I am the Kat that Walks By Itself

Time for another bit of ice cream. I had high expectations of this one.

Tub 44:

• 250ml strong coffee (prepared as pourover with 35g ground beans and 500ml water; the remainder of the coffee was drunk later)
• 100g Lindt 85% cocoa chocolate bar (melted)
• 7 tablespoons Natvia
• 125ml low-fat milk
• 1 teaspoon Guar Gum

I put this on the "lite ice cream" setting of the Ninja Creami. That may have been a slight mistake, because the machine wobbled and it scraped the sides of the container, carving off tiny slivers of plastic.

But it was rich and delicious and creamy. Maybe it could do with a bit more sweetener, but by the time my mouth was all cold, I wasn't noticing the non-sweetness as much. I'm absolutely certain that the Lindt is at least half the reason this is so yummy. This is an ice cream to be savoured.

Definitely worth doing again. Though I've run out of Guar Gum, so I'll have to try Xanthan gum instead.

Two different kinds of mint, two different ways of preparation.

( Peppermint Tea Sorbet )

( Fresh Mint Sorbet )

Processed both of them on the "Sorbet" setting of my Ninja Creami machine.

The peppermint tea comes out ahead. They're both nice, but the fresh-pureed-mint has a bitter aftertaste which is unfortunate. They have different mint tastes because peppermint is not the same mint as one buys as "fresh mint"; the fresh mint is probably spearmint or some other mint, it is milder and not as "peppery" as peppermint is.

The peppermint tea had a a clean taste, whereas the pureed mint was more organic and muddy. The pureed mint had a nice green colour, the peppermint tea was so pale it was almost white.

I think it would be worthwhile either getting some dried spearmint to make tea from, or to just infuse the fresh mint -- that is, to prepare them both in the same way, and then compare them. Because it would be nice to have a mild mint sorbet as well as a peppermint sorbet. Mind you, making spearmint tea from dried leaves would be less work than stripping off all the fresh mint leaves in order to infuse them, so I'll probably try that first.

Even though I have not compared them, I'm pretty sure that the peppermint tea sorbet would have a nicer flavour than using peppermint essence instead. I don't know whether it would be worthwhile trying to make peppermint ice milk using peppermint essence - maybe, maybe not - but that's probably the only thing that would motivate me to use peppermint essence.

Yes, I did almond chocolate.

Tub 26:

• 250ml almond flour
• 2 tablespoons Dutch Cocoa
• 4 tablespoons Natvia
• 250ml hot water

Mixed together with stick-blender and soaked overnight in fridge.

Then added

• 1/2 teaspoon Guar Gum

Then froze overnight.

I added a mix-in of chocolate flakes after I'd processed it, but they didn't really add much to the ice cream. The ice cream itself was smooth and creamy and a milk-chocolate-ish flavour. If I wanted it more dark-chocolate I'd add more cocoa.

I am very pleased that the almond flour is working out so well. One merely has to make sure one eats the ice cream before it melts.

Technically not "ice cream", since it has no cream, let alone any dairy. I am amazed that something which has no cream, no dairy, no sugar, no gluten and is low-carb tastes so nice.

So, on being informed by Coles that there were no Jam Bunlets, I thought, "Okay, so how can I make a faux Jam Bunlet with what I have?"

• White bread: check.
• Jam: check.
• Light dusting of cinnamon baked in: no.

Yes, I could just spread jam on bread and then sprinkle cinnamon (or cinnamon sugar) on it, but I'm not likely to get it sprinkled evenly. (And adding more sugar to jam, no.)

Then I considered my encounters with psyllium husk powder (which is basically what is in plain Metamucil, only they add sugar too). I was adding it to all sorts of things with mixed results. So, time for another experiment.

Ingredients:

• 1 level tablespoon of psyllium husk powder (or plain Metamucil)
• 1 level tablespoon of cinnamon powder
• 1-3 tablespoons of water

Method:

1. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly in a tiny bowl or a teacup (because we are dealing with small amounts here).
2. Add ONE tablespoon of water. Mix. The mixture should start clumping together.
3. Add ONE tablespoon of water. Mix. The mixture should form a stiff paste.
4. This is where it gets tricky; add more water to thin down the paste to make it more spreadable. But if you add too much water you will get Cinnamon SLIME. Because that's what psyllium husks turn into when there's enough water. (Then again, cinnamon slime may be exactly what you are looking for.)

Then spread the mixture on bread -- or eat it straight out of the cup if you like.

So what did it taste like? Well, like cinnamon. But not as if one was just eating a mouthful of cinnamon; the psyllium husk cut the taste so that it was pleasantly cinnamon, not burn-your-mouth cinnamon. But I think I didn't mix them thoroughly enough, because the strength of the cinnamon taste wasn't evenly distributed; sometimes it was a bit hot, sometimes it was a bit bland. But mostly good.

I do not recommend eating more than one serve of this, because too much fibre all at once (remember - Metamucil) may make your digestive system unhappy, and cause you to sit on the porcelain throne for a while.

I came back from the doctor's appointment after eleven, turned on the heater, and the temperature inside according to its thermostat, was 10C. Which is COLD for an Aussie. And though I pottered around and had lunch after that, I was still hankering for a warm and filling drink, something which wasn't cocoa or tea or soup or coffee. So I made a warmshake (which is a hot/warm milkshake).

Bananaloaf Warmshake

(no actual banana-loaves were harmed in this experiment)

Ingredients:

• 100ml quick-oats
• 300ml milk
• 1-2 bananas (depending on size of bananas - I used 2 small ones)
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 whole cloves (because I didn't have any ground cloves; if you have ground cloves, add a pinch)
• sweetener to taste (optional -- depends on how ripe your bananas are)

Instructions:

1. Put the oats and the milk in a microwave-safe container and cook in microwave for 3-4 minutes, or until it just starts to boil over (that is, it hasn't boiled over yet, but it is nearly there). This isn't my carelessness, this is the test I use for cooking porridge, and since this is a super-milky porridge, I figured that would do.
2. Put the banana and the milk mixture and the spices into a tall milkshake-sized container and puree with a stick blender (or put into a conventional blender and puree with that)
3. Taste-test, and add sweetener if desired.
4. Drink and enjoy!

I call it a "bananaloaf" warmshake because the oats make it loaf-like, more filling, and probably better for you.

Stumbled across this on Pinterest, have already experimented with it, too.

Sugarless, Flourless, Three-ingredient Mug Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons of cocoa (NOT drink mix, just plain cocoa)

Instructions: Puree/blend/mix ingredients together in microwave-proof container, until it forms a thick batter. Scrape down the sides and even out the top of the batter. Microwave on high for 1 minute.

What you get is a moist chocolate pudding, really, rather than a cake. But yummy. Very nice with ice-cream, too (if one wishes to indulge).

The taste may vary a bit, depending on the ripeness and size of the banana.

Variant #1: as well as the cocoa, add a tablespoon of cinnamon. Also yummy.

I also want to try one using solely "Christmas spices" - cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves. But I haven't figured out the amounts yet.