Spring is on the way, which means it's time the gardeners of the northern hemisphere start thinking: strawberries? Strawberries! Definitely strawberries.

In the spirit of spring time and the glory of California's central valley, here's a recipe for strawberry ice cream. I apologize in advance for publishing a recipe that requires a specialized kitchen gadget; I absolutely hate when a perfectly wonderful recipe for cake asks for a stand mixer. I've yet to meet an alternative ice cream mixing method that works as well as the specialized gadget, however, so this is the recipe you get.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1½ - 2 cups strawberries (fresh or frozen and thawed)
2 cups coconut milk (about 1 can)
1 cup almond milk or Mimic Cream
¾ cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Slice one cup of the strawberries in to small chunks and set aside.

Combine the remaining strawberries, coconut milk, almond milk, guar gum, vanilla and sugar together in a blender and puree. 

Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions; I find that mine takes about 30 minutes.

Add sliced strawberries in the last five minutes of freezing.

Scoop in to vessel of your choice and freeze.