Strawberry Watermelon Smoothie(Dairy Free)

After a long time we had  a record breaking hot summer day in England. Watermelon is a summer super cooler but combining the goodness of strawberries turns it into a filling healthy smoothie. This is a new addition to my dairy free , sugar free smoothie series

Ingredients:

Watermelon - 1/8 if it's big or a quarter if it's a small melon
Strawberries - a dozen

Pre-Requisites:
    Wash and hull the strawberries, slice the watermelon into small chunks

Preparation Method:

Watermelon has the highest water content out of all the fruits and hence blend the strawberries and chunks of watermelon without adding water.I measured it and it was nearly a pint. Gulped down this nurtient packed smoothie and didn't feel thirsty on the hot summer day.

Homemade Strawberry Icecream(Low Calorie Version)

When someone says Icecreammm........Yum is the feeling ! I love icecreams but commercially made ones has so much of fat. Making icecream at home is not as difficult as i thought.I've cut down the fatty stuff going into the ice-cream making  process to my convenience.No condensed milk , no cream , no eggs, no churning ... yet delicious icecream.

Ingredients:

Strawberries - 30( Only half of these should be sufficient )

Vanilla essence - few drops
Instant Custard Powder - 1 sacket
Sugar - 100gms
Whole milk - 1/2 pint

Pre-requisites:
Wash the strawberries ,hull them ,blend and make strawberry puree.Sieve the puree using a muslin cloth to remove the seeds or leave the seeds as such according to your preference.

Preparation Method:

     Prepare the custard base by following the instructions here Custard base with the exception of using  just 1/2 the amount of milk . The custard should be thick enough for this recipe.Once the custard base is ready add the pureed strawberries.

Whisk gently when the custard is still hot and boil for a couple of minutes until the sugar is dissolved .

Cool it down and transfer to a freezer safe bowl and close it with the lid. I froze it overnight but a good 4 hours should be fine.

As soon as i woke up , went straight to the freezer to check the outcome.Tried scooping it up curiously.The texture was fine and smooth.

Finally the tasting session . No words ................i was flying sky-high out of joy. So smooth , creamy and yummy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My journey of icecream making is not going to end here...........

Strawberry Jelly

I'm going crazy with the strawberries and want to try strawberry recipes around the world. Needless to say strawberry jelly is on the list. It didn't take very long to prepare this .Initially it was a bit runny  and my neighbour gave me easy idea to fix it . Thanks to her now i feel confident to make fruit jellies.

Ingredients:

Caster Sugar - 200 gms
Water - 1 pint + 1/2 cup to dissolve gelatin
Strawberries - 200 gms
Powdered Gelatin - 1 sacket(11 gms)

Pre-Requisites :
Remove the green stalks of strawberries , wash it and make a puree with the help of a blender. I didn't seive the strawberry seeds of the puree. You can do it for more smooth texture.

Preparation Method:

In a large saucepan boil a pint of water by adding the caster sugar for a couple of  minutes . At this point add the strawberry puree and stir gently.I've added some strawberry chunks which is completely optional.

 Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved by bringing to a boil. Switch the stove off and allow it to cool.

In a separate bowl add 1/4 cup hot water and add the powdered gelatin to it . Keep stirring until the gelatin is dissolved completely.
 Please carefully follow these instructions for making Jelly.
1. Always add gelatin to liquid and not the other way round
2.Never allow gelatine mixure to boil



Add the dissolved gelatin to the sugar and strawberry mix in the saucepan and mix thoroughly with a large spoon.Transfer this liquid into jelly moulds and refrigirate it for  a good 2 hours. If it turns out runny you can add some more gelatin .

Lessons Learnt:
The mistake i made was not dissolving the gelatin well and it ended  up a bit runny. My neighbour gave me an idea to add some more gelatin. I did and it turned out to a  proper jelly again.