Tag: fresh fruit

CREAMY CANTALOUPE POPSICLES

One of my favorite parts of summer is all of the fresh fruit that is available. I found this extremely simple recipe, realized it only had 3 ingredients and decided to give it a try. We all loved these popsicles, and I love the fact that they don’t have a bunch of dyes, preservatives and other hard to pronounce ingredients! This recipe is basic enough that I think you could probably swap other types of fruit for the cantaloupe or even try a combination of fruits.

Creamy Cantaloupe Popsicles

1 1/2 cups cubed cantaloupe

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

Puree the cantaloupe in a blender and set aside. Combine the whipping cream and sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved (should only take a couple of minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the pureed cantaloupe. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until firm. Enjoy!

Book Review: End of the Rainbow Fruit Salad

Kitchen Club Kids

Recently, I had an opportunity to review a children’s book titled End of the Rainbow Fruit Salad, a book that is part of a series called Kitchen Club Kids. This series is designed to help establish healthy eating habits with young children with the use of colorful pictures and simple, fresh recipes. I have two toddlers at home right now and both of them have really enjoyed reading this book. The book is short and simple with uses catchy rhymes to help kids learn counting skills as part of a recipe for creating a fruit salad. I love reading and I love cooking and this book is a great way to introduce young children to both! My kids love to help in the kitchen and have been begging me to make a fruit salad just like the one in the book – time to go get some fresh fruit!

You can order this book at Kitchen Club Kids, as well as find more information about other books in this series that will be available soon.

LEMON RASPBERRY SMOOTHIES

We drink a lot of smoothies at our house – it’s a yummy way to sneak a lot of fresh fruit into our diets and they are so refreshing when the weather gets warm! I love raspberry lemonade and so when I saw how easy this recipe was, I knew I had to try it. This smoothie recipe is delicious and will definitely be a regular treat at our house this summer!

Lemon Raspberry Smoothies

12 oz bag frozen unsweetened raspberries (about 2.5 cups)

2 1/2 cups lemonade

6 oz raspberry yogurt (sometimes I add extra yogurt – it just makes it a little more creamy)

1/3 cup sugar (add more or less to taste)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Pimm’s Cup

I prefer to have any sort of mixed drink that involves fruit soaked in alcohol to be equal parts fruit and alcohol. For this reason, whenever I’m making a large batch of any fruity mixed drink I always slice fruit and let it soak a few hours in advance so it can be nice and saturated. This also adds flavor to whatever alcohol you are using, whether it’s wine for sangria or, in the case of this recipe, Pimm’s. I love fruit, so my goal after all of the liquid alcohol is gone is to be able to keep enjoying the drink via a fruit cocktail (literally). Who wouldn’t want a delicious little snack at the end of their drink?

Pimm’s Cups are my new favorite boozy fruit drink. Pimm’s is variety of gin, but it has much more flavor which makes it perfect when absorbed into fresh fruit. I think it tastes a bit like tea. I don’t like gin and I don’t like tea, but I like Pimm’s. Go figure.

Sadly, the days are numbered for delicious fresh fruit filling our farmer’s markets and grocery stores. So, you’re all going to need to make these cocktails as soon as possible. It’s really a spring and summertime drink, but considering it’s 90 degrees this week in DC I don’t think fall is here quite yet. If you want to get aggressive with the amount of fruit you use (like I do) cut up any fresh, in-season fruit you can find. I like it with strawberries, plums, peaches, raspberries and apples. I always add limes and lemons as well. The goal is to use fresh, bright fruit. However, I’m going to give everyone the original recipe first so you can choose whether to keep it simple. If you want to take it up a notch, see my version of Pimm’s Cups in the second recipe. I’m always serving a crowd, so I use the whole liter of Pimm’s. The fruit soaks up a lot of the alcohol, so you don’t end up with as much liquid as you would think. You may want to warn your guests of this when they are eating the boozy fruit. It packs a punch.

Enjoy!

Original Pimm’s Cups
1 part Pimm’s No. 1
3 Parts Lemonade
Add some Mint, Cucumber, Orange and Strawberry

Mix and serve in a tall glass over ice.

Sarah’s Pimm’s Cups

Serves 8+

1 Liter Pimm’s No. 1

Sliced Fresh Fruit (crisp apples, strawberries, plums, peaches/nectarines, lemons and limes)

Ginger Ale, Sparkling Lemonade or Lemon-Lime Spda

Toss all fruit together and place in one or two large pitchers. Pour entire liter of Pimm’s into pitcher (or divide evenly between pitchers). Let soak for 3+ hours. Do not add mixers, as they will lose their carbonation during this time.

When ready to serve, pour Pimm’s liquid into tall glasses filled with ice, keeping about a one part Pimm’s to 3 parts mixer ratio in mind. Pour in mixer of choice — ginger ale, sparkling lemonade or lemon-lime soda. Add in a scoop or two of the Pimm’s soaked fruit.

Always serve cold. The fruit will taste delicious, so a key part is eating the fruit as well. You’ll have leftover fruit after all of the Pimm’s is gone. Don’t waste it! It’s good for you, obviously.