Tag Archives: treat

Watermelon Granita Cocktail

Leave a reply

We’ve been having some 90+ degree days here in Seattle and for us.. well, that’s pretty hot. We start melting. Especially since no one has air conditioning. Anyway, we put on fans, eat icy treats and pretend we can deal with the heat.

I plant myself in the shade while the kids splash and run around.. I like to think we look like we’re in the serene setting a Pottery Barn summer catalog.. you know the double fold showing a gorgeous patio with a large glassy pool and beautiful outdoor furniture with lush greenery in the background? But really it’s just the blue plastic kiddie pool and my chaise lounger on the yellow straw that is Seattle grass in summer.

Anyway, if you have some leftover Watermelon Granita, add some vodka or tequila, shake it up and call it a summer frozen refresher. The natural watermelon flavor says summer!

watermelon granita cocktail blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups frozen Watermelon Granita
  • 1 shot Triple Sec
  • 1 or 2 shots vodka or tequila
  • Mint for garnish

Directions

  • Shake everything up well and pour in two glasses
  • Garnish with mint
  • Serve immediately
  • Happy summer! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Watermelon Granita

3 Replies

This is quite the simple summer treat! Love watermelon? You’ll love watermelon granita!

watermelon granita blog (2)watermelon granita blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 3 cups roughly chopped watermelon
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 6-8 mint leaves and more for garnish
  • 1 Tbsp honey

Directions

  • Freeze a glass baking dish for an hour
  • In a blender, puree watermelon, lime juice, mint leaves and honey until smooth
  • Pour through a fine-mesh sieve and discard solids
  • Pour juice into chilled baking dish and freeze until slushy, ~45 minutes
  • Rake surface with a fork to break up ice crystals
  • Freeze 30 minutes
  • Repeat until frozen
  • Scoop into bowls, garnish with mint and serve

dit-elle-Esther

Balsamic Strawberries

Leave a reply

I discovered strawberries with balsamic recently – wow – yum! Strawberry goodness with a pop from the vinegar and pepper. Try it!

balsamic strawberries blog

Ingredients

  • 2 cups strawberries, rinsed and sliced
  • 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar (optional, omit for paleo version)
  • Pepper to taste
  • Mint for garnish

Directions

  • Combine all ingredients and let marinade for at least an hour or up to four
  • Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Blackberry Vanilla Coconut Pops

Leave a reply

Ready for some more blackberry inspiration? Try these Blackberry Vanilla Coconut Pops. Low sugar and kid approved! Not just for the kids, these are a cool treat for anyone on a summer day.

blackberry coconut paleo popcicles blog

Ingredients

  • 2 cups blackberries
  • 2 Tbsp honey, divided (or more if needed)
  • 1 tsp vanilla, divided
  • 1 can full fat coconut milk
  • 1 Tbsp water

Directions

  • In a saucepan over medium-low heat, combine blackberries, 1 Tbsp water, 1 heaping Tbsp honey. Simmer, stirring gently, 3 to 5 minutes. Mash berries with a spatula as they cook. Remove from heat and add 1/2 tsp vanilla.
  • Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing with spatula to extract all liquid. Discard solids, and set liquids aside to cool.
  • In another saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the coconut milk with another 1 heaping Tbsp honey. Simmer, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla, and set aside to cool.
  • Fill pop molds 2/3 full with coconut mixture and then pour in blackberry mixture until mold is full. Insert sticks and freeze.
  • Enjoy! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Blackberry Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

Leave a reply

As mentioned in my blog post on the topic last week, Blackberry season is in full swing and so much fun! The berries are fun to pick, eat and make yummy things with. Today, a Blackberry Crisp.. pretty much paleo, but add some vanilla ice cream for some non-paleo, but totally delicious, goodness!

Blackberry paleo crumble 2016 with vanilla icecream for blog

Ingredients

  • 4 cups blackberries
  • 1/4 cup sweetener like honey or sugar as needed (if you have very ripe blackberries this may not be needed and you can certainly make it without sweetener for a slightly tarter crisp)

For the topping

  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 1/2 cup golden flax meal (or any ground flax)
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • Vanilla Ice Cream and mint leaves for garnish

Directions

  • Rinse blackberries, drain well and pour into glass baking dish (9×11″ works well) and drizzle with some honey or sprinkle with sugar (as needed)
  • Mix topping ingredients with a fork until butter is distributed and ingredients are combined well
  • Sprinkle topping evenly over berries
  • Bake @ 350 for 35-45 minutes with tinfoil on. Remove tinfoil and bake for another 10 minutes as needed or until crust is a golden brown.
  • Enjoy with your favorite vanilla ice cream or drizzled with some cold coconut milk

Modified quite a bit, but thanks for the inspiration http://paleoleap.com/berry-crumble/

dit-elle-Esther

Blackberry Season

1 Reply

It’s blackberry season in Seattle! The season can be pretty long depending on weather. A bunch can have flowers, little green berries, ripening red berries and juicy sweet blackberries all at once! 🙂

Blackberries are known for their fiber and nutrients (like vitamin C and K) and antioxidant properties.. and of course, their tastiness! They are a great berry for pies, cobblers, crisps, shakes, cordial and other drinks.

We have a lot of recipes with blackberries on this blog, simply type in the keyword on our homepage! Because blackberries tend to grow wherever the vines reach, it’s a great activity for big and small.. berries are often found at or near ground level. Pick, eat, enjoy! And I’ll be posting more recipes as the summer goes on! 🙂

Blackberries july 2016 for blog (1)Blackberries july 2016 for blog (3)Blackberries july 2016 for blog (2)

Enjoy blackberry season! 🙂

dit-elle-Esther

Blackberry Jalapeno Margaritas

Leave a reply

Blackberry season is upon us and so is Margarita season! Stir up some Blackberry Jalapeno Margaritas for a spicy and delicious summer drink! 🙂

blackberry jalapeno margarita blog (3) blackberry jalapeno margarita blog (2) blackberry jalapeno margarita blog (1)

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • ¾ cup tequila
  • ½ cup triple sec or grand marnier
  • ½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 cup blackberry Jalapeno Syrup (see below)
  • Ice cubes
  • Fresh blackberries and lime wedges for garnish
  • Blackberry Jalapeno Syrup (recipe here)
  • Blackberries, lime wedges and jalapeno slices for garnish
  • Sugar for the rim

Instructions

  1. Rim 4 glasses with a lime wedge and then dip them into a dish filled with sugar. Upright the glasses and fill them with ice.
  2. Fill a cocktail shaker with the tequila, triple sec, lime juice and 1 cup of the Blackberry Jalapeno syrup, plus a handful of ice. Shake vigorously and strain the margaritas into the prepared glasses.
  3. Garnish with fresh blackberries and lime wedges and serve.

Inspired by Heather Cristo’s Blackberry Jalapeno Margaritas.

dit-elle-Esther

Blackberry Jalapeno Syrup

Leave a reply

As Blackberries start to ripen, this is a GREAT base recipe that you can make up to a week in advance and store in your fridge. I’ll post a couple of drinks next week! Jalapeno adds a lot of heat, but you could certainly leave that out if you want a non spicy syrup!

blackberry jalapeno syrup blog

Ingredients (makes 1 ½ cups)

  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen blackberries
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, minced

Directions

  • Combine the sugar and water in a small pot and bring to a brief boil over medium heat.
  • Transfer the syrup to a blender and add the blackberries and the jalapenos. Blend until smooth. To extract the seeds, pour through a fine mesh strainer into an airtight container or mason jar. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Inspired by Heather Cristo’s Blackberry Jalapeno Margaritas.

dit-elle-Esther

4th of July Almond Zucchini Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Leave a reply

Happy 4th of July, happy Independence Day! Hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Need a festive dessert for the holiday? Make these cupcakes and decorate with berries – a beautiful and great cooking project for kids to help with (especially the decorating part)! 🙂

And.. the secret ingredient? Zucchini! This makes them moist and delicious, and who can say no to some extra healthiness? 🙂

zucchini cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting blog (2) zucchini cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting blog (1)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons potato starch (or corn starch is fine)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
  • dash sea salt
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar (or other sugar, white/brown)
  • 2 tsps pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup finely grated zucchini (from 1 medium zucchini), squeezed of excess liquid

Frosting

  • 16 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 3 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp lemon zest
  • Berries for garnish (I used raspberries and blueberries)
  • Shredded coconut for garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cupcake tin with paper forms.
  2. Whisk together almond flour, potato starch, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Set a large heatproof bowl over (not in) a pot with 1 inch barely simmering water. Add eggs and whisk until foamy, about 1 minute. Whisk in sugar and continue to whisk until mixture is fluffy and sugar is dissolved, 3 minutes. Remove bowl from pot and, using a mixer, whisk on high until mixture is thick and pale, 7 to 10 minutes (I did this in my food processor with the standard chopper blade).
  4. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in melted butter, flour mixture, vanilla, and zucchini. Pour into tin and bake until cupcakes are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool.
  5. For frosting, with mixer (or again I used the food processor here) beat together room-temperature butter, cream cheese, lemon juice and zest until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until combined. Spread on top of cupcakes and decorate with berries and shredded coconut.

 

I originally made this recipe as a cake inspired by the queen herself (Martha Stewart’s Zucchini Almond Cake).

Enjoy!

dit-elle-Esther

Coffee and Vanilla Ice Cream Popsicles

Leave a reply

Busy making fruit popsicles for the kids? Make a few coffee and vanilla ones as a special treat for YOU!

vanilla coffee popsicles blog (2)vanilla coffee popsicles blog (1)

Ingredients

  • Vanilla ice cream
  • Coffee (cold!)

Directions

  • Fill your popsicle mold with a scoop of ice cream
  • Pour in coffee to fill up rest of mold
  • Freeze

Enjoy on a hot day!

dit-elle-Esther