Honey Raspberry Frozen Yogurt

A few weeks ago a generous neighbor gave me her Kitchenaid Ice Cream maker attachment and a copy of  Sweet Scoops. I've been lusting over ice cream makers for years, ever since I bought one as a gift for someone else, but it seemed so frivolous- especially when money's tight. Plus, to really put the thing to use I have to give up precious freezer space so the bowl is always ready to go. Right now, one week into our first extended stretch of summer, it is worth it. 

I started out making Vanilla for the 4th of July. YUM- perhaps a little sweeter that I might like but still delicious and a great way t test out both the recipe book and the ice cream maker. A few days later we had guests over to grill up some lamb kebobs. Yogurt and lamb go together in my mind so a batch of frozen yogurt seemed to fit the bill. Sweet Scoops has a honey-poppyseed frozen yogurt recipe that I loosely followed. You can pretty pictures and the original recipe here.

honey-raspberry frozen yogurt w/poppy seeds

ingredients:

1. 3 cups honey low fat or whole milk yogurt (I used Nancy's honey yogurt which wasn't nearly as sweet as I expected)

1. 1 cup heavy cream

1. 1/4-1/2 cup wildflower honey (We always buy local honey-  it's supposed to help with allergies and well I like knowing the people that  produce the food I eat- I've never met the bees though)

1. 1/2 cup fresh raspberries pressed through a strainer to keep out the seeds

1. 1 tbsp poppy seeds

1.  pinch of salt

     In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until smooth in texture. 

Honey-Raspberry Frozen Yogurt with Poppyseeds

makes about 1 quart

         Cover and refrigerate   for 2-24 hours.

Pour the cold yogurt mixture into your ice cream machine and freeze according to your   manufacturer’s instructions. 

Scrape the frozen yogurt into a freezer safe container (I used, suprise suprise, an empty Nancy's Yogurt bin), cover tightly, and freeze until firm.

Summer Berry Raw Fruit Tart

It's been so long since I've posted that I'm no longer embarrassed about it.

Last weekend there was a barbecue/get together to reconnect with a dear friend. As designated dessert lady it is always a struggle for me to balance my urge for buttery baked goodness with the dietary needs of those who have gone gluten/sugar/dairy free. But when the berries at the farmers' market are as delicious as they have been, the struggle, it turns out, is no struggle at all.

Crust

1 cup pitted dates ( I soaked mine for minute or two then drained them)
3/4 cup almonds
1 1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Put about half of the nuts into a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground. Add dates, salt, and  spices then whir a few more times. Add remaining nuts and process until it all comes together. (My measurements are approximate, I read that walnuts on their own can be too oily so I added the almonds- and perhaps a pecan or two- but then there were just a few lonely walnuts left in the bag so I threw those in at the end.)  Press "dough" into mini tart pans- it should be thick enough to at least sort of hold together- and refrigerate at least thirty minutes or until you are ready to fill and serve.

Berry Topping

1 pint raspberries
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 pint blueberries

Mash raspberries with fork. Add vanilla and mix until it is the consistency of jam. Add the blueberries and toss together.

Carefully remove the crusts from the pans, these suckers are delicate. Or, alternately, I'm sure you could just form a crust with your hands and skip the tartlet pans altogether. Then fill/top with berry mixture and garnish with a (in this case chocolate) mint sprig and serve.

Hey Hey Tayberry Tart

The berries have been arriving fast and furious at the farmers market for several weeks now. A bumper crop of delicious but delicate goodness so the price has been irresistible. When faced with a seemingly endless variety of raspberries, blackberries, and all their hybrid cousins, it seems hard to believe that a supermarket can sell one tiny half pint of anemic raspberries for five dollars come December. Like most of summer’s bounty berries are best on their own. Ah, the taste of summer exploding in your mouth. But why stop there? So this week I bring you two berry desserts, a tart (you know how I love those) and a pie.



Tayberry (I swear the woman who sold me the last pint said tazberry, but apparently no such thing exists, a hybrid rasp/blackberry) Tart.

With thanks to Patricia Wells’ Café du Jura Raspberry Tart recipe from her cookbook “Bistro Cooking”. Normally I like to fiddle with a recipe but when one is as simple as this it seems unnecessary, although I did cut down on the sugar.

3 large egg yolks
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (the original recipe called for 3 Tbsps)
1 Pate Sablee shell, pre-baked
1 pint of fresh tayberries (I ended up with slightly less because I couldn’t resist snacking)
2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar.



1. Preheat the oven to 375 F
2. In a large bowl first whisk the egg yolks then add the heavy cream and granulated sugar; mix until well blended. Pour the mixture into the cooled pastry shell.
3. Arrange the berries on top of the cream (the original recipe says carefully arrange but I didn’t have quite enough berries and the tayberries are larger than raspberries and prone to falling over, so carefully seems misleading.)
4. Place in the center of the oven and bake just until the cream filling begins to set, about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Allow to cool thoroughly before serving.