Keeping Cool with Frozen Desserts

Looking for ideas to keep cool on warm summer days? Follow this link for several mouthwatering frozen treats that can be made into milk shakes, frozen pops or placed in plastic cups. 

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/taste/recipes/267369501.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Lemon Curd Raspberry Dessert

Makes 6-8. Adapted from “Malts & Milkshakes,” by Autumn Martin.

Cook's notes: This was an impressive dessert recently served at a luncheon. It requires little preparation and can be stored in the freezer until needed. The ice cream dessert was served with cookies and just the perfect sweet touch to cap a meal. It was creamy and flavorful.  

The ingredients were poured into plastic cups with lemon zest on the side and topped with 2 raspberries. Be creative and try using other fruits that would pair with lemon curd such as strawberries, blackberries or blueberries and substituting raspberry, black cherry or peach for vanilla ice cream. 

Before I knew what the ingredients were I had guessed yogurt. What a great summer treat!
Ingredients:
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 c. lemon curd (homemade or ready-made)
• 1/4 c. milk
• 8 scoops vanilla ice cream
Directions

• In a small bowl, combine raspberries and sugar. Macerate berries by tossing them in the sugar and allowing them to sit for a bit.
• Blend the lemon curd, milk and ice cream until they are mostly combined. Stir in macerated raspberries.
• Pour into molds and freeze until slushy, then insert sticks and freeze until solid, for at least 4 hours. (Or follow manufacturer’s instructions for your ice-pop kit.) 

Have you ever made a dish with cucumbers and noticed that your dish turned out watery?

This is likely due to the high water content in cucumbers. A cucumber that weighs 52 grams is approximately 96% water. No wonder!

Salted cucumber slices

Luckily there is an easy way to prevent cucumber dishes from becoming watery.
Simply slice, chop, dice (whatever the recipe calls for) your cucumber and place it in a small strainer over a bowl. Sprinkle each layer with kosher salt (I used ¼ teaspoon), cover, and refrigerate overnight. Other options are to place the cut cucumber on a paper towel or cloth, or even soak in a bowl of salt water.
The longer you allow the salted cucumber to sit, the more water will be drawn out. You can then prepare your recipe as usual, just use a little less salt than the recipe calls for.