Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Yesterday, in the produce section Jazzy caught her eye on the coconuts for the first time. I had known nothing about what to do with a whole coconut or even how to open it...Yet, I got the idea that leaving the store without one would have been more trouble then letting the little bark-like hair ball take a ride in our shopping cart. The only thing I am familar with about using coconut, is the preshredded sweetened kind that you can find in the baking isle. I figured there wasnt a chance in me trying to recreate shredded coconut to use in anything, so I made sure to grab a couple cans of coconut milk on our way out. Sure enough the canned coconut milk was a good idea, because once we figured out how to drain the milk out of the actual coconut, which involved a screwdriver (no fancy ice picks here),we only got about 1/2 cup of liquid. We picked around and ate bits of the inside for a while, when I got the idea I wanted to try making coconut milk icecream! So, the little dude wasnt a waste afterall...it put a smile on a kids face and inspired an idea!
I don't have an ice cream machine and I have been trying to refrain from buying so many gadgets that I only use once, so I had to do this the poor-mans way.

Making Ice Cream the Poor-mans Way:
1. Prepare your ice cream mixture in a stainless steel bowl or freezer durable container. If ingredients aren't already chilled, place bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice, when mixing ingredients. You want the mixture chilled before placing in the freezer to prevent so many ice-crystals that will form
2. Place in freezer and check on it every 30 to 45 mins, stirring if hardenend mixture is forming near the edges of bowl. You can mix it with a rubber spatula, but as it thickens more, you might want to use a electric hand mixer.
3. Keep checking at least once every hour and stirring while it freezes (by hand or with the electric mixer) until the ice cream is frozen. It can take 2-3 hours until finished.
4. Be sure to store ice cream in a container w/lid until gone.

Coconut Ice Cream Base: