Of the Heat Returning~~~~

Hello Darklings,

They say (whomever "they" are) that we really don't have Summer here in the Bay Area until September, well this year "they" were wrong given our series of heat waves.

But after the cool weather and the lovely one day splash of rain, the heat has returned, not as unbearable as before but enough to make one not want to do anything, and that is exactly what Sis, Doyle, Brian and the Dymanic Duo are doing, nothing!

We're reading, snoozing, chatting, snoozing, laughing, snoozing, and generally relaxing and snoozing today and frankly we deserve it.

Sis and I have been painting our nails with this lovely color called "Meet me at the Mirage"  put out by China Glaze, for a bronze frosted I like the way it looks,  on fingers and toes, of course with the nail lacquer drying we cannot do anything.   So Doyle and Brian have offered to get our favorite go-to take out  Chinese, nothing to cook, and with paper plates but regular forks etc. wash up is a minimum.

My brother and his family are being serious travelers with their R.V.  They went to Columbia State Park and it was open but the festivities were canceled because of air quality due to the Butte Fire, but for them all was not lost.

This weekend they went back to Placerville,  and to that antique shop my sister in law fell in love with.  And next weekend back to Columbia again.  The children are loving this travel.  It's going to be hard when the rains start up for them.

The other day Sis came across this receipe and it is so lovely for Indian Summer that I'm going to share it with all of you.

Whipped Pineapple Pops Recipe

If you have ever been to Disneyland, they have this amazing thing called a Dole Whip.  It’s like a fluffy, creamy tangy pineapple treat that people actually wait in line for 30 minutes for. 

There are a couple of ways you can do this.  You can either used crushed pineapple or fresh pineapple.  We chose to use crushed since that is what I had on hand.  This recipe makes quite a bit of ‘whip’, so you can cut it in half if you aren’t making it for very many people.  We used 2 – 20oz cans of crushed pineapple.  Drain one can and include the juice of the other can.  Whenever I buy canned fruit, I always buy ‘Naturally Sweetened’.  The fruit that is canned in syrup contains a lot of extra sugar and so make sure you buy naturally sweetened.  If you are using fresh pineapple, you will probably need an entire pineapple, cut up into chunks. Whatever pineapple you decide to use, place it in a high powered blender.  If you like a little more tart flavor you can add the juice of a fresh squeezed lime. 

If your pineapple isn’t very sweet, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of your favorite sweetener, but it isn’t necessary.  Blend until it is a smooth, frothy consistency. The next step is to combine with your creamy ingredient.  We used cream that we whipped because we were going for an extra fluffy rich texture.  But you can also use almond milk, coconut milk (full fat works best) (think Pina colada) half and half, or whatever you prefer. If you use whipped cream, you can put the mixture in the freezer for a bit and just serve it as a ‘Dole Whip’.

Otherwise, pour your mixture into Popsicle molds and you have Whipped Pineapple Pops!

Ingredients:

2 - 20 oz cans naturally sweetened crushed pineapple OR 1 large fresh pineapple, cut into chunks

Juice of 1 lime

1 1/2 cups cream, almond milk, or coconut milk (full fat works best for the most creamy consistency)

Directions:

Place pineapple and lime juice in a high power blender. Blend until smooth and frothy.

Combine with creamy liquid.

Pour mixture into popsicle molds and freeze until hardened.

Enjoy!

Well we made this on Thursday evening a small batch and by using the coconut milk we found that to be best, so we made it last night for today, for dessert.   And it's heaven.  But if you Darklings decide to use something else that's just fine. 

 But it is perfect on a hot day.

Enjoy Darklings