Chocolate-Covered Frozen Bananas

Chocolate-Covered Frozen Bananas

Ingredients

2 Bananas, halved
4 Popsicle Sticks
80 grams Bittersweet or Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Chopped Almond or Peanuts, or Rainbow Jimmies, spread on a plate
Wax or Parchment Paper

Method


Insert one popsicle stick about half way into each half of banana. Then peel the bananas and place on a wax or parchment paper. Freeze the bananas for 30 minutes.

Microwave the chocolates chips on high for about 1-½ minutes, stir until smooth.

 Spread the chocolate onto the bananas with a spoon. Then roll banana in any if your favorite toppings. Repeat with the remainder bananas, and transfer to the freezer for another hour before serving.

Makes 4 Chocolate-Covered Frozen Bananas

Mixed Berry Smoothie

Here’s another healthy refreshing Mixed Berry Smoothie breakfast recipe I’d like to share with you. This smoothie is made with a mixture of berries, bananas, yogurt, and orange juice. Besides the fantastic taste from the fruit mix, the color of this drink is so vibrant and soothing, it will certainly brighten up your day!

Mixed Berry Smoothie

Ingredients

1 Ripe Banana, peeled and sliced 

2 Cups Frozen Berries (blueberry, raspberry, Marion berry, and blackberry) 

6 Tbsp Greek Yogurt

2 to 2 ½ Tbsp Raspberry Jam or Honey

¾ Cup Orange Juice


Method



Combine all the ingredients in a blender, and process until thick, smooth, and creamy. Serve immediately.

Serves 2

Strawberry And Blueberry Granita

Strawberry And Blueberry Granita

Ingredients

Strawberry
1 lb (454g) Strawberries, hulled
1 Cup (250ml) Water

3-5 Tbsp Sugar, or to taste

1 tsp Lime Juice



Blueberry
1 Box (500g) Blueberries
1 Cup (250ml) Water
2 to 3 Tbsp Honey, or to taste
1 tsp Lime Juice

Method



Blend strawberries, water, sugar and lime juice until completely smooth.


To freeze granita, pour the mixture into the dish and place in the freezer. Begin checking it after about 1 hour. Once it begins to freeze around the edges, take a fork and stir the mixture, breaking up the frozen parts near the edges into smaller chunks and raking them toward the center.

Return the dish to the freezer, and then check the mixture every 30 minutes afterward, stirring each time and breaking up any large chunks into small pieces with a fork, until you have beautiful, fine crystals of homemade granita. If any time the granita freezes too hard, simply leave it out at room temperature for a few minutes until it softens enough to be stirred again with a fork, and rake it back into crystals. Then return it to the freezer.

Frozen Banana Bites

Wishing all the awesome mums out there, a Very Happy Mother's Day 2011! Take the much deserved day off and try to get your kids to pamper you today with this Frozen Banana Bites perhaps? This snack/dessert is really delightful and best of all, it's so easy to make. Even your kids can do it! So, either let them have a go at it or you should give this recipe a try yourself. Have fun!


Recipe adapted from Never Home Maker

Frozen Banana Bites

Ingredients

2 Bananas, peeled and sliced (about ¾ inch chunks)
1/3 Cup Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
1/3-Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
A Pinch of Sea Salt
Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Method

Place the banana chunks on a large plate lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer for about an hour.

Spread the shredded coconut on a large plate.

Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and sea salt in a microwave saved bowl. Microwave on high for about a minute, stir until smooth.

Dip the frozen banana chunks in the chocolate-peanut butter mixture. Then place it on the shredded coconut and roll lightly to coat all sides. Repeat with the remainder banana chunks. Transfer to the freezer for another hour before serving.

Makes about 12 Banana Frozen Bites

Sicilian Chocolate Gelato

You should have a go at whipping up this lovely Sicilian Chocolate Gelato. There are only 4 ingredients needed for this recipe, namely, milk, sugar, cocoa powder, and cornstarch. Just ensure you use the best cocoa available. Enjoy.


Recipe adapted from bittersweet by Alice Medrich

Sicilian Chocolate Gelato

Ingredients

3 Cups (720 ml) Whole Milk
2/3 Cup (130 g) Sugar
¾ Cup (180 ml) Premium Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (Natural or Dutch-Process)
1 ½ Tbsp Cornstarch

Method

In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of the milk to a simmer over medium heat.

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1-cup milk with the sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch in another bowl. Scrape the cocoa mixture into the hot milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and bubbles a little at the edges. Then boil gently, stirring, for 2 minutes longer. Scrape into a bowl and let cool. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap placed directly against the surface and chill overnight.

Freeze according to the instructions of your ice-cream maker. Because the mixture is slightly thick to begin with, it may take less time than usual to freeze and thicken to the desired consistency.

Perfect No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream

This is indeed a fantastic Strawberry Ice-Cream recipe. The perfect No Cooking Required dessert, it’s so easy to make. All you need is strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, salt, heavy cream, and of course, an ice-cream maker. Try it!


Recipe adapted from Gourmet (August 2009)

Perfect No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 lb (450 g) Strawberries, trimmed, halve if large
¾ Cup Sugar
¾ tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1/8 tsp Sea Salt
2 Cups Heavy Cream

Method

In a large bowl, coarsely mash strawberries with sugar, lemon juice, and sea salt with a potato masher. Let stand, stirring, and mash occasionally for about 10 minutes.

Transfer half of the strawberry mixture into a blender and puree with cream until smooth. Return strawberry cream to bowl with remaining strawberries and allow the mixture to chill thoroughly, stirring occasionally and then freeze it in an ice cream maker.

Note:Ice cream keeps 1 week.

Strawberry Sunshine Smoothies

Smoothies is a great way to include fruits in your kids diet. Luckily for me, my kids just love fresh fruits and they also love their smoothies! Strawberry Sunshine Smoothies happens to be one of their favorites. It’s really yummy and refreshing. Just freeze the sliced bananas and strawberries a day ahead. Then add yogurt, honey, and orange juice to the fruits and blend well. Enjoy!


Strawberry Sunshine Smoothies
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

2 Ripe Bananas, peeled, sliced and frozen
20 Strawberries, hulled and frozen
5 Tbsp Yogurt
2 Cups (500 ml) Orange Juice
4 Tbsp Honey

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a blender, and process until thick, smooth, and creamy. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Watermelon Sorbet

I am welcoming summer 2010 with this cool and refreshing Watermelon Sorbet. There are only 3 ingredients for this recipe, namely, watermelon, sugar, and lime juice. If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, don’t fret. Just pour the watermelon mixture into some Popsicle molds, leave it overnight in the freezer, and you will have some delicious pops. If you want watermelon slush, just chill it for about 3 hours in the freezer instead. These will certainly cool you down during the sizzling hot days! Have a wonderful summer everyone!


Watermelon Sorbet
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

5 Cups Watermelon Chunks, seeded
6-8 Tbsp Sugar, or to taste
2 tsp Lime Juice

Method

In a blender container, combine the watermelon chunks, sugar and lime juice.

Cover the blender with the lid and hold it down while you blend on high speed until the mixture is liquid.

Allow the mixture to chill thoroughly, and then freeze it in an ice cream maker.

Praline Semifreddo

The second recipe is Praline Semifreddo adapted from Jamie Oliver’s earliest cookbook, The Naked Chef. Semifreddo (or half cold) class of semi frozen desserts are loved by folks all over the world and it’s certainly one of my all time favorites too. The best part about making Semifreddo is that you do not need an ice-cream maker to make this delicious treat. There is also no cooking involved, besides making the praline, which is not difficult at all. So, do try the recipe and I bet you will like it!


Recipe adapted from The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver.

Praline Semifreddo
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

Paraline
11 oz Peeled Hazelnuts
1 Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Water

Semifreddo
1 Vanilla Bean
¼ Sugar
4 Large Eggs, separated
2 Cups plus 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
Sea Salt

Method

Paraline: Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 425˚F until golden (about 4 minutes). Put the sugar and water in a thick-bottomed pan and place on a medium-high heat. The mixture will start to bubble and then turn into a clear syrup. To begin with, it will gradually start to color in parts or from the sides.

Gently and carefully shake the pan, just moving it to mix the patches of color. When it’s golden brown, carefully tip it away from you and gently add the nuts. Turn the heat down to a simmer and gently stir to coat the nuts in caramel. When the caramel is dark golden brown, turn it out on to a clean, lightly oiled tray, or on to a double thickness of wax paper on a surface that won’t burn. It will cool to a flattish solid sheet.

When completely cooled (which takes about 20 minutes), smash it up roughly and pulse it in the food processor until the pieces are still quite chunky. Remove about half the praline, then pulse the rest to a powder, and add both lots of praline to the semifreddo mixture.

Semifreddo: Remove the seeds from the vanilla bean by scoring down the length and scraping the seeds out of each half. Whisk the vanilla seeds and sugar with the egg yolks in a large bowl until pale. In a second bowl whisk the cream until soft peaks form. (Important: Please don’t over whip it.) Then in a third bowl whisk or beat the egg whites with an electric mixer with a pinch of salt until they form very firm peaks.

At this point add the praline, the cream and egg whites, to the egg yolk mixture. Gently fold in. Immediately scoop the contents into your chosen container. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until you’re ready to eat. To serve, take it out from the freezer, let it thaw slightly in the refrigerator to a “semifreddo” (semi-frozen).

Serves 12

Pomegranate Sorbet

Dear valued readers, I’d like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and hope you will enjoy the holidays with your loved ones! So today, I thought I’d post something red since it’s Christmas after all. I made some Pomegranate Sorbet for the kids and for the adults, some sorbet with Champagne! By the way, the sorbet was made using pomegranate juice provided by the kind folks at POM Wonderful. Thanks Molly. Do check out their website for more detailed information on their healthy products. Cheers to everyone and happy holidays!


Pomegranate Sorbet
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 Bottle (473 ml) Pomegranate Juice
Juice of 1 Lemon
100 g Sugar

Method



In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, mix 1 cup Pomegranate juice with the sugar and lemon juice. Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the remaining pomegranate juice. Allow the mixture to chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.


As usual, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Chocolate Sorbet

Okay, this is a Chocolate sorbet recipe. This is what I called a good frozen treat; but, minus the guilt! So, do try the recipe and enjoy!


Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Chocolate Sorbet
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

2 1/4 Cups (555 ml) Water
1 Cup (200 g) Sugar
3/4 Cup (75 g) Unsweetened Dutch-process Cocoa Powder
Pinch of salt
6 oz (170 g) Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method

In a heavy-based saucepan, whisk together 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) of the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring it to a boil, whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk, for 45 seconds.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it's melted, then stir in the vanilla extract and the remaining 3/4 cup (180 ml) water. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 15 seconds. Allow the mixture to cool thoroughly, then freeze it in an ice cream maker. If the mixture has become too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.

Mango Sorbet

I thought I should post these two frozen treat recipes that I’d made earlier before the summer ends. So, today I’m posting a Mango Sorbet recipe and I shall post the other tomorrow.


Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Mango Sorbet
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients
2 Large, Ripe Mangoes (2 lbs, 1 kg), peeled and pitted
2/3 Cup (130 g) Sugar
2/3 Cup (160 ml) Water
4 tsp Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice, plus more to taste
1 Tbsp Dark Rum, plus more to taste
Pinch of Salt

Method

Cut the mangoes into chunks and put them in a blender with the sugar, water, lime juice, rum, and salt. Squeeze the mango pits hard over the blender to extract as much of the pulp and juice as possible.

Puree the mixture until smooth. Taste, then add more lime juice or rum if desired. Allow the mixture to chill thoroughly, then freeze it in an ice cream maker.

Watermelon Ice Pops

Watermelons are in season now. The ones this time of the year are typically juicy and sweet, however, somehow I managed to cleverly select one that wasn’t sweet. Duh! My first thought was, no worries just turn them into popsicles. Well, that’s exactly what I did and everyone in the family enjoyed the watermelon popsicles. So, don’t discard any watermelon that is not as sweet as they ought to be, instead, make this watermelon popsicles.



Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma "Sweet Treats" by Carolyn Beth Weil

Watermelon Ice Pops
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups watermelon chunks
1/2 cup sugar
1 pinch of salt

Method

Seed the watermelon:
Put the watermelon chunks on a cutting board. If you see any black seeds in your watermelon chunks, use the point of a paring knife to carefully poke them out.

Prepare to puree:
In a blender container, combine the watermelon chunks, sugar and salt. (Salt might seem like a strange ingredient to add to a dessert, but it actually helps make the flavor of the watermelon more intense.)

Blend the mixture:
Cover the blender with the lid and hold it down while you blend on high speed until the mixture is liquid (some small chunks of melon are okay).

Freeze the pops:
Pour the mixture into a glass-measuring cup with a spout, and then divide the mixture evenly among 8 frozen fruit pop molds. Insert the sticks.

Freeze the ice pops for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Run the molds under warm water for 30 seconds to release the pops. Eat the pops right away! Makes 8 pops.

Lime Sorbet & Seasaltwithfood on BBC Click's Webscape

I woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise, which I will like to share with all of my readers. BBC TV’s flagship technology review programme, Click, discovered and reviewed seasaltwithfood on the latest episode of the programme this weekend. Click’s Webscape host Kate Russell, who reviews her latest selection of the best websites every week on the programme, gave young seasaltwithfood a great review! She was just fantastic, said all the nice things including quote “seasaltwithfood.com is a scrumptious blog providing some of the easiest recipes to create the most amazing meals”. You can watch the clip here.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kate Russell for reviewing and including seasaltwithfood as one of your selection of the best sites on the World Wide Web! Very much appreciated.



This is a delightful lime sorbet, full of fresh lime flavor with a light hint of sweetness. Simply refreshing! I had a few scoops of this sorbet with a shot of Tequila, as suggested by the author of the cookbook. Well, I guess you can imagine what this innocent sorbet transformed into – voila, instant frozen margarita! ☺


Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Lime Sorbet

Ingredients

2 1/4 Cups (560 ml) Water
3/4 Cup (150 g) Sugar
Zest of 1 Lime
3/4 Cup (180 ml) Freshly Squeeze Lime Juice (from about 9 limes)
6 Tbsp (90 ml) Champagne or Sparkling Wine (optional)

Method

In a medium, nonreactive saucepan, mix 1 cup (250 ml) of the water with the sugar and lime Heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the remaining 1 1/4 cup (310 ml) water. Allow the mixture to chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Then, mix in the lime juice and Champagne or sparkling wine, if using. As usual, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

PERFECT PAIRING: To make Lime Sorbet more festive, prepare the recipe but omit the Champagne. Serve coops in frosty cocktail glasses with a shots of tequila poured over them. Top each off with a few flecks of coarse salt.

Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Okay, this is the first time I'm using sweet potatoes to make ice cream. I bought some purple color sweet potatoes earlier. So, I decided to use them instead of the usual orange color ones. The end result? Just delicious, tastes like sweet potato pie filling; but, frozen and creamier in this case. If you like sweet potatoes, do give this recipe a try.



Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Sweet Potato Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 lb (450 g) Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp (280 ml) Whole Milk
2/3 Cup (140 g) Packed Light Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of salt
A few drops of freshly squeeze lemon juice

Method

Place the cubed sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes, or until tender when poked with a sharp knife. Drain the sweet potatoes and let cool to room temperature.

Pour the milk into a blender and add the brown sugar, sweet potato pieces, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Puree until very smooth, at least 30 seconds. Add lemon juice to taste. Press the mixture through a mesh strainer, using a flexible rubber spatula.

Allow the mixture to cool thoroughly, then freeze it in an ice cream maker.

Chocolate-Mint Ice Cream

Chocolate-Mint ice cream is the ultimate flavor ice cream, according to my kids at least. They just love it. You can either use store-bought peppermint patties, as suggested by the book, or mint-flavored chocolate instead. I chose to use the latter here. Yummy!


Recipe adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Chocolate-Mint Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 Cups (500 ml) Heavy Cream
3 Tbsp (21 g) Unsweetened Dutch-process Cocoa Powder
5 oz (140 g) Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate, chopped
1 Cup (250 ml) Whole Milk
3/4 Cup (150 g) Sugar
Pinch Of Salt
5 Large Egg Yolks
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Cups Peppermint Patties, crumbled or 150 g Mint Flavored Chocolate bar, chopped
1/8 tsp Mint Oil or Extract

Method

Warm 1 cup (250 ml) of the cream. Whisk in the cocoa powder thoroughly until the cocoa are well bended. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very gentle heat for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup (250 ml) cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in the same saucepan. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Then chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator and freeze it in your ice cream maker. (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin out.)

To make Chocolate-Mint Ice Cream, stir 1/8 tsp Mint oil or extract into the custard before freezing, then fold in the crumbled peppermint patties or chopped Mint chocolate.

Lychee Granita

I’m going to share a few more frozen treats recipes for this week. Okay, this is a Lychee granita. Lychee is in season now and they are sweet and juicy. I have tweaked one of the granita recipes from The Perfect Scoop cookbook by David Lebotvitz.


Lychee Granita

Ingredients

500g Fresh Lychee
300 ml Water
6-8 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Lime or Lemon Juice

Method

Peel the lychee and remove the pits. Blend lychee, water, sugar and lime juice until completely smooth. Press the mixture through a mesh strainer.

To freeze granita, pour the mixture into the dish and place in the freezer. Begin checking it after about 1 hour. Once it begins to freeze around the edges, take a fork and stir the mixture, breaking up the frozen parts near the edges into smaller chunks and raking them toward the center.

Return the dish to the freezer, then check the mixture every 30 minutes afterward, stirring each time and breaking up any large chunks into small pieces with a fork, until you have a beautiful, fine crystals of homemade granita. If any time the granita freezes too hard, simply leave it out at room temperature for a few minutes until it softens enough to be stirred again with a fork, and rake it back into crystals. Then return it to the freezer.