Sweet and Crunchy Spiced Ice Cream Sundae

IT'S NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY.

Two holiday posts in a row?????? What the?

I confess, I have been indulging in more than my fair share of Mexican restaurant guacamole and Indian buffets and Mellow Mushroom pizza and awful Panera salads lately. Why? Because my oven is broken. Tragic, I know.

This explains the lack of posting lately. However, I was able to throw together this decadent dish just in time for National Ice Cream Day, which I was reminded of thanks to my NPR wall calendar.

This dish was perfectly sweet and refreshing, perfect for a summer night if you're feeling hot to trot. It's prettty simple but also unusual enough to impress the dude you met up at the bar tonight who, turns out, is into bikes too but has never read any Kurt Vonnegut for some reason. For example.

While he's gulping down the PBR you offered him, gather this stuff (it will serve 2):

soy ice cream - vanilla
1 peach
1 Cup pistachios, shelled and chopped (he can probably help with this part)
1 Cup cinnamon apple Cheerios (or other cinnamon-y vegan cereal)
1 Tbl pure maple syrup
1 Tbl Earth Balance
6 creme filled cookies (I used Newman's Own Ginger-O's. Not only are Ginger-O's vegan, they are also intelligently portioned, incredibly delicious and not-outrageously expensive at around $3 a pack)

So after he has finished shelling and chopping the pistachios, have the boy you picked up slice the peach up. Meanwhile, heat the maple syrup and Earth Balance in a small pan over medium low heat. Meanwhile, crush the Cheerios in a bowl with the end of a skinny glass (or you could throw them in a Ziplock bag and pound them with your fist or head). When your Earth Balance and maple syrup are completely melted and runny, throw the pistachios in and stir constantly - these will get sticky as hell pretty quick.

As soon as all the pistachios are evenly coated, stir in the crushed cereal. Stir for about a half minute and remove from heat.

Now it's time to build your ice cream! Hell yeah! Place three cookies on the bottom of your bowl, scoop 3 dollops (or heck if it's Saturday, why not FIVE?!) of vanilla ice cream on top. Lay the peach slices around the ice cream, then top with the pistachio-cereal mix. Garnish with cinnamon and enjoy with a spiked cup of coffee!

Here's to the holiday! Cheers!