From the Garden to the Freezer … and more

Shoyo T Cucumber

Last year I planted a variety of cucumber that was new to me, Shoyo T.  It is a long Asian cucumber that has deep rippled skin and tends to curl into a ‘J’. This year I had two volunteer vines come up in a window box and instead of weeding them out, decided to transplant them into my new straw bale garden.  Much to my surprise, one is a Shoyo T cucumber.  I have harvested over two dozen cukes from this vine so far this year.  I have made them into salads for picnics, given many away, but here I am with still more on my hands, so time to experiment.

This summer being as hot as it has been, I keep thinking about cold desserts and you can’t get much cooler than frozen.  But that got me thinking, why wait to the end of the meal for a frozen treat?  So that got me thinking about those cucumbers.  This cucumber sorbet can be served as an appetizer, as a palate cleanser between courses, or as a cool finish to a meal.  I hope you will try it and enjoy a nice bit of summer cool.

Cucumber Sorbet

Enough cucumbers to make two cups of cucumber puree

1 large lemon

½ C. agave syrup

1. Peel cucumbers and slice lengthwise.  Remove any mature (hard) seeds.  Cut in pieces and place in blender or food processor and blend (process) until smooth.
2. Transfer to a bowl measuring until you have two cups.
3. Zest or grate the peel of the entire lemon, then juice it.  Blend the zest and juice into the cucumber puree.
4. Stir in ½ C. of agave syrup.
5. Place this mixture into an ice cream freezer and follow manufacture’s directions.  Alternately, put your bowl in the freezer.  Stir the mixture, carefully scraping the sides of the bowl, every ten minutes until the mixture is thick.
6. If you used an ice cream freezer, transfer to a sealable bowl, place in freezer, and freeze at least six hours.

Cucumber Sorbet in the ice cream maker

To serve, place a scoop in a small bowl.  You can sprinkle with freshly chopped mint or basil leaves or serve plain.

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For my next frozen treat I turn to one of my favorite foods, cream.  The heat of this summer has had me craving ice cream, not a good thing while trying to lose weight!  Having this treat in the freezer, just a little bit takes the craving away.  Of course part of my justification is that I am eating it with fruit, so to some extent, it is healthy. (This is where the smiley face goes.)

Frozen Whipped Cream

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 C. toasted filberts (hazelnuts)

¾ C. sugar or powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. If you are using sugar, place it in a blender and grind until fine.  This requires stopping the blender and stirring the sugar until all has been ground.  If you are using powdered sugar add  ½  C. to the blender, set aside  ¼  C. of sugar, and proceed to step 3.
2. Remove ¼ C. of the sugar and set aside.
3. Add the filberts and  ¼  tsp. salt and grind into a crumbly paste.  Pour into a bowl and finish blending any sugar traces into the ground nuts.
4. In a large bowl combine the pint of heavy cream, the ¼ C. of sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
5. Whip cream with a hand mixer until firm peaks form.  BE CAREFUL!  Don’t whip too long or you will turn it into sweet butter.
6. In a sealable bowl or container, alternate layers of the whipped cream and the nut mixture by spreading the whipped cream with a spatula and then sprinkling the nut mixture over the cream.  You should be able to get four layers of cream with three layers of nut mixture.
7. Cover your bowl or container and place in freezer. 
8. Let freeze for at least four hours.

To serve put a small scoop on top of berries, or sliced peaches, or float a scoop in a bowl of cold fruit puree.  Or serve with shortbread cookies, sponge cake, or angel food cake.

 Alternatives: 

Substitute toasted pecans or peanuts for the filberts.

Use almond meal mixed with ¼ C. agave syrup and ¼ tsp. almond extract.

Add melted chocolate to any of the nut mixtures.

I hope you enjoy these recipes and you may share them.  Please don't steal them, if you copy, please credit it them to me.  Thanks.  Sandy Britland