I like real food. Real, fresh, honest-to-goodness food, made from whole ingredients (meaning few-to-zero additives), requiring simple preparation. It’s for this reason that I have been avoidant of dairy-free ice creams. It is called ice cream after all, and I have been of the opinion that it should therefore consist of cream, milk, eggs, sugar and not much else.

But this, my friends…whoa. This ice cream is different. Made from rich, creamy coconut milk (absolutely a whole, fresh food), and just a few other natural ingredients, then whipped and heated into a thick custard (as per most of my dairy ice cream recipes) and churned to thick, sweet decadence in an ice cream-maker, this is one real food. Top with fresh fruit (try mango or raspberries and fresh lime), warm chocolate sauce or eat plain.

Note: Do not use lite coconut milk in this recipe.

• ingredients
• 4 egg yolks $1.50 for 12 eggs
• 1/3 cup sugar Pantry
• 2 15-oz. cans (full-fat) coconut milk $3
• 2 tsp. vanilla $4 for 4 oz.
• 1/2 tsp salt Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $8.50

Directions

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Whisk in the coconut milk. Transfer to a medium pot.

Over medium heat, whisk the coconut milk mixture until thick and hot (but not boiling), about 8 minutes. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in vanilla and salt. Chill until very cold (about 45 minutes).

Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve immediately (as a soft frozen custard) or freeze until hard enough to scoop (at least 2 hours).

Makes about 4 cups of ice cream.

This easy recipe is a great way to get the taste of fresh sausage at home without having to bother with casings. By grinding the meat yourself in a food processor, you get meat that stays juicy and flavorful during cooking while still containing minimal fat. I like these on crusty french rolls, but feel free to shape the meat into burgers and serve on hamburger buns or even toasted bread.

• ingredients
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts $6.50
• 1 small onion, diced $0.50
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed Pantry
• 1/2 mango, peeled and chopped $1.50 for a whole mango
• 1/4 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs $2 for 10 oz.
• 1 tsp ground cumin $1.50 for 1 oz.
• 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped $1 for a bunch
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper Pantry
• olive oil for brushing grill or pan Pantry
• 4 sausage or hoagie rolls $2.50 for 8
• 1 avocado, gently smashed $1.50

Total Cost of Ingredients $17

Directions

In a food processor, pulse chicken until ground (6-8 times). Add onion, garlic, mango, bread crumbs, cumin, salt and pepper and process until well-combined, about 30 seconds. Shape mixture into 4 patties that mimic the shape of the buns.

Brush a grill or heavy frying pan lightly with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Cook the sausages, working in batches if necessary, until no longer pink in the center (about 5 minutes on each side).

To assemble the rolls, split each roll lengthwise and smear both sides of the inside bread with avocado. Place a sausage in each roll and top with tomato, onions or more cilantro, if desired. Serve.

Makes 4 sausage sandwiches.

I had two of my favorite men over for lunch today: Todd Smith, co-founder of Stunner of the Month, a brilliant monthly sunglasses delivery service (For just $9/month, you get a stylish pair of stunners in the mail. They actually use an algorithm to choose a perfect pair just for you—it rocks.) and Stuart Schuffman, AKA Broke-Ass Stuart, budget travel writer extraordinaire and star of the forthcoming IFC show, Young, Broke and Beautiful (it premiers on Friday at 11/10C, yo— tell your friends).

I whipped up one of my favorite light summertime soups, picked up a fresh baguette from Urban Bread and iced down a few cold Sam Summers. Still, it didn’t quite seem like enough food. A cheese plate, I decided, would round out the meal.

I scavenged through my pantry and fridge and decided on some leftover Curried Apricot Cheese Spread, dried apricots, Marcona almonds, mozzarella di bufala, fresh raspberries, aged Parmesan, sliced prosciutto and a little pot of honey. I arranged it all on a raw wood cutting board and let the boys slice their own chunks of bread to scoop up the goodies with. It was lovely…and it got me thinking about cheese plates.

You see, a truly good cheese plate is more involved than setting out a hunk of cheddar and a few Ritz crackers, but not much. The trick is to offer a variety of flavors and textures (salty, creamy, sweet, savory, crunchy), which can be easily accomplished by augmenting the plate beyond cheese and bread/crackers. Add nuts, chopped fruit (fresh or dried), honey and/or meats. Spread it all on a nice serving platter or wooden cutting board, add bread and/or crackers and let guests serve themselves. See below for some of my favorites, but feel free to let your creativity guide you.

Cheeses
aged white cheddar
creamy goat cheese
triple creme (such as brie)
smoked gouda
boucheron
gorgonzola dolce
stilton
mozzarella di buffala
aged Parmesan

Fruits
raspberries
green/red grapes
blueberries
strawberries
sliced white peaches
sliced green apples
dried apricots
dried currants
dried cranberries
dried mango

Meats
sliced salami
sliced prosciutto
sliced Black Forrest ham,
sliced coppa

Nuts
roasted hazelnuts
smoked almonds
roasted marcona almonds
sweet glazed pecans
raw almonds

Sweets
chunks of dark chocolate
honey in a little pot
real maple syrup

Breads
toasted pita triangles
sliced baguette
melba toast
thick wheat crackers
golden butter crackers
savory shortbread rounds

What do you like to put on your cheese plate?

Last week, while I was in Boston, I had dinner with my college friend Gabe in Cambridge at a cute Harvard Square gastropub called, in true Boston spirit, Tory Row. We washed a number of tasty small plates down with delicious microbrewed ales, my favorite of which was a strikingly simple, yet impossible-to-stop-eating curried apricot cheese spread. I vowed to recreate it upon returning home and found, upon puttering around in my kitchen, that it is actually quite easy to make.

Note: If you opt to use fresh apricots, use only about 3 instead of 8 dried ones, and eat the spread immediately.

• ingredients
• 8 oz. cream cheese $2.50
• 1/2 tsp curry powder $1.50 for 1 oz.
• about 8 dried apricots, chopped finely $1.50 (buy in the bulk section)
• pinch of salt Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $5.50

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulse until mixture is creamy and a pale orange color.

Serve with sliced baguette, crackers, vegetable and/or fruit slices.

Makes about 1 cup of cheese spread.

My refusal to eat peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches is just one of the many ways in which I was a difficult child. (You’ll have to ask Ouisue and Larry about my insistence on wearing fancy, Royal Wedding-esque hats to kindergarten, as well as my tendency to describe my beverage requests in great detail (“I want a glass of something that is cold, white and comes from a cow…”).

That is not to say I forwent all peanut butter-based sandwiches. No, I was a peanut-butter-and-honey girl. On toasted wheat bread, crusts intact, please (hello, they’re the whole point of the sandwich). So, when my friends at Project Open Hand (a fantastic non-profit dedicated to providing healthy meals for those who cannot afford them or are too sick to cook for themselves) let me know that they created their own gourmet peanut butter, the proceeds of which go towards a wonderful cause (for every $4 tub of peanut butter, Project Open Hand feed one person), I knew I had to make peanut butter ice cream with honey. Everyone combines peanut butter with chocolate or fruit, but not me (I’m difficult, remember?).

And then I remembered my friends at my all-time favorite food non-profit, Time at the Table recently sent me some gorgeous handcrafted vanilla, the proceeds of which benefit Time at the Table’s mission to get families eating healthy, homemade meals together. I decided I would make ice cream with a cause (er, a few causes).

This no-cook ice cream was easy (not to mention perfect for the San Francisco heat wave we’re experiencing right now), and bottom-of-the-bowl-scraping-ly good. Serve with an extra drizzle of honey.

Note: To order Time at the Table’s vanilla, click here. If you live in the Bay Area, you can look for Project Open Hand’s peanut butter at your local Whole Foods.

• ingredients
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter Pantry
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar Pantry
• 2 cups (1 pint) half-and-half $1.50
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract $4 for 4 oz.
• 1/4 cup honey Pantry

Total Cost of Ingredients $5.50

Directions

Beat together the peanut butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Pour in the half-and-half and vanilla and beat for about 3 minutes, until sugar is dissolved and mixture is very creamy.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions. Once custard has set, drizzle in ice cream with the machine running to create ribbons of honey throughout the peanut butter ice cream.

Serve immediately (as a soft custard) or freeze until hard enough to scoop.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups ice cream.