Here’s how I’m taking my whiskey this St. Patrick’s Day: in homemade vegan chocolate ice cream, with a little kick of orange for good measure. That’s so me I’m making myself laugh, but whatever, me! It tastes like those little whiskey-filled chocolates in ice cream form…mmmm…and takes the edge off nicely, too. I’ll be finding pots of gold in no time.

When I started brainstorming about St. Patrick’s Day recipes, I was mad at myself because everything I wanted to make involved alcohol. Yo dawg, that’s racist, I feared. So I consulted my only most trusted sources: my mom, my boyfriend, and the internet, all of which are at least half Irish. The concensus is that everyone’s down with St. Patrick’s Day being a boozy good time, including actual Irish people in Ireland. So if you’re like me, consumed by liberal guilt when you even think of a stereotype, this is good news. We can relax, queue up some Dropkick Murphys and kick back a Guinness and a shot. Or have a bowl of spiked vegan ice cream.

Incidentally, I’m plenty Irish myself. In a plot twist, the verifiably Irish side of my family were anti-drinking, anti-dancing, anti-card playing Protestants, although I have heard fragments about a great-great grandmother who smoked a corn cob pipe.

So how healthy is this ice cream? Not very, but how healthy is whiskey? Also not very, but they’re both fun to treat yourself to on St. Patrick’s Day. And actually, it could be a lot worse. Vegan, no cholesterol, fairly high in fiber and protein – you don’t see these qualities in most school lunches, let alone whiskey-flavored chocolate ice cream. The magic ingredient is tofu, which gets kidded a lot but makes a great base for creamy desserts.

Did you notice the bottle of Jack lurking in my pics? I know, sacrilege, but wait. On St. Patrick’s Day everything’s Irish, including Jack Daniels. And speaking of whiskey, if you’re hardcore leave out the orange flavoring.

Dark Chocolate, Whiskey and Orange Ice Cream

makes 4 cups

12 oz. extra-firm tofu

2 cups soymilk

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup + 1-2 Tbs Dutch or dark cocoa (or regular cocoa, but then it won’t be dark chocolate)

3-4 Tbs whiskey

1 tsp vanilla

1/2-1 tsp orange extract

1/4 tsp salt

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until everything’s smooth and creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to process until you have a uniform, smooth liquid. Taste it and see if you want to add more of anything. When you have it just like you want it, transfer it to a plastic container and put it in the fridge for a few hours before churning it in an electric ice cream maker. Or, try one of David Lebovitz’s methods for making ice cream without a machine. I’ve yet to try any of them, but David Lebovitz.

2. One you have it churned somehow, enjoy it soft-serve or let it chill for an hour or so in the freezer so you can make firm scoops. It gets really hard after it’s been in the freezer for several hours or a day, so pop it into the microwave briefly to soften it up and scoop more.

NUTRITION

Per serving, about 138g: 241 calories (150 calories from fat); 16.7g fat (26%)(2.2g sat, 0.0g trans); 0mg cholesterol (0%); 184mg sodium (8%); 17.1g carbohydrates (6%); 2.8g fiber (11%); 7.3g protein; Vitamin A 0%; Calcium 10%; Vitamin C 0%; Iron 9%, Potassium 4%