It’s summertime hot in Houston, and what could be better in hot weather than cool, creamy ice cream?  We love our homemade REAL ice cream, and one of our favorites (maybe number 1) is peach.  There are many ways to make real ice cream [see my post REAL Vanilla Ice Cream], but if you want ice cream right away, this is a super delicious AND super fast way to satisfy your wish for a cool, sweet treat.  And don’t feel guilty while eating it because Real ice cream is not only delicious, it is actually a healthy and nutritious Real Food!

This ice cream really can be made in 15 minutes, including blender cleanup, but you will need to have one ingredient already prepared–frozen sliced peaches.  Peaches are seasonal so when local or organic peaches are available, I buy a lot.  Wash, slice, and freeze the peaches.  BTW, I don’t peel them.

To make (almost) instant ice cream, you will also need one key kitchen appliance–a super powerful blender.  We use a Blendtec.  I don’t know if a Vita-mix or other blender can do this, but if you know of one, please leave us a note in the comments.

Here’s how to make (almost) instant ice cream:

Ingredients

1 cup raw cream (I get mine from a local licensed raw milk dairy)
2-1/2 cups frozen sliced peaches (these were local, otherwise use organic)
1/3 to 1/2 cup organic maple syrup, depending on the sweetness of the peaches (I use Shady Maple)
1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla (I use Frontier)
2-3 ice cubes (about 1/2 cup)

Preparation

Put the ingredients in the order listed into the Blendtec and push the Ice Cream button.  Usually the ice cream will be ready in 2 minutes or less.  Sometimes a cavitation will occur before the ice cream is well blended.  If it does, just turn off the blender, open the top, and stir to collapse the air pocket.  Push the Ice Cream button again.  The ice cream should be ready in a few more seconds.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

When the ice cream is all gone, which doesn’t take long at our house, rinse the blender briefly, add a drop of dish soap and a little hot water.  Pulse the blender several times.  Then rinse.  Cleanup shouldn’t take more than another minute.  I’ve learned to hold a piece of paper towel over the air hole in the lid, otherwise, soapy water may spray out.  Don’t stop up the air hole too tightly or the pressure inside will cause the lip to pop and even more soapy water will spray out.  If you wonder how I know this, it’s because I’ve learned the hard way!

The whole thing should be done in 15 minutes or less, unless it takes your family longer to eat all of the ice cream.

This ice cream is soft serve, which we like, but if you prefer your ice cream hard, put it in the freezer for an hour or longer.  Of course, hard ice cream will not be ready in 15 minutes but will still be delicious.  We rarely have leftovers, but if you have any, they can be stored in the freezer.

This particular batch of peach ice cream was made with peaches from our local farmers market.  Our peach ice cream is always delicious, but these peaches were especially sweet and juicy and made the best peach ice cream ever!

I’m sure you noticed that I eat my ice cream in my favorite owl bowl.

For sources of Real Food, see my Resources page!

This post is shared on Real Food Wednesday and Fat Tuesday.