Today, I turned the big 3.2.

I’m not going to lie: it was a really good day. I work with the most magical students that I have ever had the good fortune of meeting; hugs and ‘happy birthday’s all. day.

The kicker? they are the most genuine, kindest, souls who truly mean it when they tell you that they are excited that it is your birthday.

With all that love, it’s hard NOT to have a good day.

Despite the fact that I have been sick for, going on, 9 days.

Even with the coughs and sniffles in the mix, all I did was smile. For the entire day.

Now that I am home, I am whipping up a batch of this Chunky Monkey “Ice Cream”, based off of my One-Ingredient “Ice Cream”. Delicious birthday dessert, here I come.

Thirty-second birthday? Beautifully successful.

Chunky Monkey “Ice Cream”

Ingredients
Very ripe bananas (I go with 4 per batch)
Chopped peanuts or skinned hazelnuts (small handful)
Chocolate chips (small handful)
Peanut butter chips (small handful)
Peanut butter, preferably natural (a few dollops)
Nutella, store-bought or homemade (a few dollops)

Directions
1. Slice the bananas into 1-inch pieces and freeze in an air-tight container overnight.
2. Transfer the banana pieces into the bowl of your food processor.
3. Process the bananas until they turn into a soft-serve-ice-cream consistency. You will have to stop occasionally and scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, to ensure that the bananas are staying in line. Don’t get frustrated; know that you’ll have to scrape a few times, but that your labour will be absolutely worth it.
4. Once you have achieved the smooth consistency, transfer it to an air-tight container (I just use the same one that I froze the bananas in), stir in the chopped nuts, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips, and swirl in the peanut butter and nutella (amounts and ratios to your liking). Freeze again until firm and enjoy! Alternately, you could serve it directly from the processor.

Recipe inspiration: Seeded at the Table

On a related note, only now did I realize that I have posted two back-to-back recipes whose titles contain the word “monkey”. Coincidence? yes. Odd that I hadn’t noticed the coincidence sooner? yes.

…now I am left thinking about how delish they’d be served alongside one another…*drools*.

Ohh, heyy, monkey squares.