. It’s not only completely plant-based, but it’s made entirely with unrefined sugar. No binders, no fillers. Nothing but pure coconut and date goodness. Healthy fats and whole sweeteners… you should feel like a goddess eating these!

Cheers to connecting with your ancestral magic via wild desserts! I hope your week is filled with reminders of just how beautiful each thread of your being really is. Much love -- Renee

Raw Vegan Matcha Ice Cream

Created by Renee on June 13, 2017

Note: For pure vanilla ice cream omit the matcha green tea powder.

• Prep Time: 25m
•  
• Total Time: 2h 25m

• Yield: ~8 cups ice cream

Ingredients

• 3 cans full fat coconut milk, chilled for 1 hour
• 6 -8 medjool dates, pitted
• 1 frozen banana (1 cup frozen banana pieces)
• 1 tablespoon melted virgin coconut oil
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 teaspoons culinary grade matcha green tea powder
• 1/8 teaspoon (one capsule) blue magik spirulina (OPTIONAL)

Instructions

1. To the bowl of a high powered blender, add 3 rounded cups chilled coconut cream plus 1 cup coconut water. Reserve & refrigerate the rest of the coconut water for smoothies or curries.
2. Add the banana, melted coconut oil, vanilla bean powder / extract, matcha powder and (optional) spirulina to the blender bowl.
3. Process on high until the mixture becomes smooth. Note: if your ingredients are too cold the coconut oil will harden and give the ice cream base a curdled look. To fix this, keep processing until the mixture warms up enough to meld smoothly together. It took me about 2 minutes in my Vitamix on a medium-high setting for my base to look smooth and creamy. The added benefit here is that the blender will whip more air into the base, which makes for an even better ice cream texture.
4. Pour the ice cream base into your ice cream maker and churn according to machine directions. The ice cream is finished in the maker when it has thickened considerably and looks like soft-serve.
5. Spoon the ice cream into a chilled container (like a loaf pan or brownie pan). Freeze for 2 hours up to overnight before serving (unless you’re down for soft serve, in which case have at it).
6. If hard-frozen when you’re ready to serve, let sit out at room temperature for 10-15 minutes to soften before scooping. It's hard to taste the matcha if it's too hard frozen, so keep that in mind.

Raw Vegan Coconut Date Macaroons

Created by Renee on June 13, 2017

Note: These cookies are made with a lot of dates, which means they’re very sweet. If you like less-sweet cookies (like me) err on the side of using fewer dates and a touch more coconut flakes. I predict it won’t be too detrimental to the consistency.

• Prep Time: 10m
•  
• Total Time: 40m

• Yield: 10 cookies

Ingredients

• 14 -16 medjool dates, pitted
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 cup pine nuts (or macadamia / cashew / brazil nuts)
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut flakes + 3/4 cup more for rolling
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• tiny pinch sea salt

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a high powered food processor fitted with an S blade, combine the dates and coconut oil. Blend until the dates have been whipped into a paste.
2. Add the pine nuts, 1 1/2 cups coconut flakes, vanilla bean powder / extract and pinch sea salt. Blend for 30 - 60 seconds, until the mixture comes together as a dough ball in the processor.
3. Fill a small bowl with 3/4 cups coconut flakes. Set a cookie sheet out on your work surface. Roll the dough into golf ball sized rounds — setting them on your cookie sheet — and flatten to about 3/4” thick. Toss each cookie in coconut flakes until generously coated.
4. Freeze for 30 minutes or until ready to use.
5. Makes about 10 cookies.

Put it all together!

1. Assemble your ice cream cookie sandwiches: place a big scoop of ice cream on a cookie. Then sandwich another cookie on top.
2. Eat immediately or refreeze to serve later. Best eaten within 24 hours.
3. If the stored cookie sandwiches are hard frozen thaw for 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!