summer Archives - Page 7 of 8

Tag: summer

18
Jun
2013

Fresh Mint and Chocolate Chunks Ice-cream

Hello beautiful people.. I hope you all enjoyed my yesterday’s ice-cream post!

But if you have not read my previous post then let me tell you that I am doing an ice-cream week on the blog and I am going to post super-easy ice-cream recipes which does not require the use of ice-cream maker! Week-long of deliciousness! Excited??!! I really am… Imagine 7 beautiful ice-cream treats for 7 days of the week! 7 gorgeous flavors! Yup.. I’ll be blogging continuously for 7 days! Anything for you guys! 🙂

So keeping up with this week’s ice-cream theme, I have got you a Fresh Mint and Chocolate Chunk Ice-cream… Sounds refreshing right? Feeling of cold running down your spine while having the first lick of this ice-cream is what you should expect and nothing less! That too made with fresh mint.. No mister, no mint extract involved here!

Mint and chocolate is a match made in heaven! This is one of my favorite ice-creams to have in summer… Love the splash of green it has! I know… Girls and colors!!! 😉

If you do not like green color, no worries, simply omit it as it is only for the visual effect! But I bet your kiddos or kids in you will love it!

Large chunks of chocolate really compliments cool mint, mellows down the flavor and yet packs a punch!

So you would be curious as in how did I manage to extract so much flavor from fresh mint without adding even a drop of mint extract? Actually it was very simple! I added mint leaves to the cream and let it sit in the refrigerator for around 4 hours. Kind of let the mint marinate the cream and after 4 hours you get the base for your ice-cream! Dang easy!

Whip this cream with a drop of green color and add as many chocolate chunks as you like to it, hide it in freezer for 4-5 hours and it’s ready to be devoured!

Just a 4-ingredient treat!

Fresh Mint and Chocolate Chunks Ice-cream

Yields: around 12-14 scoops

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh medium fat cream (40% fat)
2 large handfuls of mint leaves
3 Tbsp caster sugar
1 drop of green food color (optional)
1 cup dark chocolate chunks (I like lots of it, you can use less)
chocolate sprinkles and/or chocolate sauce, to garnish

Directions:

In a bowl, add mint leaves to the cream and place it in a refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Use sieve and strain the cream in another large bowl to separate mint leaves. Add sugar and food color to it and whip using a electric mixer till you get a light and fluffy mix. Fold in chocolate chunks and spoon the mix in airtight container. Freeze it for 4-5 hours and serve it as is or with chocolate sprinkles or chocolate sauce.

Tips:

*When serving leftovers, remove container from freezer about 15 minutes before serving to soften.

*Dip your ice-cream scoop in a warm water for scooping out the ice-cream easily.

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17
Jun
2013

No-Churn Coffee and Nutella Ice-cream with Oreo Chunks

categories: Ice-creams, Summer

I am soooo thrilled to host a ‘No-Churn Ice-cream Week’ on my blog! This is going to be a first hand experience for me to be blogging around one theme throughout the week. Challenge accepted!

I love ice-creams and I love to experiment with different flavors which can be made without investing into an ice-cream maker. I bet you would too! I mean… come’on… who wouldn’t like a bowl full of this home-made goodness when it is so easy to whip up! Plus, you know what has gone into making of this ice-cream so perfectly safe for your kiddos! Give them as much as they wish to eat! 😉

Coming first in this series is Coffee & Nutella Ice-cream with Oreo Chunks… Oreos and Nutella are kids’ favorite and a kick of caffeine will make it gratifying for adults too.. So all in all it is a win-win-win for everyone!

The ice-cream has only 4 ingredients! Don’t believe me? Believe me!… Only 4 ingredients… Okay if you count few droplets of water as an ingredient then 5!

You might have all these ingredients already in your pantry so no extra trip involved to supermarket! So whip this up right away and surprise your kid with it when he is back from school, treat your hubby with it when he is returns from office or just pamper yourself!

Oh… Forgot to list another advantage! No extra sugar required to be added as Oreos and Nutella already have enough sweetness to it. Plus, the cream used here is medium fat so the resultant ice-cream is light and does not taste too rich. Soooo Deee-liish! 🙂

No-Churn Coffee & Nutella Ice-Cream with Oreo Chunks

Yields: around 20 large scoops of ice-cream

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp instant coffee powder
2 Tbsp hot water
2 Tbsp Nutella, at room temperature
500 ml medium fat cream (approx 40% fat)
20 Oreo cookies, chunks
(I used combination of choco-creme and plain sandwich Oreo cookies)

Directions:

In a large bowl, add hot water to instant coffee-powder and dissolve coffee completely. Add Nutella and cream to this and whip till you get a light, fluffy mix and soft peaks form in the mix.

Oreo chunks to this mix (In a zip-lock bag, add Oreo cookies and use roller-pin to form chunks). Fold in Spoon the mixture in a airtight container and freeze for 4-5 hours. Your ice-cream is ready to be gobbled up!

*Use electric whipper for your convenience and if your are whipping with hand, all the best, your muscle strength will be definitely put to test! 😉

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11
Jun
2013

Farfalle with Fresh Coriander and Cashew Pesto

categories: Dinner, Lunch, Summer

As I have proclaimed here before…. I looovvveee pasta!

And my all time favorite pasta sauce is basil pesto.

But then I came across this creamy coriander pesto & now, I have a new favorite!

On a rainy evening, hubby & I were sipping coffee at our favorite cafe located down the street from our house. They have quite a versatile menu and I really love the place. One pasta sauce in there really caught my eye and I had to order it immediately. It was a spicy coriander and cashew sauce prepared in cream cheese and was served over Conchiglie (shell shaped) pasta.

The dish was so delectable that I had to replicate it at home with bit of a guesswork. Of course my version differed from theirs as I did not use cream cheese and did not add red chili flakes. But it was every bit as scrumptious if not better! Now would I lie to you? NO! So believe me 🙂

It is a pesto sauce so you have your usual suspects.. fresh herb, garlic and nuts!

The pesto has a fresh summery fragrance from fresh coriander and a rich texture from cashews. I used Farfalle pasta instead as that is what I had on hand.

You would be really surprised at how creamy it turned out and pretty low in calories too! Very delicate dish all in all! 🙂

So let’s get down to the recipe!

Farfalle with Fresh Coriander and Cashew Pesto

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3 cups Farfalle pasta, cooked al dente as per the package direction
2 cups fresh coriander leaves (packed into measuring cup)
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup cashews, soaked in water for 2-3 hours
1/4 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup hot milk and 1 cup hot water, mixed together
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp red chili flakes (I omitted it)

Directions:

Cook 2 cups of Farfalle pasta in salted boiling water as per the direction mentioned on the package. Once pasta has cooked al dente, drain the water and start preparing the sauce.
Add coriander leaves, garlic cloves, soaked cashews, pinch of salt and 1/4 cup milk in a blender and blitz till you get a soft puree. Add little milk if required.
In a pan, melt the butter and add flour to it. Let the flour cook for about 3-4 minutes on a low heat.
Add hot milk and hot water mixture to the pan and whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Add grated cheese. Cheese will melt and mixture will thicken a bit in about 5 minutes.
Add pureed coriander mixture in a pan and whisk. Season with salt and pepper as per your taste. Add red chili flakes if you want a hint of spice. Add pasta to this and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes so that pasta has absorbed the sauce. Serve immediately.

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10
Jun
2013

Peach, Apricot & Banana Minty Milk Smoothie

categories: Breakfast, Drinks, Summer

What’s your Monday morning routine? I make my bed, splash my face with cold water and drink a glass of this amazing goodness! I try my best to start the day on a healthy note. With some conscious eating. I can talk to my morning brain which is rational at that time of day. By the time evening coffee starts brewing, it’s nearly impossible to talk me out of popcorn, a bite or two from cookies and spoonfuls of ice-cream! And dinner looks like any romantic chick-flick breakup scene where a heartbroken girl eats her weight in every mouthwatering thing ever!

It’s a new Monday… It’s a new week… So let’s start the week off feeling lively!

We use frozen banana chunks for this one.. It lends the smoothie richest, creamiest and thickest texture!

Pairing peach and apricot with bananas really kicks up flavors and gives it a truly tropical feeling!

To brighten up the flavors a bit more, I added handful of mint leaves!

Make it a Minty Monday’!!!

Peach, Apricot & Banana Minty Milk Smoothie

Yields: 4 glasses

Ingredients:

3 bananas, sliced into chunks, frozen
2 fresh peaches, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
7-8 fresh apricots, cored and roughly chopped
1 handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cup cold milk

Directions:

In a blender, add all the ingredients and blitz until smooth. Add more milk if the consistency is too thick for your liking. Enjoy immediately.

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13
May
2013

Oreo Nutella CoffeeShake

categories: Drinks

What’s worse than Friday the 13th?! A: Monday the 13th! Okay… It’s a BAD joke! But can you blame me for being hostile towards Monday? I think not… 😉 Today was kinda horrible for me so hopefully my Monday Mourning will be totally acceptable.

I am a very accommodating and flexible person – with flaws. And anyone who knows me even a bit is aware of my bad temper (not that I am proud of it and I m constantly working towards it). In any case, nothing calls for an undue advantage of my good nature. I hate being pushed just like anyone with small amount of dignity would. I am a kind of a person who goes out of the way to help others but not those who have no respect for boundaries and are selfish.

Okay… I’m done whining and I have put the bad day behind me. Let’s not get in to the nitty-gritty of what-how. At the end of a really crappy day I needed a beautiful distraction for myself. I was definitely craving some chocolate and some caffeine was more than welcome! So I decided to blend myself a yummilicious milkshake. Or should I say CoffeeShake! Oh… And it has Oreos… Ummm… and Nutella… Can’t wait to try it right?! 😀

Oreo Nutella CoffeeShake

Serving: Cools down 1 very angry person

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
5 Oreo Sandwich cookies
1 heaping Tbsp Nutella
1 tsp coffee
3-4 ice-cubes
1 Oreo Sandwich cookie, coarsely chopped for topping

Directions:

Add all the ingredients in a blender and blend it thoroughly for a minute. Pour it in a glass and sprinkle with the Oreo topping. Serve immediately.

Quench your thirst with this awesomeness in less than 2 minutes! 🙂

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