Rich, creamy, dairy-free ice cream

A couple years ago, when my son turned two, I wanted to make him ice cream. So I attempted a soy-milk-based concoction, banana-flavored; it was a complete disaster. Icy, with no depth of flavor — it was like I took a blender, threw some plain soy milk and a banana in it, gave it a whirl, and stuck the whole thing in the freezer. My son, ever the sensitive palate, rejected it outright. The quart found a new life in our garbage disposal.

But now — now, it’s two years later. The boy is about to turn four , and I now have two more years of non-dairy and ice cream cookery under my belt. I discovered the wonderful world of coconut milk about 6 months ago, and it has changed our world of non-dairy thinking. We now enjoy dairy-free pancakes on Saturday mornings that are so delicate and rich and indiscernible from our old milk-laden standby recipe; I also treat the kids once or twice a week to delicious Scoop the contents of both cans of coconut milk into a glass bowl or 4-cup glass measure. Warm in the microwave for about a minute, stirring about every 30 seconds, until the thick chunks of coconut cream liquefy and the mixture is smooth. Measure out 2 cups of the coconut milk, and pour it into a saucepan, along with the sugar and salt. Place over low heat, and warm the mixture until very warm to the touch, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.