Rum 'n' raisin banana 'ice cream'

Summer's not over yet!

This hybrid treat can help keep you both hot'n'cold (and a bit jolly).

Well, isn't this typical?
Over the last couple of weeks I've banged on endlessly about how 'winter is coming' and how 'it's time to start sleeping with a hot water bottle' and low and behold, we get into mid-September and mother nature decides to throw us a curve ball by clearing the skies and brightening the sun. I know what she's up to, her and her on-off boyfriend (global warming) are getting bored with their relationship and are trying to spice things up in order to make life more exciting. That's great for them, really it is, but we're all now faced with the problem of not knowing what the hell to wear when leaving the house. Sometimes it's blissfully warm but then suddenly gets cold, It may be a beautifully blue sky but with the off-chance of gale-force winds and don't even get me started whether or not it might rain (being England it definitely will but when and where... Ain't nobody got a clue!). Today I went out wearing denim shorts, converse trainers, an over-sized jumper and a Parker. It was like a less sexy, alternative, male version of Daisy Duke. It was in no way fair to subject the public to this.


So whilst the weather makes up it's mind about what season it wants to be in, I thought it best to stop complaining about the unexpected sunshine (however temperamental it may be) and whip some very nostalgic 'ice cream'. Now, whilst it may seem that by indulging in this frozen treat i'm rebelling against autumn all together, I can assure you, I have not lost my mind.
When I was little, every year my family would spend a good portion of summer in Devon visiting my grandparents. They both used to work at a tiny "theme park" (and I use that term lightly) aimed at young children. The rides consisted of merry-go-rounds, bumper boats and a set of pig shaped carriages that traversed a circular track so slowly, I believe they may have been powered by mice. My nanny worked in a confectionery shop and would always give us extra scoops of proper Devonshire ice cream which if you haven't ever tried, do so, now.  Whilst I always opted for honey-comb flavor, mum stuck to what she held dear and always ordered rum and raisin.

Three ingredients, dairy free and vegan friendly.

At the time, I thought that rum and raisins mixed into ice cream sounded horrible but now in my new 'adult' way of thinking I completely understand where my mum was coming from. You see, Devon too often has a lot of temperamental weather with summer being its most confusing time. Just think of summer as Devon's puberty period - all transformation and mood. So by having an ice cream flavor that had all the comfort of warming rum but was still at the same time refreshingly cold, my mum was actually prepared for whatever turn the weather might have taken. Pretty smart eh? Or thinking about it, she may have just liked rum. She still does now actually, she likes it a lot. Yeah, I think mum just likes rum.

Ingredients: 

1 large, chopped up and frozen banana
1/2 tsp natural rum flavoring (or for adults, 1/2-1 tsp of actual rum - I won't tell even if you use more)
1-2 tbsp raisins (I used a mixed pack for some variation in color and flavor)

Instruction:

Place the frozen banana chunks into a blender or food processor and pulse it a few times to break it up.
Add in the rum/rum flavoring and blend the mixture up until it is smooth and creamy. It should have the texture of soft-serve ice cream.
Stir in your raisins, dish up and find a private spot either outside in the sunny garden or curled up in a squishy armchair to indulge in your frozen fruity booze bowl.
Tip: This is a small serve for one as a snack but if you wanted this for breakfast for example (I don't judge), I would recommend using at least two bananas and topping with granola *salivates*.

I ate mine in the conservatory because the weather did not know what to do with itself.