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
