I've been scouring the local grocery stores for a couple of weeks now looking for some organic Swiss Chard...to no avail. I hit the jack pot this week with the co-op because she had some of the prettiest red chard I have seen in a long time. I'm planning to use it rather like a grape leaf to make a quinoa stuffed chard appetizer. It is steamed in lemon broth just like Greek Dolmas. I like to serve mine on a platter of greek olives, feta shards and crusty bread with some olive oil for dipping. Its hard to find better food than that!
Pretty amazing looking produce huh?
Anyway, I am making that today along with Polenta toasts with Wild Mushroom Medley, Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas and if I have time...baba ganoush. That will complete the photos for the appetizer chapter of my book.
This morning I made Papaya Orange Creamsicles and I have to say, they turned out fantastic! The recipe is SO simple and only requires a few ingredients. The "cream" in this instance is coconut milk, making these luscious frozen pops completely vegan AND completely insanely delicious!
Papaya Orange Creamsicles
Makes 6 (2 ounce each) frozen creamsicles
- 1 extra large navel orange, zest before peeling and reserve zest - removed only the oil orange part of the skin with a paring knife and leave some of the white
- 1 cup frozen papaya cubes (or fresh...you'll just have to wait longer for the creamsicles to freeze)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened organic full fat coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons reserved orange zest
*Note : I did not add any type of sweetener to these because the orange and ripe papaya is sweet enough for my taste. If you want them sweeter, try adding a little raw blue agave or stevia.
- Run peeled orange through a juicer. Place orange juice, papaya cubes and coconut milk in the blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir in reserved orange zest.
- Pour mixture into 6 (2 ounce) moulds of choice. If you have used frozen papaya, the mixture will be thick enough to stand the lollipop stick in. If not, freeze for 20 minutes or until stick will stand straight in mould. Freeze until completely firm.
If desired you can serve with some strained raspberry puree. I add 1 pint of fresh raspberries to my blender with 2 tablespoons of raw coconut tree syrup (you could also use raw blue agave). Blend until pureed; strain out seeds and served with Creamsicles.
This was RIDICULOUSLY GOOD!
(c) copyright Jill Anderson
The Homegrown Gourmet
Awesome, Jilly! I am making these. It's starting to get hot here, which means the house feels like an oven on sunny days. I hate running the air constantly, so I need to start making chilly snacks like this. Cold showers and chilly snacks-that's Florida living for ya (smile)...
ReplyDeleteThese look and sound so good! Orange, papaya, and coconut...very creative!
ReplyDeleteThanks girls! These WERE really good...not too sweet and the raspberry puree was the perfect compliment to the creamy pops.
ReplyDeleteCREAMSICLE!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteShould I save you one Rick?
ReplyDeleteOMG, I could jump into that pool right now! It's 8pm over here and I'm perspiring like crazy here. I envy you for having a pool in your house.
ReplyDeleteMango would go well with this too and add a touch of lemongrass to stimulate that olfactory nerve. Heaven!
I've actually done them with mango before.. I did mango and lime...SO good! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI can't handle florida without a pool...I only have two criteria when we were looking for a house...good kitchen and a pool!
This papaya popsicle looks tre-delicious. I'm so looking forward to days in the pool, but somehow LA decided to have some more winter days. Sigh*
ReplyDeleteLovely site you have. I'm glad you offered FB friendship. :-)
You have no idea how much I want one now...and also, to jump into that pool - even if I can't swim LOL It is so hot right now and those creamsicles look DIVINE!!!
ReplyDeleteThaks Anna and Denise! I must admit, I spend a lot of time out there even when its not really warm enough to swim. I usually use the pool as a backdrop for pictures that involve tropical fruits or "island" or spa type dishes. It just seems to fit.
ReplyDeleteThank you both for check out my blog!
Hi Jill,
ReplyDeleteDid you use canned coconut milk or homemade? I noticed the fresh, young coconut in the pic above and was wondering if u made your own. If you did, do you mind sharing how to do it? I'm also not sure what type of coconut(young v. mature) you need to use. Thanks!
Toya
That was made with canned organic whole fat coconut milk Toya. You CAN make your own from ripe coconuts...it's basically the same procedure you make raw nut milks except you don't have to soak the coconut meat first. Just blitz in the blender with water and strain through cotton cloth. Wring out as much milk as possible through cloth. The amount of water you use will depend on how strong you want your milk. About 1 cup of fresh ripe coconut meat blended with 2 1/2 - 3 cups water is what I like best.
ReplyDeleteAs for the difference between the coconuts...The thai coconut you see in the picture would be considered a young or "green" coconut. The water inside a coconut is actually the endosperm so when a coconut is young...it is FULL of water and you shouldn't hear any sloshing. There will only be a thin layer of jelly-like coconut flesh inside. Once a coconut ripens..like the little hairy brown ones you typically see in the store...there will be a thick wall of meat inside and only a small amount of water. That's because the water actually BECOMES the meat as the coconut matures. When you're buying them just remember...a young green coconut should NOT have any sloshing sound when shaken...it should be ALL FULL of water. A ripe coconut SHOULD slosh when shaken. As the meat forms the amount of water decreases. If there's not slosh to a ripe coocnut don't buy it. That proably means the shell is cracked somewhere and the water has leaked out. If water can get out...bacteria can get IN. My favorite saying...BAD JU JU!
You can also make your own coconut oil from fresh ripe coocnut meat but thats quite a process and it won't be raw because most of us do not have the equipment for cold expeller processing..LOL
GENIUS!!! I totally want one now!! My body and papaya are not quite friends yet. I like it, but I always get an upset stomach afterwards and then well... won't say much here in civilized company.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, can't wait for the weather to heat up a tad to start making these bad boys :)
Thanks Jenn. If you can't do papaya, mango works really well too. They are so good and creamy with the coconut milk.
ReplyDelete