One reason to buy a new blender: Vegan avocado "iced cream"

You might not be aware of this, gentle reader, but the Nervous Kitchen is laughably small. Actually, allow me to correct that: It's not laughably small, it's a swearing-tirade-of-dropped-dishes-and-precariously-balanced-mis-en-place small.

The standard string of expletives that come out of my mouth while I'm trying to prepare even the simplest of dinners is indicative of how blessedly little space there is in this festering hell-hole of a Manhattan "kitchen" cubby. Many a just-finished pizza has slid onto the linoleum due to a lack of counter space; glasses of water placed on top of the refrigerator out of necessity "just for a second" have come splashing down on an already-frustrated Nervous Cook's head; countless pieces of cheap plastic storage container or appliance have melted from being rested to dry on top of the always-absurdly-hot gas stove.

One of those misfortunate appliances, friends, happens to have been my beloved Ninja Master food processor, sadly left just long enough on the range to warp completely beyond recognition.

Fine, I angrily attempted to console myself. I don't need a stupid food processor anyway. I can mash potatoes with a masher, I can chop herbs by hand, and we'll just eat chunky soups instead of pureed ones for the rest of eternity for all I care.

And then I found this recipe for vegan "iced cream' bars made from avocado and cocoa powder, and everything changed.

Suffice it to say it's now summer, and I am the proud new owner of a Cuisinart 4-cup mini-prep plus food processor. Yes, I did just buy it so I could make this recipe, and no, I don't regret it for one hot second. You wouldn't, either, if you were sitting here eating chocolate "iced cream" like I am.

It almost makes the kitchen seem big enough. (Almost.)

I decided to make just the iced-cream base instead of the bars because, frankly, I prefer eating out of a dish to having melty things drip down my forearm. I also made a much smaller batch of the recipe than is originally called for, because there are only two of us and for Pete's sake we don't need all that much in the way of iced cream. The ginger was a last-minute decision: I just really like ginger in chocolate things.

Gently adapted from Veggie Wedgie

1 ripe avocado 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tsp ground ginger 2 tbs agave syrup 2 tbs water

Blend ingredients until smooth. Scoop or pour into molds or cups, and freeze for at least eight hours. Serve topped with fresh berries, or whipped cream if you want to unveganize the stuff.