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05/27/2013
~ Fun w/Summer Fruit: Fresh-Fruit-Puree Ice Cubes ~
Wherever you live, I hope you are enjoying a lovely, long Memorial Day weekend. Often referred to as "the unofficial start to Summer", and, "the unofficial start to the outdooor entertaining season", Memorial Day, out of respect for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to our great country, is a weekend full of entire-town celebrations (complete with parades and carnivals), as well as relaxed family gatherings. In preparation for this holiday, every foodie grillmaster I know cleans their barbecue grill in anticipation of cooking fare that is inspired by and complementary of nature's bounty. As soon as the holiday's festivities are over, the foodie gardeners I know plant their gardens in anticipation of the upcoming fresh fruits and vegetables that go hand-in-hand with Summer. It is an exciting time of year for foodies!
It will be a few weeks before I harvest any of nature's bounty from our own backyard gardens, but all sorts of high-quality fruits and vegetables are flooding into our grocery stores right now, which makes the wait bearable. In preparation for my Memorial Day celebration, I bought a bag of gorgeous kiwi, a couple of pineapples, and 2 big boxes of unbelievably sweet strawberries. Over the holiday weekend, with each one, I made an absolutely luscious Summertime dessert!
Meet 3 of my favorite, easy-to-make, Summertime fruit desserts:
My recipe for ~ Just What the Doctored Ordered: Kiwi-Lime Sorbet ~, which I posted last July, can be found in Categories 6, 20 and 22. It was Friday night's dessert and a great way to kickoff the holiday weekend. It only took me 5 minutes to prep and put the ingredients in my electric ice cream maker, and, while Joe cooked burgers on the grill, the ice cream maker made dessert for me!
Saturday was cool and my guests were happy to be inside. I cooked up a batch of crockpot chili and Joe deep-fried chicken wings. While the chili was slow-cooking, I made ~ A Simple, Summertime Treat: Pineapple Cobbler ~ for dessert. You can find the recipe in Categories 6, 10 & 20!
Yesterday, (Sunday) we were back outside in the sun. On the grill, Joe outdid himself and served some great Delmonico steaks, chicken breasts and sweet corn. Before my guests packed up and headed home, I treated them to ~ It's a Dad Thing: My Dad's Strawberry Soup ~. There wasn't a drop left, and, last but not least, it's in Categories 6, 11, 16 & 20!
Today I'm using the leftover fruit to make fruit-puree ice cubes!
It's no secret that I've been entertaining for a lot of years. I've made ice cubes for specialty cocktails and ice rings for punch out of citrus and fruit juices countless times. Example: I freeze cranberry juice in an ice ring mold if I am serving punch made with cranberry juice. It just makes sense. Why would I allow frozen water to melt into a great-tasting punch when a complimentary-flavored frozen juice would add additional flavor!?!
Fruit puree ice cubes are a great addition to all sorts of beverages, whether or not they contain alcohol. Use any type of very ripe fruit to make fruit puree ice cubes. Just peel and chop it (if applicable) and place it in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Puree it until it is a pourable liquid (scraping down the sides of the work bowl with a
rubber spatula once or twice during the process). The entire process only takes 35-45 seconds. Transfer to any size or shape ice cube tray and freeze until solid. That being said, it is important to pair the ice cubes to a beverage that compliments it. Here are some of my suggested combinations:
Fruity Citrus juices (pictured below):
Kiwi Limeade (left)
Pineapple Orangeade (middle)
Strawberry Lemonade (right)
Fruity Soft Drinks:
Cherry Cola
Mango Gingerale
Blueberry Lemon-Lime Soda
Fruity Everyday Beverages:
Banana Iced Coffee
Raspberry or Blackberry Iced Tea
Cantaloupe, Honey Dew or Watermelon Sparkling Water
Note: Experiment with your own combinations, just remember: carefully pair your pure-fruit ice cubes with your beverage. Enjoy!
Fun w/Summer Fruit: Fresh-Fruit-Puree Ice Cubes: Recipe yields instructions for making as many fresh fruit puree ice cubes as you want.
Special Equipment List: cutting board; chef's knife; blender or food processor; ice cube trays
Cook's Note: To learn my formula for making lemonade (which works just the same for making limeade and orangeade too), my recipe for ~ When Life Hands You Lemons: Make Lemonade! ~ can be found in Categories 10, 16 or 20!
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2013)
Comments
I'm sure I didn't invent it, but, it's a great use for leftover fruit. And, as always, Teresa, you made my day!
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I'm sure I didn't invent it, but, it's a great use for leftover fruit. And, as always, Teresa, you made my day!
Posted by: Kitchen Encounters | 05/28/2013 at 09:04 PM
Damn cool idea and beautiful!
Posted by: Teresa Gottier | 05/28/2013 at 08:14 PM