An unwelcome heat wave has hit Los Angeles. Well, I don’t welcome it. Maybe people who’ve never lived anywhere else enjoy 100 degree heat in mid-October and welcome it with open arms. I, however, do not. It’s not like I expected to bust out the winter coat any time soon…but I was tricked. The same way the weather here always tricks me, and I fall for it every year. It got chilly last week. It even…gasp!…rained! And, of course, some naïve little part of me hoped the cooler temperatures would stick around, even though I know the ugly truth is that I’ll be picking out my Christmas tree in shorts and a t-shirt.
'Tis the season.
I’m from Alabama, where it’s currently a balmy 78 degrees. So it’s not as if I grew up in a climate that experiences a chilly fall – September can be one of the hottest months in the south. I’m really not sure where this expectation of mine comes from. I loved back-to-school shopping, bringing home bags of new sweaters and cords and jeans and boots that I couldn’t wait to wear…which, of course, ended up begrudgingly shoved to the back of my closet until mid-November. Hell, I still do the same thing now. I’ve been eyeing a pair of UGG Cardies for weeks. Maybe by the time it’s actually cool enough here to wear something like that, I’ll be able to find them on sale…
I’m doing my best to incorporate little pieces of my fall wardrobe anyway, just so it seems a little more like my fantasy idea of the Halloween season. It’s ridiculously cold in my office, so it’s easy to toss on a light cardigan or pashmina over short sleeves after I get to work… And at least that makes me feel a little fall-ish. The same goes in the kitchen; I still crave certain flavors at certain times of year, even if the weather refuses to cooperate. And right now, I still want pumpkin, even though it’s way too hot to bake a pie or enjoy pumpkin soup. But pumpkin ice cream…? I think that’ll work.
Unfortunately this one requires some hardware…so if you don’t have your own ice cream maker, find a friend who does.
Pecans make everything better.
Primal Pumpkin Pecan Ice Cream
2 cups Heavy Cream (or Coconut Milk for dairy-free)
2 eggs
1 cup Organic Canned Pumpkin
1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 & ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Ginger
¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Stevia Powder
2 tablespoons Organic Apple Butter (make sure the ingredients list nothing but apples and possibly apple juice concentrate)
½ cup Chopped Pecans (to be added at end of process)
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for the pecans and blend well with a hand mixer. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow your model’s instructions. My Cuisinart takes about 20 minutes to make a batch this size. During the last 5 minutes of the process, add the chopped pecans to the ice cream.
Slightly melty, totally yum.
Not adding any sugar to the mix will yield an ice cream with more of a “soft serve” texture. It also means that it can get hard when stored in the freezer. If it freezes too hard, just remove it and let it sit at room temperature for 20 or 30 minutes before serving. But for this reason, I prefer to serve it immediately.
I think there are many reasons to serve this ice cream immediately!
Total yum, Shannon–thanks! 
Stay cool!
Shirley
Shirley, you rock! I always love seeing a comment from you. Thanks, as always.
Looks good but what about the eggs not being cooked? Any issues there especially for my 2 and 4 yr olds.
John, that’s a great question ~ if making it for children I would try the cooked method, where you gently heat the eggs and cream to 160 degrees in a saucepan, until the custard mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Then you have to immediately chill the mixture completely before making the ice cream. You could also try leaving out the eggs altogether, but without any sugar in the recipe, I don’t know what it would do to the texture. I haven’t tried these alternate methods, but if you do please let me know how it turns out!
Mmm, looks great! I’ve had some good luck without an ice cream maker- I mix everything up in the food processor, stick the processor bowl in the freezer, and take it out & give it a whirl every hour until it’s ice cream. Kinda a pain, but not too bad.
That’s awesome, Jules ~ I’ve read alternate ways of making ice cream, but never tried it! I’m lazy and need machines to do my work…sooo primal of me, right?!
I have grown up and still live in Texas, and have never enjoyed fallish weather – not until mid-to-late October, anyway. And for us, fallish weather means highs in the 70s. But I too eye fall clothing and fall foods WAY before it’s cool enough to really enjoy either. Hence why this ice cream is so genius. It’s ice cream season year-round here in these parts!
This looks so good.
Yup, I’ve been to Texas, so I know exactly what you’re dealing with! We have to be a little more creative to get in the spirit.
I am freezing this right now! The mixture tasted divine—I cooked it out into a custard and added an ounce of dark rum to prevent it from freezing too hard—and I’m really looking forward to having some tomorrow. Thanks for the great recipe!