Pineapple Rhubarb Sorbet

Earlier this week, I used Amazon gift cards I earned through Swagbucks (affiliate link) to buy myself this little gem.  And today, I got the chance to try it out.

I know that strawberry and rhubarb is the classic combination, but in this house we're fans of pineapple and rhubarb as well.  I just happened to have some fresh pineapple needing to be used up, and my rhubarb is going crazy in the garden, so I found a recipe online for rhubarb sorbet and improvised my way to perfection, though I am half tempted to add a little fresh mint or rosemary to it next time just to see what happens. 

Pineapple Rhubarb Sorbet
Makes 1 1/2 quarts

8 oz rhubarb, diced
8 oz fresh pineapple, diced
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup water
3 T. light corn syrup

 In a medium saucepan combine rhubarb, pineapple, sugar, salt and water.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb is soft, 10 - 15 minutes.

Carefully transfer mixture to a food processor and blend until smooth, adding corn syrup while blending (I'm guessing you could also do this with a blender or stick blender but I've never tried). 
Place in bowl and refrigerate until cold.

Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions (mine took about 16 minutes).  Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for three hours or until firm. 

Easy Lemon Danish

A friend of mine pointed me in the direction of this recipe a few weeks ago.  This morning I started to make it and, while I was mixing up the filling, decided I really wanted it to be lemony.  So I experimented and it turned out amazingly well!

Easy Lemon Danish
Adapted from The Adventures of Kitchen Girl

2 tubes crescent roll dough
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest of half a lemon
3 T. lemon juice
1 egg

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 T. lemon juice
pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Unroll one package of crescent roll dough and lay it in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.  Pinch the seams together and press out as much as possible.  If the dough doesn't reach all the way from edge to edge, roll up the side that's not up against the pan a bit so the filling doesn't all run out when you pour it in.

For the filling, mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and egg, mixing until smooth.  Pour over dough.  Open remaining tube of dough and lay it over the top.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until dough is golden brown.  Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes.

For the glaze, mix powdered sugar, lemon juice and salt until smooth.  Pour over danish and smooth it out with an offset spatula or knife.  Cut into squares and enjoy!  

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs

We are on vacation this week.  We were supposed to go to the beach, but my daughter got sick, then my husband got sick, then the weather got crappy and we decided to cancel our reservations and just stay home.  We'll go later this spring, when the weather is better.

This has actually worked out pretty well.  We've had time to relax, done some "tourist at home" things, and made chocolate covered marshmallow eggs for Easter.  Not something we'd likely have time to do otherwise!  I adapted the recipe a smidge from the one at Houseful of Handmade, and it worked out swimmingly. 

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs
adapted from Houseful of Handmade
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
3/4 cup warm water
1 c. corn syrup, divided
2 c. evaporated cane sugar (this gave the marshmallows a nice caramel flavor)
2 t. vanilla
Food coloring of choice (optional)

Flour
egg (real or plastic)

4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 T. shortening
Sprinkles (optional)

Mix the gelatin in the cold water. Set aside.

Combine warm water, 1/2 cup corn syrup, and sugar in a large saucepan (make sure you use one big enough to accommodate its expansion when it boils).  Using a candy thermometer, cook to soft ball stage.

Pour mixture into stand mixer bowl.  Beat in remaining corn syrup, then add gelatin mixture.  Beat over medium-low speed until it starts to thicken (2 - 3 minutes), then increase speed to high and beat an additional 7 minutes.  Add vanilla and food coloring, if desired.  Beat an additional two minutes.  It will go from this:



To thick and fluffy, like this:



While it is mixing, make your egg molds.  Just pour a thick layer of flour in a pan (don't worry, you'll be able to reuse it later in cooking), and dip an egg in it (real or a plastic Easter egg) to make your egg molds.  



I used a real egg and would have had around 34 or so, but I wanted to make some gluten free to take to one of our Easter gatherings.  I didn't have enough powdered sugar to make gluten free egg molds, so I just put some parchment in a small pan, put a layer of powdered sugar in it, and poured the rest of the mixture over it.

Using a small ladle, fill your egg molds.  Don't worry if they're not perfect - you can trim them later (I certainly did!).



Let them sit for several hours until set (I left them overnight). Once they are set, trim them if necessary.  I trimmed the edges off the eggs and cut the gluten-free ones into chunks.  This will be a lot easier if you keep a glass of powdered sugar on hand to dip your kitchen shears into.  They'll get awfully sticky!  Keep your hands sugared, too.  Trust me on this one. Powdered sugar is your friend.



To dip them, put your chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave-safe bowl (measuring chocolate chips is a good job for a small helper).



Microwave in one minute intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is thoroughly melted.  Mine took about three minutes, and I had to heat it an additional 30 seconds toward the end of the dipping because it was starting to get a little thick. 

Use a fork to dip the eggs, then set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet to harden.  Don't worry, I dipped the gluten-free ones first so I wouldn't contaminate the chocolate!  Add sprinkles, if desired, once they're on the baking sheet (though wouldn't it be fun to completely cover them in sprinkles?  Or coconut?  Hmm...maybe next time).

 

 When you're all done dipping and you have chocolate left, dip your trimmings and enjoy the fruits of your labor!  :-)




 Truth be told, I was surprised how easy these were.  I've toyed with the idea of making my own marshmallows for years but hadn't taken the plunge.  I'll definitely make these again (maybe ornament shapes for Christmas?), and I'll probably make some actual marshmallows for the upcoming s'more season!

Peppermint Ice Cream

We made this over the holidays and, ohmygoodness, BEST ICE CREAM EVER. Of course, it's so fattening you should only eat it once a year, but what the heck - it was the holidays! This makes enough for a 1 gallon ice cream maker - if you have a smaller one, you can make half a batch.

4 cups milk (we used 1%)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs, beaten
4 cups whipping cream
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
12 ounces peppermint candy, divided (we use three of those big peppermint sticks, but the round candies would work too.)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together milk, sugar, and salt. Heat to 175 degrees.

Temper the eggs by whisking in a few spoonfuls of the hot milk mixture. Stir quickly so they don't curdle! Stir the egg mixture into the pot of milk, and cook and stir until the mixture reaches 160 degrees (this shouldn't take long). Remove from heat.

Let cool by putting the saucepan in a bowl of ice, stirring constantly. After a couple of minutes, stir in the cream and vanilla. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, finely crush 2/3 of the peppermint (I find this works best by double bagging them in heavy freezer bags and using a rolling pin to mash them). Stir into the milk mixture. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Meanwhile, crush the rest of the peppermint into fairly big chunks (1/2 inch or so is good). Once the ice cream is done, stir in the chunks, put it in the freezer, and let it firm up for a few hours.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Bites

I'm making these in preparation for this week's "healthy foods" potluck at work. As desserts go, they're not bad - they're sweet, but fairly low fat and have a lot of fiber and vitamins thanks to the addition of the pumpkin.

1 box spice cake mix
1 egg
1 15-ounce can pumpkin

Mix all ingredients. Spoon into greased mini-muffin tins. These don't spread very much when they bake, so you might have to press them out a little with your finger to get them to fill the tins. Bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean (about 15 minutes).

My mini-muffin tin is little shapes, so I think they hold less than standard mini-muffin tins, and I'm getting about five and a half dozen out of one batch.

Granola Bars

Now, I won't insult your intelligence by trying to convince you that these are healthy, but at least they have a lot of fiber in them! And besides - what food involving the word granola is healthy??? :-)

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (I prefer butter in these)
2/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
3 tablespoons wheat germ
2 tablespoons ground flax
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 cup butterscotch chips (could use chocolate, hubby doesn't like it that way)

In a medium skillet, melt the butter. Add the peanut butter and corn syrup, stir to combine (this melts the peanut butter a little and makes it easier to stir). Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine brown sugar, combine all remaining ingredients except chips; add the butter/peanut butter mixture and stir to coat. Let stand 15 minutes, then stir in the chips (this cools it off so the chips don't melt so much). Press into a greased 13x9x2 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in the pan 20 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm (leave them in the pan after you cut them because they'll still be soft and crumbly till they cool completely. Makes however many bars you cut!


The original recipe also called for sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. I've never put them in simply because I never have sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds in granola bars sounds weird to me.

Enjoy!