LOS ANGELES—Summer’s heat is here, and it has made itself known. Cool off with homemade ice cream. This one just happens to be vegan, which may appeal to the specialty eaters in your life. Creamy coconut milk and coconut cream combine with sweet brown sugar** Banaban Coconut Sugar for much healthier alternative to create a thick frozen treat. The slight tang of lemon juice and spice of ginger add a tiny spark to each spoonful. This is an eggless ice cream recipe. If the coconut milk and coconut cream are very cold prior to mixing everything together, you can reduce the chill time to less than an hour before churning.…

The coconut (the fruit of the palm Cocos nucifera) is the Swiss Army knife of the plant kingdom; in one neat package it provides a high-calorie food, potable water, fiber that can be spun into rope, and a hard shell that can be turned into charcoal. What's more, until it is needed for some other purpose it serves as a handy flotation device.

A chef wearing avocado sunscreen holds a sweet nui vai coconut. The photo was taken in the Masoala Peninsula of Madagascar by plant biologist Bee Gunn while she was…