Tag Archives: Tokyo

Summer Time is Avocado Ice Cream Time!

Avocado Ice Cream


It’s summer time already here in Tokyo! It’s quite late actually and we even thought it would not come. But then, here it is now!

I have a love/hate relationship with the summer season.

I hate it because of its sizzling heat. Tokyo can become extremely hot. It could feel like being in an oven…and I am not exaggerating! It’s quite humid too, so wearing makeup is absolutely a struggle. And currently, because of COVID-19, summer has become more difficult because of the mask. We wear masks here whenever we’re outside and even inside the school. It is really a bummer because wearing one makes it hard to breathe while walking especially in this sweltering heat. But hey, it’s better to wear a mask than be infected with the coronavirus, right?

Anyway, going back to summer…

I love summer because I don’t have to wear layers of clothing so getting ready in the morning is such a breeze.

Secondly, I love summer because I love the sound of the cicadas in the trees. I know that this may sound weird but the cicadas’ sound makes me happy. It gives me comfort. When I hear them, their sound is like telling me that everything will be alright. Strange, huh? My hair stylist, who is Japanese, finds it really strange and she said that I’m the first person she encountered who loves hearing the cicadas. Hahaha! She thinks that they’re too noisy!

Then lastly, another thing I love about summer is that I can give myself an excuse to eat ice cream. You know, the it’s-very-hot-so-it’s-just-right-to-eat-ice cream-now! reason. I am on a diet so I don’t usually eat ice cream not unless I really crave for it. But summer time is ice cream time! Yay!

For today, I will share with you my recipe for avocado ice cream. It’s simple, creamy, healthy and very delicious. I love avocados. I grew up watching my Aunt Barbara while she made avocado with milk for snacks. She would mix the avocado, evaporated milk and sugar then put the mixture in the fridge. It was a very healthy snack. 

So how did I come up with this avocado ice cream idea?

One summer week, I have to introduce avocados to kids in my class and I needed to come up with an avocado recipe that they would love to eat. We would then make the recipe all together so they would remember and really learn what an avocado is. That is one of my teaching techniques, by the way. I call it the “Involve Me and I Learn Technique”.

I didn’t consider the simple avocado recipe that I learned from my Aunt Barbara because there were avocado chunks in the mixture which my 2-3 year old kids had to chew in class. And for this age group, chewing is a daunting task. They usually just swallow what they eat. Besides, when I asked them what they wanted to make, they just blurted out, “ice cream!” So ice cream it is.

Finally, after much googling, I found this recipe in the internet and we have been making it in my class for two years now and I have been making it at home every week for two summers now. 

This ice cream recipe only needs 3 ingredients! Without further ado, here’s the recipe…Enjoy!!!

3-Ingredient Avocado Ice Cream

  • 2 large ripe avocados (or 3 small ripe avocados)
  • 200 ml condensed milk
  • 200 ml heavy cream
  1. In a food processor (you can also use a blender), add peeled avocados and condensed milk.
  2. Mix them on high speed until it forms into a smooth mixture. Make sure that the mixture does not have chunks of avocado.
  3. Put the mixture in a mixing bowl.
  4. Add the heavy cream and mix well.
  5. Transfer the mixture into a glass container or ice cream molder and put it in the freezer.
  6. Freeze the ice cream for at least 8 hours or preferably overnight.
  7. Enjoy this creamy and delicious avocado ice cream!!!

Finally…

  • Even Shibuya’s Hachiko can now be seen wearing a mask

Finally, the long-awaited State of Emergency has been declared in Tokyo and several other prefectures last Tuesday, April 7, 2020.

Don’t get me wrong. I was waiting for this not because I don’t want to work because honestly, I do! I love seeing the cute faces of my little students and I always look forward to their antics and learning moments each day. So why was I waiting for that declaration? With the rising coronavirus cases here in Tokyo, being outside (especially in a very packed train) has become very scary for me. For the past two weeks, the Governor of Tokyo has already asked Tokyoites to stay in their homes during the weekend. Fine. Most people followed the request. The usual busy streets of Shibuya, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro among others were unusually quiet. But then comes Monday. Crowded stations. Jam packed trains. What is the use of being at home the entire weekend when you will be in a crowded train the next Monday, right?

  • Yes, before the declaration of the State of Emergency, trains in Tokyo were still this crowded in spite of the coronavirus pandemic.

I know I’m being paranoid, but we all know that this virus can be passed on easily if people are standing close to each other which is exactly the scenario in a train every single workday morning.

Just imagine how scared I would be the moment I’d step inside. I would be looking around, suspicious of everyone around me because they might be virus carriers already. It’s like watching the horror movie, The Nun, in a scene where the girl was walking along the dark hallway with a candle in hand and she didn’t know that the demon nun was already behind her. She felt it but she didn’t know where it was because she couldn’t see it. It’s the same when I’m inside a packed train these days. I know that the virus is there somewhere but I just don’t know where it is. And that scares the hell out of me.

What kept me sane throughout my train ride from Kita-Senju to Ikebukuro though is the fact that when I’d look around, everyone (well except for a handful of stubborn people) would be wearing masks. Then once inside the train, people would be very quiet that you would hear even the slightest sound coming from a plastic bag.

“This scenario reduces the chances of saliva or any kinds of fluid from flying or dropping on any surface.”, said me to myself.

Yes, talking to myself and telling this to myself can calm my nerves. Plus, I have already mastered the art of standing (or sometimes sleeping!) in a moving train without touching anything and with my hands inside the pockets of my jacket. Well, I still sometimes wonder until now how I do it.

The declaration of the State of Emergency is indeed a welcome respite for me and for some others who are also paranoid like me— a respite from all the anxiety, fear and paranoia of the unknown and of the invisible nemesis. I just hope that this COVID-19 pandemic will end soon.