A Sorbet Day

I went out to the garden this morning and found that the local mule deer herd had visited my well fenced veggie patch and cleaned me out of squash and green tomatoes. I was going to do something with my little yellow patty pan squash but--No! It was not to be.

But I had fresh blueberries calling out so I made some sorbet.

Peach Berry Sorbet
Serves-4
1 c water

1/3 c natural sugar
Combine water and sugar in a microwave bowl and bring to a boil ( 3 minutes or so). Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool in refrigerator.

2 c fresh blueberries
1 c frozen peaches or 1 large fresh peach
1 c frozen or fresh strawberries
2 limes or lemons – juice only
Pinch sea salt

Combine sugar mix and all other ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Spread mix into a 8x8 cooking pan, cover, and place in freezer until frozen. 3-4 hours.

Remove the frozen mix, break into chunks and place in a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. If you have a smallish food processor, you may have to do the blending in 2 batches. Place the creamy mix into a freezer container and re-freeze until solid.

Other Good Ideas:

Place the liquid in Popsicle molds and freeze--makes perfect vitamin rich Popsicle for the kids..yeah for the kids!

Blueberry Salsa

Keeping with the theme of July and more ideas for that wonderful antioxidant rich fruit--try something savory and outside the box!

This salsa is tangy and savory and is excellent over grilled chicken or a sliced avocado. For something extra special, grill some fresh pineapple and top with this beautiful salsa. Spicy!

Blueberry Salsa

--serves 2

1/3 c fresh blueberries chopped
3 scallions- white part only- chopped finely
1/3 c diced tomato
2 dashes smoked paprika
Pinch salt
Dash cayenne pepper or more is you want heat
Juice from ½ lime
¼ t cumin

Mix all ingredients together well and let sit for 15 minutes to let the flavors mingle.

Other good ideas:
-Use as a topping for fish
-serve on cottage cheese

Oatmeal Apple Blueberry Muffins- yeah another Gluten Free as well!

It is blueberry season! Did you know blueberries have their own organization supporting their health benefit message across the planet? They do- Blueberries Health check that link out to read up on the benefits of this berry added to your diet. I try and include seasonal vegetables and fruits into our menus anytime I can--right now it is blueberry time!

Here is a fantastic alternative to the fast food, over processed crappy muffins that have been over marketed to us. You can make these up ahead of time and freeze them for those winter months when the berry bushes are dormant and so is the sun.

Oatmeal Apple Blueberry Muffins

Serves 3

1 ½ c old fashioned oats
1 c applesauce- I use natural no sugar
1 c blueberries
3 eggs
4 egg whites
1 t cinnamon

Mix everything in a bowl and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes to let the oats swell a little. Preheat oven to 400 deg. Spray regular size muffin tin with no-stick spray or better yet use a no stick tin. Fill holes almost full as these don’t rise much at all. Cook for 25 minutes. If you want the tops browned, put under the broiler for a minute or less. Voila! This makes 12 muffins which is 3 servings.

Calories Per Serving: 308
Carbohydrate: 44 grams (6 grams fiber)
Fats: 8 grams
Protein: 16 gams

Other good ideas: try this with other seasonal fruits like raspberries or peaches! You can also substiture the blueberries for a cup of diced apple.