Strawberry Coconut Ice Cream

Last weekend, I went to a strawberry farm with Neal's mom and sister to pick our own strawberries. I kept driving by the farm and wanted to stop in and see what it was like and finally got the opportunity to go. It was so much fun! Rows upon rows of fresh, huge ripe strawberries that were calling to us to be picked and eaten! I started filling up my basket and before I knew it, I had collected almost 5 pounds of strawberries! Ha. Whoops.. I knew they wouldn't last more than a few days, so after eating them fresh by the handful with almost every meal, I dug up a few recipes to use up the rest of them. I've made strawberry ice cream once before and it turned out amazing and so creamy, but this time I tweaked the recipe a bit and added in coconut milk and shredded coconut for more of a Hawaiian type flavor... and it was awesome! There was a very subtle hint of coconut in every bite and it mixed perfectly with the chunks of strawberries and creamy texture of the homemade ice cream. If you're looking into buying a new appliance for the summer, I cannot say enough good things about the Cuisinart electric ice cream machine! It is so easy and only takes about 15-20 minutes to make just about anything frozen you want. I've made slushies, frozen yogurt and ice cream - next on the list is a fresh fruit sorbet. Mmm... Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped into small pieces
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

In a mixer, or using a wire whisk, mix the coconut milk, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl until sugar is dissolved. Pulse strawberries in a food processor or blender until mostly pureed. This is based on personal preference - if you like chunky pieces of strawberries, don't pulse for as long. Stir in the pureed strawberries and vanilla. Add in the whipping cream and coconut, stirring to combine. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight. Freeze according to the directions on your ice cream machine. Ice cream will be very soft, so if you prefer it to be harder, transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze for another 2-3 hours or until hardened.