The Warmest time of the Year
I have wondered many times, how is it that when it is freezing, deep in the winter, I yearn for the warmth and sunlight of summer, and when it is summer I long for the weather to cool down, the sun to hide and chilling air to caress me and pull me to its cold embrace. Perhaps we are fundamentally flawed, designed in a way to wish for what is ever out of our reach. Since mama nature does not abide to our wishes, during the warmest periods of summer I always turn to the next best thing: Frozen fruit treats. Little pieces of refreshing ice cold bites, amidst the long, messy and sweaty hours of summer, frozen fruit treats are a true god send. Arguably the most enjoyable meal of the day, I have never regretted a single calorie I consumed when tasting them.
Even though the long summer of 2017 is nearing its end, depending on where you live, summer’s enduring gaze might still be piercing you relentlessly. You need not worry. This article is going to give you everything you need to get you through the warmest of days, by providing you with the absolute best frozen fruit treats for you to try. They are presented in no particular order: All of them are equally exquisite, delicious and rich in taste.
Frozen Pineapple Whip
Pineapple is a tropic fruit found in a great many cuisines. It is an astounding source of manganese and vitamin C. Moreover, it contains bromelain, which is currently researched for its positive correlations with various of health benefits. For this recipe you’re going to need merely one cup of frozen pineapple – but regular consumption of the fruit is encouraged, and judging by how much you will love the end result, you might want to get a tad bit more.
Our second ingredient is half a cup of unsweetened almond milk. We prefer unsweetened because you do not need any unnecessary, added sugars and we choose almond for its subtler taste, vegan friendly profile and various health benefits.
You will put these two together in a blender and mix them up until it gets creamy – you could also optionally add a shredded coconut in your mix for richer taste. After it gets creamy enough, you can serve in a bowl. Delicious and healthy. Voila.
Yogurt Fruit Bites
As health conscious people we are all aware that low fat Greek yogurt is an amazing source of protein that can nicely fit in along with our other carb-y favorite treats to make for a more balanced and complete meal. We’re basically going to dip our favorite fruit in it and freeze it, to create an ice-cream like sweet – that is NOT ice cream but instead, is packed with macro and micro nutrients rarely found in commercial sweets.
We start with buying some Greek yogurt – we recommend you buy the biggest container available, to save you trips to the market for more after you’ve tasted it. We will then pick our favorite fruit: We tried this with sliced banana and strawberries, and we loved it.
We are then going to use a small spoon to dip all our pieces of fruit inside the yogurt, making sure they are well covered and then place our dish for roughly an hour in the freezer, during which the yogurt will harden around the frozen fruit.
Watermelon Granita
We are going to need to do a bit more work for this to go well, but it is well worth-it. Our basis will be watermelon, so make sure you get a suitable portion depending on how much you want to serve – aim for at least two cups of diced watermelon. Lime juice adds a much richer taste, so make sure you squeeze three to four limes to get it. While you are there, you might want to keep some lime edges to add to your granita at the end.
We are then going to combine our ingredients in a blender and mix them up until they are smooth. Next step is pouring our mixture through a mesh strainer, discarding the remaining pulp away, and adding it to a freezer.
We will let it lie there for two hours. After, we will scrape up any formed ice crystals. And we will repeat the process again every thirty minutes or so, until two more hours have passed. Afterwards, our treat is ready to serve. You can use even these lime wedges we saved up earlier as decor for your servings, if so desired.
Orange Sorbet
Extremely easy to make, this recipe merely requires the following: Some fresh orange and lemon juice, some orange zest along with a little bit of sugar, some water and optionally, some mint sprigs. We will start by getting eight to twelve oranges, depending on the amount of servings you need – ten oranges would result in roughly six full cups of servings. Carefully remove the rinds from them, making sure you discard the white pith. After you’ve peeled them completely, start cutting them in half. Then squeeze the juice out of the orange halves. Repeat until you are finished will the remaining fruit.
Now, combine two and a half cups of water and sugar in small pan and bring it to a boil – add the rind strips to the pan, and let it simmer for about five minutes. Strain the sugar mixture through a sieve over a bowl, reserving the liquid and discard any remaining solids. Then, let it cool completely.
Finally, add the orange juice and a bit of lemon juice to the sugar mixture and stir really well. Afterwards, freeze the mixture inside your ice-cream freezer as per your freeze’s instructions. When it is done, spoon your newly made sorbet into a freezer safe container, cover it and let it freeze until it is firm. If you kept any grinds or got those optional mint sprigs we mentioned earlier, you can easily garnish your sorbet servings with them.