Banana Ice Creamish

This summer, I've noticed two culinary trends of mine:

1. Almost every day I've damned my lack of ice cream maker.

2. I've come to really appreciate the banana.

So when I read about making ice cream with just a frozen banana and no ice cream maker on The Kitchn I knew I had to try it. They claimed that whipping up a frozen banana in a blender or food processor would create a rich, creamy consistency that felt like you were eating ice cream. But are they big fat liars?

Yes and no. With trepidation I plopped the chunks of frozen banana in my blender with a dollop of honey and pressed "blend." It didn't seem to be working at first, but after a few rounds of blending and rearranging, it did indeed suddenly transform into a creamy consistency. My first issue with it was that I have no idea how they got their banana to look like it does in the picture, all nice and firm. Mine looked far more like a custard. But, since it was just me, I decided not to get too caught up on presentation. The real question I cared about was, well how does this Banana Ice Creamish taste?

It tastes like a frozen banana with honey. To call this any kind of version of banana ice cream would be like claiming a strawberry pie and a strawberry smoothie is essentially the same thing. However, with that being said, it was pretty damn good. And it did have to be eaten with a spoon and chewed, which separates it from a Banana Smoothieish. It was really refreshing and tasty and definitely satisfied my craving for frozen dessert.

Other perks?

• It took about 2 minutes to make.
• If anyone has any dietary concerns, either by choice or allergy, this is one of the simplest and most healthy desserts you can get away with. You don't even need to add the honey. (May I also suggest frozen grapes. What is it about those things that make them so damn good?)
• It's freaking cheap. Granted that I was living in NYC this summer, but everytime I got ice cream it seemed like a splurge. $8 to get it at the store? $3.50 to get a scoop? This costs roughly twenty-five cents for a serving. Just try and beat that.

So, for this last month or so of hot weather, I suggest you try this out.