Black Cherry Frozen Yogurt

I wasn't sure how this would turn out so I didn't take an ingredient photo. I also didn't weigh or measure, so this is more an idea-inspiration post than an actual recipe.

In a blender or food processor, combine the following:

1 'Cutie' Mandarin orange and a few pieces of peeling
a cereal bowl amount ± of frozen black cherries
a little bit of frozen pineapple
1-2T coconut sugar
1T good vanilla

Add just enough water, fruit juice or coconut milk to process the fruit. To this, add:

about 1c whole milk Greek yogurt 

Now, this is where it gets a little tricky. When frozen for more than a few hours, it's like a rock! If you have cold-sensitive teeth, this might be something you'll want to avoid. This seems so much colder than regular ice cream!

For serving, my best advise would be to make, freeze this and serve after about 3 hours or when a sharp knife inserted in the center doesn't hit liquid. To make it easier to serve, stir it a few times while it's freezing. Be creative with different fruits and citrus. This made enough to perfectly fill a 16oz. freezer container. . .Lin

Cranberry-Pineapple-Berry Yogurt Smoothie

In a blender jar combine equal amounts of frozen fruit. . .

mixed berries, pineapple, cranberries

1c plain, full fat Greek yogurt

1c+ cold filtered water

1T local organic honey

1t-1T pumpkin pie spice

Blend well, adding more water if needed.

This type of smoothie is great as a quick breakfast, lunch or dinner on a busy day. It's also a good bedtime snack or a healthy 'anytime snack,' when you find yourself creating something sweet. . .Lin

CHOBANI Yogurt - For Health and Humanity

I've had a couple bad days.  My stomach and gut have made their displeasure known. This morning all seemed calm, then I brewed up a pot of really good coffee and all systems began a recoil. I remember enough about molecular biology I've read over the years to know there's good bacteria and bad in our digestive systems. Clearly, the bad was on a rampage. My natural instinct was just to do a 24 hour tea and water fast, but biology won out. I made this smoothie, and now, 2 hours later, things have begun to calm down. Yea! This is always counterintuitive to me since I'm sometimes sensitive to dairy, but it appears that doesn't apply as much to really good quality yogurt. Good Bacteria to the rescue.

Good quality, full fat, plain Greek yogurt is full of good gut enzymes and 'good bacteria' our system need for healthy digestion.  Sickness, too much junk food, alcohol, or even not enough sleep can put everything out of balance. At Aldi's they have a great yogurt I used to buy, but after hearing Hamdi Ulukaya, the CHOBANI founder and CEO tell his story in several interviews, I've vowed to only buy his brand whenever possible. He's a compassionate, caring man who not only loves and treats his employees as equals, he cares about their financial struggles, job satisfaction - and receives the loyalty that brings. He also regularly sends money to relatives, still in his homeland, to help with their expenses and is concerned about making their lives better where they are. He worked hard and now lives his dream.

He's a true American Hero to me. Check this out:  CHOBANI Yogurt's Founder

This goes together SO quick!

• 1 very ripe banana
• 2/3c each: frozen blueberries and frozen dark cherries
• 2/3 - 3/4c CHOBANI whole milk plain Greek yogurt
• 2T ground chia and flax
• 2t Mexican vanilla
• 1-2c pure pineapple juice

Pineapple juice contains bromelian which is a pain and inflammation fighter.  Pineapple-bromelain enzymes also help with digestive upset.  So, I had to blog this to refer to.  Next time I'll follow this, but also add 1t± of ground cinnamon.  Drink up everyone!  Your gut will thank you. . .Lin

A Sweet and Spicy Fruit Salad

• ½ lg. ripe mango
• ⅔c organic craisins
• ½ sm. ripe cantaloupe 
• 2c frozen strawberries, sweet & sour cherries, blueberries
• 1-2T jalapeño pepper jelly
• ⅓ lemon - juiced
• 1t± Orange Ginger spice blend

Cut the fruit the way you like it.  Gently mix the jelly and lemon juice in a medium glass bowl with the frozen cut fruit.  Microwave for 30 seconds, add the rest of the fruit, toss, let stand on the counter a half hour tossing several times, then serve.  This will 3 big or 6 smaller servings.  Today, with cottage cheese and Norweigan crisp bread, it's breakfast for me 😊

The mango seed is shown in the first picture, soaking in the little glass of water.  They're hard to get out of the fruit, but much easier when it's ripe.  It's incased in a hard fibers shell.  I split that open, and now, once it's soaked a while, I'll peel off the rest of that papery covering and plant it in hopes of getting a gorgeous plant.  They don't bear fruit, or maybe they will if you can keep them alive several years.  My daughter had a gorgeous mango plant many years ago.

I call it. . .Garbage Gardening 😁 Lin

Fruit-Yogurt Smoothie

½c plain Greek full fat yogurt

½c canned pineapple - no sugar, just juice

½c pineapple juice

1c frozen cranberries

a handful of frozen raspberries*

1c± frozen strawberries and bananas

a little nutmeg and cardamom

1-2t ground pumpkin pie spice

300-350 calories ±

This is a favorite go-to of mine, but from now on, *I'll eliminate the raspberries. I'm not a fan of those seeds. I vary this up depending on the fruit I currently have. I love adding a little fresh citrus, a whole 'cutie', a third of a lemon or lime. Blueberries and dark cherries are also so good. Be creative. Soon I'd like to experiment with more fruits, soft leafed herbs, carrots. Vegetable, green smoothies are also lots of fun. Beets, greens, kale, carrots, garlic, tomatoes. . .oh, so many possibilities.  

Happy Cooking! . .Lin

Berry Lemon Cake - Breakfast Bread

2 eggs

1c sugar

1c sour cream

½c light vegetable oil

½ frozen-grated lemon -*-

1t lemon or almond extract

1# mixed frozen fruit

1T corn starch

2T sugar

1½c organic flour

½c corn flour *

½t salt

1t cinnamon

2t baking powder
1c chopped pecans (optional)

With your mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy in a medium size bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients in that group beating well after each addition.  Set that aside and chop the frozen fruit, stirring that together well with the corn starch and sugar in another medium size bowl.  In a third bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together.  Add the dry ingredients to the first bowl with the eggs, etc.  Mix together well.  

Pour half the batter into a well buttered 8"x12" glass pan, then crumble-spread the berry mixture over that.  Pour on the remaining batter, then top with the rest of the berries.  Sprinkle some coarse sugar on top, and bake at 375° for 350minutes.  Reduce the heat to 350° for an additional 20 minutes.  Take out of the oven and cool on a rack, about an hour before serving.  This created the most wonderful scent in my kitchen as it baked!

* I've always loved the combination of corn flour and crushed quick cooking rolled oats as the 'flour' base for my cornbread.  I always add peppery and fruity elements to it.  Instead of just regular flour I decided to substitute a little corn flour to give this 'cake' a hint of that fruity cornbread flavor.

This would be great for breakfast or as a dessert. . .Lin

Fruity Coconut Frozen Yogurt

Assorted Frozen Fruits - I used a variety today.  Orange peel, half a banana, pineapple, cranberries, and a cherry-berry mix containing sweet cherries, tart cherries, blueberries and strawberries.  I used my chopper on all this while partially frozen.  It measured 2 cups.  Put that aside for now so it thaws a bit more.  The juice will help everything come together in the blender.  This recipe almost filled both a 30 and a 41oz. container, so I had to blend in 3 batches.

1c coconut milk

1½c coconut cream

2c Chobani Greek yogurt

¼-⅓c honey (or Maple syrup)

1-2t pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon

2c chopped assorted fruit

Put the ingredients in the blender in the order given, blending well, then pouring out a couple cups into a bowl to make room for the rest.  I've been working on perfecting a couple ice cream or frozen yogurt recipes, rather than buy regular sugar-filled ice cream that often has artificial ingredients and chemicals.

I just put this in the freezer.  It's 7:00 in the evening now, so I may even switch it to the 'fridge if it doesn't freeze to the consistency I want tonight.  Then I'd pop it back in the freezer tomorrow morning.  I don't use an ice cream maker, so it's important to stir this AS it's freezing, to keep it aerated so it doesn't freeze really hard, like a fruity ice cube.  Making this sort of dessert is time-intensive, so it's good to start it on a morning when you're hanging around the kitchen, doing 'house things.'  Last year, I said I was going to try making lemon frozen yogurt.  That'll probably be my next dessert project!
Be Bold, Be Creative and most of all, I wish you Fun and Happy Cooking 😉 . . . Lin

Mini-Grapesicles

1 bunch of your favorite seedless grapes

. . .red, green or black. . .

1 big zip-type plastic freezer bag

Take grapes off the stems.  Wash and drain for 10 minutes or so then pour out onto a clean linen dish towel.  Roll them around and pat to absorb all the water.  When dry, put into the big zip-type bag and freeze, for at least 4 hours.

When anyone wants a popsicle-type snack, give them a little bowl of these.  Mmmmmm!  My mom used to do this and I really love them.  Especially on a hot-thirsty kinda day. . .Lin

Cherry-Berry Yogurt Sorbet

3c plain Greek yogurt

3c frozen cherry-berry mix

1/3c organic honey

Put all the yogurt, half the berries and all the honey in the blender.  Pulse and blend until smooth.  Pour half into a medium plastic bowl.  Add remaining fruit to the blender, blend again until all the fruit is incorporated.  Pour into the bowl.  Stir together until both batches are combined.

Freeze, stirring every half hour for the next 2 hours until it reaches serving consistency.  Any leftovers will freeze very hard.  Each half cup serving is under 100 calories with 0 fat.  A good ice cream alternative. . .Lin