rIce Cream

We got a new ice cream/sorbet maker and attempted to use it tonight. It is very hard to find any frozen treats that don't have at least one of the things we have to avoid - dairy, eggs, peanuts, soy.

The first recipe was a flop. It didn't freeze in the machine at all. It's been in the (refrigerator) freezer for 3+ hours now and is just now starting to get slushy. And it is _slushy_ and _grainy_. Not creamy at all. I guess I should't be surprised, though, as there was nothing resembling cream in it... We used 4.75 cups rice milk, 1 cup Droste cocoa powder, .5 cup turbinado, .5 cup brown sugar, 1 Tbsp maple syrup, 1 Tbsp vanilla. Upon reading the menus that came with the unit, this was pretty darn close to their recipe for chocolate sorbet, except they called for water instead of milk. But I don't think their recipe would have frozen either... Maybe it's the altitude. (I know that sounds silly, but really, a lot of cooking problems I run into, other people from home who come to visit seem to have, too.)

Any ideas how I can make it better next time? Someone suggested a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil so it will have some fat. Also, some of the recipes in the book call for boiling the ingredients on the stove first, then chilling in the fridge, then putting in the ice-cream maker.

Jeff also wants to try some with some kind of soaked, ground nuts (maybe almonds). Hmmm... I wonder if he can approximate BR's Jamocha Almond Fudge. If he could, that would make for one very happy pregnant wife!