Strawberry Chipotle Chili Ice Cream

How did I get the idea of combining strawberries and chilies in an ice cream?  Well, it all started with dinner Thursday night.  Scott and I were sitting at a Chinese restaurant after enjoying dinner when we were waiting for the bill to come.  I looked at the jar of hot chili peppers they had sitting on the table, and memories of childhood where my friend and I used to dare each other to eat them returned. So I dared him to try one of them.  I had enjoyed a few with dinner and they were pretty spicy, but I am the type that eats raw habaneros whole.  Finally he did, I give him a lot of credit for that one, as they were pretty spicy...I will just say he ended up downing a lot of water. Ok, so maybe that was a bit mean of me, but hot peppers are good for your health afterall! 

After that, I thought something refreshing and sweet might be nice, so I suggested we go buy some strawberries to enjoy while watching the sunset. It was a perfect night to be outside, even though it was about 90 degrees.  It was a great idea, and I couldn't have imagined anything I would have rather been doing.  Watching a beautiful sunset, and eating sweet strawberries with a cute guy, it was all pretty wonderful! 

When we were eating the strawberries, I was remembering the chilies from earlier in the evening and thinking it would be delicious to combine the two!  Afterall, I have combined chipotle and raspberries and it was rather delicious!  So yesterday when it was 100 degrees and I thought making ice cream sounded like a really good idea, I knew what flavor I wanted...strawberry chipotle chili! 

It was delicious, like fire and ice the cool sweet strawberry ice cream with a slight afterburn.  The strawberries went just as well with the chipotles as the raspberries had, and in fact, I have decided that this ice cream would make a wonderful alcoholic drink if it were blended with a bit of tequila for an adult shake!  If you like a bit of a kick, then you must give this ice cream a try!

Strawberry Chipotle Chili Ice Cream 

Makes 5 cups

Ice Cream:

3 cups organic full fat coconut milk, chilled

1 1/2 cup strawberries, quartered 

3/4 cup agave nectar

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp dried chipotle powder

1 Tbsp red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients except pepper flakes in a blender, and process until well blended.  Stir in pepper flakes, and pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to package directions (mine takes about an hour, and is still a little soupy like the consistency of a malt, but firms up in the freezer later). Once processed, pour into freezable container with a lid, and place in the freezer for at least a few hours, or overnight to firm up for best results.