Coffee Frozen Yogurt: No Ice Cream Maker Necessary!

I have wanted to try homemade ice cream FOREVER. OK, not forever, but since I started cooking.

The trouble is I have no ice cream maker.

I could always get one, I know. But I've had a series of small kitchens and extra equipment that only does one job takes up space that I can't afford to lose. Also, what I am supposed to do with ice cream salt? Plus, people have been making ice cream way before personal ice cream makers. If they can make it, so can I.

Notes: I used this base recipe to make my coffee frozen yogurt. I think it turned out AMAZING. Be aware: if you're expecting it to taste like the kind of frozen yogurt that comes out of the machines at those yogurt shops, it won't. It will still be tangy like non-frozen yogurt. But I think it's super refreshing. The coffee flavor is rich and the chocolate chips add a great little crunch.

If you have crushed-up chocolate covered espresso beans, you could use those instead of chocolate chips.

While you're mixing this every 30 minutes, you'll need a couple of different tools. I started out with a metal whisk, which worked great. Once the mixture becomes more solid, you'll need something like a strong spatula or wooden spoon. Remember to scrape the sides down. I poured my mix into a glass loaf pan and that worked really well.

Ingredients:
2 cups plain Greek yogurt (NOT low fat)
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons coffee grounds
1 cup prepared cooled coffee
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions: You'll need to mix all the ingredients except the chocolate chips. You can blend them in a stand mixer, a blender, or in a large bowl with an immersion blender (I did it the last way).

Pour the mixture into a deep glass baking dish or freezer-safe bowl. Freeze for 2-3 hours. While the mixture freezes, stir it every 30 minutes using a whisk or a heavy spatula to break it up. Once the mixture become thicker, add in the chocolate chips and continue stirring as before. The mixture freeze similarly to ice cream.

Once the yogurt is frozen, scoop it just like regular ice cream. Serve and enjoy!

A Little Lighter: Banana Pudding Parfaits

See these? These are amazing.

Eating healthy doesn't mean you have to give up dessert. It does mean that you shouldn't eat dessert all the time. It also means you should be creative with what kinds of dessert you eat.

One of my favorite things to do is come up with lighter versions of foods I love. I looove banana pudding, but I'd be fooling myself if I thought it was good for me. I saw this recipe for a slightly lighter banana pudding and I decided to make it even lighter.

Notes: I was perfectly happy with the flavor of the vanilla yogurt, but Scott wanted it a little sweeter. I made them again with some powdered sugar. I added that step, but if you want to keep it light, just leave out the sugar.

Baking the bananas brings out their flavor and their sweetness. You can do this step a little ahead of time.

This recipe makes two parfaits and it can be easily doubled.

Ingredients:
2 bananas
8 oz (1 cup) of Greek vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons confectioners sugar
Nilla wafers (I used the mini ones)

Directions: Heat the oven to 350. Wrap one of the bananas in foil and bake for 35-40 minutes. Allow it to cool completely.

When the banana is cool, peel it and mash it a bowl. Add the yogurt and the sugar and mix well. Slice the other banana. You want pretty thin slices so you can layer them.

In the bottom of a glass, make a layer of Nilla wafers (how many you use will depend on the size of your glass). Top the wafers with a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt mixture. Top that with a layer of banana slices. Do another wafer layer, another yogurt layer, and another banana layer.

Wrap some Nilla wafers in a paper towel and crush them with your hands. Sprinkle the crushed wafers on top of the banana slices.

You can serve immediately or refrigerate. Refrigeration will soften the wafers.

Enjoy a lighter banana pudding!

The Kale Diaries, Part One: Easy Kale Salad

You've heard how healthy kale is for you, right? It has all sorts of vitamins and it's a good non-dairy source of calcium. If you don't eat it already, you should.

Kale can be used in the place of all sorts of greens, but let's face it: not everyone wants a giant pile of steamed or sauteed greens. I'm trying to find different ways to prep it.

I'm also trying to add more raw dishes to my arsenal. Eating raw veggies and fruits can maximize the nutritional value. Cooking often allows the vitamins to leech out of the food. Also, I am frequently lazy on my long days. Raw foods require less prep than cooking, which fits in perfectly with my laziness. Enter kale salad!

Notes: This is a great way to use up extra kale that you have. The bunches from my co-op are HUGE. Kale, like all greens, shrinks when you cook it, but if you live by yourself, it's still hard to use it all up.

You could easily make this animal by-product free if you omitted the yogurt. It tasted great with both ingredients, but I think each one on its own would be equally good.

To prep your kale, here's what you do: fill up a big bowl of cold water. De-stem the kale by holding it by the bottom part of the stem in one hand. Put the kale between the index and middle finger of your other hand and pull from the bottom of the leaf to the top. You want to strip the leafy part off the stem. Put the leafy parts into the bowl of water. When you de-stem the whole bunch, swish the kale around in the cold water like washing machine. The dirt will fall to the bottom of the bowl. Lift the kale out and lay it out on a clean kitchen towel. Pat it dry and store it wrapped in a paper towel in the fridge (I put mine in a food storage bag in my veggie drawer).

Ingredients:
1/2 a bunch of kale (I had Lactino), torn into small pieces
1/4 cup of plain yogurt
2 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons of golden raisins
Sprinkle of cinnamon

Directions:

Add the yogurt and applesauce to a bowl and mix together. Add in the kale and stir to coat the leaves. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Top it with raisins and cinnamon. Enjoy!

Q.E.D: Roasted Grapes with Honey Vanilla Yogurt

Scott and I had some friends over for dinner the other night. I bought a few things to nibble on before dinner was ready. "Who doesn't love sweet, delicious grapes," I thought, as I put some green grapes in my shopping basket. I brought them home, washed them, and laid them out to dry. "Ah, a couple came off the stem. I'll just eat those," I thought, sampling the goods.

ACK! They were sour.

I tried a couple more, just to be sure, but it turned out the first few hadn't lied. The whole bunch was sour.

Now, I'm no Ms. Manners, but I know you don't serve sour grapes to your guests. "How," I said to myself, "can I salvage this sorry produce?"

I remembered once seeing a recipe for roasted grapes. Hm, let's see: if you roast a tomato, it tastes sweeter. Could it work with grapes as well? I decided a little experiment was in order. The grapes were already sour, so even if they didn't turn out, it wouldn't be a loss.

Much to my surprise, they were good! They were sweet, but still a little tart, a little nutty, warm and really juicy. I had turned my appetizer blunder into a appetizer wonder.

Notes: These are Q.E.D if ever there was. I decided to deck mine out in some toasted sesame seeds, but your could use several different things. I think any finely chopped nut would do. If I had had any cinnamon, I would have used that in addition to my seeds. I contemplated dusting them with a little cocoa powder, just to see. I think I might try that with some red grapes. I think I'll experiment with the dipping sauce, too.

These made a great cocktail snack/appetizer. They'd go great with a cheese plate. I put them back in the fridge and had them leftover as a side dish as well. They were great cold! If you were serving them as an appetizer, I think they're best slightly warm or at room temperature.

These are so fast, you could whip them up totally last minute. 

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 pound grapes
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Pinch salt
Dipping sauce (recipe follows)

Heat your oven to 450.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Remove the grapes from the stem and scatter in one layer on the baking sheet.

Drizzle with oil and roast for 10 minutes. Halfway through, shake the baking sheet to turn the grapes over so they cook on both sides. They'll be ready when they are plump, sizzling, and just slightly browned.

When they are finished, sprinkle them with salt and sesame seeds.

The miracle

Serve them with some dipping sauce!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt because that's what I had)
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir all ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until you're ready to serve.