Popsicles

Made these a while back for a friend's gathering. Been wanting to repeat this so that I could get a better individual shot but taking too long so thought I'd post it anyway.

Fresh Watermelon Popsicles.

Super easy to make and taste fantastic especially when the weather is hot.

Ingredients :
Sweet watermelon
Sugar - caster, brown or honey (to taste. For me I used about 2 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp caster sugar for 500g watermelon. Next time I'll probably use brown sugar instead.)
pinch of salt

Method:

1. Cut the watermelon seeds and remove the seeds.


2. Blend watermelon flesh.


3. If you prefer it chunky then skip this step. For a smoother texture, sieve watermelon juice at least twice.


4. Pour into moulds and freeze overnight.
   

These bento picks came in very handy. Colourful sight huh? Used ice tray as moulds to make small and fun servings for adults, not to mention the size just nice to pop the whole thing into the mouth!!

The younger children preferred these cool sticks as they were much BIGGER!! Ha ha

Even if you can afford this, would you pay USD58 (approx) for a watermelon??

Iced Mango

If you enjoy mangoes as much as MP, then this is a MUST TRY. All you really need is a blender, not forgetting the all important ingredients - mangoes.

Sometimes, you can get a pretty good deal for ‘ripe’ mangoes at the supermarket.

This recipe is pretty simple. All you have to do is add some blended mangoes, sugar, whipping cream then FREEZE and…..viola……you get iced mango!!! Amazing huh? :)

Its light, creamy and slightly icey, not so sweet too…..so can pig out without the usual waistline guilt. Must say that the honey really adds a nice light flavour to this ice cream.

Here's what I used:

Ingredients
230g Non-dairy whipping cream
50g icing sugar
2 tbsp good quality honey
380g mango
100g low fat plain yogurt (or alternatively can use a flavoured one)
1 tbsp coffee mate (optional)
1/2 vanila essence (optional)

Method:

1. Blend mangoes, sugar, honey, vanilla essence and yogurt to a smooth consistency. If you prefer some mango chucks then blend it accordingly or leave 50g diced mangoes and add separately to the mixture at the end.
2. In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff.
3. Pour in mango puree and beat mixture on low until properly incorporated.
4. If you own an ice cream maker then churn it before freezing it. Alternatively, pour into tub and freeze for 3 hours. Take mixture out and beat again before putting mixture back into the fridge to freeze overnight.

Bench notes – If you are not a sugar fan, note that the yogurt and whipping cream are slightly sweetened so you might want to adjust the sugar amount. Other suggestions are using brown sugar or honey or even golden/maple syrup for a deeper flavour.

With great reviews from MP, I'm all ready and excited to try other flavours!! :)

Blueberry Jello Salad

Have you ever heard of 'Jello Salad'? Not a common term in the East. Apparently rather popular during the post war years in America. To read more, click here. Interesting to note that they did incorporate chopped bits of vegetables into the jello and serve them as a 'salad' (I suppose that is how the name came about). I must admit that they do look pretty.

I was trying to find a recipe (a week before the hospital incident) to use a can of opened blueberry filling. Was toying with the idea of a blueberry pie but thought the can filling will be way too sweet. Probably much easier to adjust the sweetness with homemade filling.

A cheesecake or cheese tart did cross my mind then I stumbled into a Jello Salad. Like its name, its made with Jell-O brand jelly and blueberry filling.

A nice change to a normal jelly. I couldn't find any grape flavoured Jello so I used orange instead. It was well received by the kids - a cross between a jam and a jelly!! No wonder the kids liked it.

If serving to adults, I would recommend adding the cheese topping and perhaps some crushed biscuits as a base.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups hot water
2 packages of small grape jello

1 can of crushed pineapple (not drained, optional)

1 can blueberry pie filling

1. Mix hot water and jello crystals together. Stir until crystals have dissolved.

2. Mix in the pineapple and blueberry.
3. Pour into serving dish and refrigerate until firm, preferably overnight.

For the topping
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream

4. Blend together and pour over set jello.

5. Level the mixture and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Some thoughts....

I have always regarded jellies or agar-agar (Malay term for jelly; also known as kanten, China grass, or Japanese isinglass - source Wikipedia) as a dessert, not a ‘salad’. Texture wise, I find jellies or Jello softer and wobblier compared to agar-agar. I find Konnyaku the fastest setting out of the three with agar-agar giving the firmest crunch.

Jellies are all made from gelatinous substance, the difference being as follows:
For Jello, gelatin obtained from skin of cows or pigs (non-halal).
For Agar-agar, gelatin derived from seaweed.
For Konnyaku, gelatin made from starchy corn and used as a vegan substitute.

* To read more about the differences, mosey over to Lilian.

* For an interesting savoury fusion konnyaku recipe, mosey over to Kels. I've actually bought a plain packet of konnyaku but haven't had the time to try this yet, but looks yummy. Best of all suppose to be low in carbs!

Colour burst

Master Prince asked me to make jelly for him, preferably with the colours green, purple, blue, etc. As I was browsing at Lily's blog which I frequent. Btw, she is a great cook and inspiration, especially for those living overseas but missing local, home comfort and childhood delicacies.

Erm, if someone can tell me how to insert a link, I'll be most grateful as I've forgotten how!! :(
Updated - Thanks Agnes for your help!! *hugs*

Anyway, when I saw the rainbow jelly, I told myself why not give it a try....WITHOUT fully realising how tedious the task may/could be. The waiting time between each layer can be a killer, depending how many layers you want.

Fortunately, it turned out OK....if you look from far away!! Can't see all the flaws and impatience. Ha ha.

Look like Life Saver? Its a confectionary.

Everyone who tasted it said it was nice - maybe they were polite??? But then again, this is usually a favourite with both young and old!

Funny thing is that when I showed Master Prince the jelly, he was very excited and promptly declared that he only wanted the red coloured layer!! Sigh....can't please them all! Afterall why have only one colour when you can have them all in one slice?

Side comments #1 - Would have been much faster using konyakku jelly mix compared to agar-agar. Difference would be the texture with the latter having more bite'. I flavoured mine Lychee because I didn't want to wander in the garden in the dark to pluck the pandan leaves!!

Side comments #2 - Cool container in a ice cold water to hasten the 'hardening' of each layer. Spoon the next layer mixture in starting with the corners as they cool the fastest and also less likely to produce bubbles as compared to pouring the mixture in!