Super Quick and Clean Watermelon Sorbet

Got watermelon? I do!!!
It's watermelon season, and as the weather warms and produce ripens, we may or may not find ourselves with excessive amounts of it!

You know what I mean.... you buy an entire watermelon, eat it all week, and still have lots leftover ...what to do! Freeze it! and make this yummy treat! or add it into smoothies, margaritas, whatever!
True, this quick sorbet requires a bit of planning, but once you have a few bags of frozen watermelon in your freezer, you will never want ice cream again ( just kidding, not likely!!)

Give this a try! It's light and clean, with not added sugars:)

Quick Watermelon Sorbet

2 cups frozen watermelon chunks
2 Tbsp. liquid such as water, lemonade, orange juice, rum...


That's it!!!

Chop watermelon into bite sized cubes. Reserve whatever amount you want to keep fresh on hand and place remaining amount in several freezer bars. Layer watermelon chunks in a single layer for freezing; this will prevent watermelon from freezing into one large chunk. Remove as much air as possible from bags. I like to zip most of the bag closed and then suck (yes with your mouth) the air out of one end; yup , not the most sanitary, but it's for me (and the Wyatt and Chris) right, so its all good! Plus it WORKS!! Your very own vacuum sealer lol.



Freeze the bags overnight-this is what they will look like. Lightly tap the frozen bags against counter to break up the watermelon.

Place about 2 cups of chunks in a food processor and allow to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to lightly soften. If you have a newer food processor, you probably don't need to wait. Mine is pretty old, and I am waiting for it to die out. It has been 9 years and it is still kicking!! Or you can do this in your Vitamix (the dry container). If you use blender, you will likely need more liquid.

Pulse until finely chopped. Add about 2 Tbsp. of lemonade or orange juice, or even just water if you have super sweet watermelon. Pulse again until smooth, like sorbet.

Serve immediately! Makes 1-2 servings depending on whether you are eating for 2 or not lol.

Serve with thinly sliced fresh herbs such a mint or basil.

Whole Wheat Apricot and Fig Cookie Rolls

I bought some super yummy fig newton like cookies at the East End food Co-Op last week from the bulk section. Since then, I have been missing them so much! I had them for first breakfast along with my latte for 2 glorious days. Second breakfast usually consists of Greek yogurt with walnuts, goji berries and bee pollen (totally addicted to the stuff!).
After searching on the "inter webs" for the perfect recipe, I decided to create my very own, packed with protein for a balanced first breakfast !

Check it out !

Whole Wheat Apricot Fig Cookie Rolls

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ cup vanilla protein powder
½ tsp. baking  soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 canola oil
½ cup brown sugar
 1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 eggs

Filling: Homemade apricot or fig  butter: I had some in the freezer. You can essentially make this with any dried fruit. Soak about 1½ cups dried apricots with about 1 ½ cups hot water. Drain and process softened apricots until smooth, adding spices such as cinnamon and ginger as desired.

Combine flour, protein powder, soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.

Stir in flour mixture, working the last ½ cup by hand if needed, until dough forms.

Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350F. Divide chilled dough in three even parts and roll into a rectangle over wax or parchment paper, about 12 by 4-inches, ¼ -inch thick.

Spread about 1/3-1/2 cup filling in the center on the rectangle, long ways, leaving about 1 ½ inches of both sides for sealing.

Use wax paper to help place edges of dough over filling, overlapping to cover filling. Transfer onto pan coated with cooking spray, seam side down. Continue with remaining dough and filling.

  Bake for 12-15 minutes. Cut each log into 10-12 pieces while still warm and cool slightly before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy day and night!

 

Coconut Apple Cake Bars

Coconut flour is tricky to work with. It is a thirsty flour, that requires lots of liquid; figuring out the amount of liquid is definitely challenging. This recipe first started out as a coffee cake, then quickly transformed into a bar...or both. The texture is interesting, almost cheesecake like. Maybe I added too much milk, or not enough egg. Or maybe they are perfect...just not sure. But they are tasty and perfect with a dollop of ice cream!

 

Apple Coconut Cake Bars

 Apple Coconut Batter
2 cups grated apples
1/3 cup agave syrup
 1/3 cup coconut or canola oil
3 large eggs
2 cups milk such as coconut, soy or almond
2 Tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup coconut flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt

Filling and Topping
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
3 Tbsp. maple sugar, sucanat or brown sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp. cinnamon
¼ cup agave for drizzling

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Whisk together apples, syrup, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Stir together until just mixed. In another small bowl, combine coconut, sugar, walnuts and cinnamon. Place half of the batter in 9x13-inch greased pan and sprinkle evenly with half of the coconut mixture. Top with remaining batter and spread in a thin layer. Sprinkle remaining coconut mixture over top and drizzle with agave syrup.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until spring. Remove from oven and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Cool completely and store refrigerated in an airtight container.