April 16, 2007

A Bowl of Sunshine on a Rainy Day

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I’m grumpy. Spring is nowhere to be seen and I almost got blown away when I stepped outside this morning. I then proceeded to spend the day in a small room with seven other people who seemed intent on making meaningless chit-chat so as to prolong our miserable stay there. It was certainly an exercise in patience on my part. The only entertainment I got out of the day was observing what the others chose to eat for lunch. I felt like I was in some sort of weird behavioural science experiment where I was the only sane one. I brought my lunch from home and it consisted of leftover lasagna that I made last night, (and was the BEST pasta I have ever made in my life, I got all the way down to ‘1’ on my pasta roller while making the noodles!), a yogurt, a banana, an apple and a bottle of water. Only one other person brought a lunch, if you can call it that. He unpacked a can of diet coke, a twinkie, a pudding cup and a fruit by the foot. Another person bought a sandwich out of the vending machine that had no expiry date or ‘made on’ date, which I found highly suspicious. Three people bought frozen, microwaveable meals from the vending machine which most likely had no more taste than the cardboard they were packaged in. Two people consumed pop and cigarettes and the last person left so I wasn’t able to analyze his lunch. I watched them eat like I would watch a train wreck. It was disgusting and awful but fascinating at the same time and I couldn’t look away. How do people live like this? I wanted to cook for them and show them what they were missing. Getting paid for this would be ideal…


Upon returning home I wanted something sweet and delicious to take the bitter edge off. Despite the frigid weather there’s always room for frozen delights on my plate. So I scooped myself a bowl of homemade pineapple frozen yogurt, topped with fresh pineapple and tried to imagine myself somewhere warm and tropical. While in dreamland I decided that this wonderful fro-yo would be perfect for a new blogging event which is being co-hosted by the lovely Ilva of Lucillian Delights and Joanna of Joanna’s Food called The Heart of the Matter which focuses on creating heart healthy foods. The theme for the second edition, (I shamefully missed the first one) is puddings, or desserts for the North Americans. And although I ate my Pineapple Fro-Yo before dinner, it would still make an excellent dessert.


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Pineapple Frozen Yogurt (Adapted from Baking Bites)


2 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar (ground in the blender to a powder, or use confectioners sugar)

250 grams 1% plain yogurt

250 grams non-fat mango-passionfruit yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup pureed fresh pineapple


Combine yogurts and vanilla and whisk until it is smooth.

Beat egg whites until frothy, add sugar gradually and continue beating at medium-high speed until you have soft peaks. Mixture will be gooey, kind of like marshmallow.

Fold yogurt into egg whites in 4 additions, making sure it is well incorporated. Fold in pineapple and pour mixture into your ice cream maker. Freeze as directed and store in an airtight container in the freezer if you are not going to eat it right away.

If your pineapple is nice and sweet, you could cut back on the sugar.




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30 comments:

brian said...

Oooh, I was just thinking of other fruit for sorbets today. This looks delicious. I bet a little rum would help keep this soft!

Annie said...

What a delicious sight. I know what you mean about the weather. I'm in the same kind of mood lately.
I made m&m cookies to appease myself and it did help!!!!
Hang in, it's got to get better soon!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Oh, I do believe you've got it! That does look very heart healthy and oh so good. I am always delighted with frozen yogurt and lots of fruits. Lush looking and tasting.
Some times it can get pretty scary what folks can eat for lunch.

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

I don't believe there is a season for ice cream and sorbets, is there? Here in New England we pride ourselves on drinking iced coffee in winter, and eating more ice cream than any other part of the country, which obviously means we're eating it year-round. What better to take the edge off a frustrating day than to make something sweet for dessert? This looks lovely and refreshing.

Cheryl said...

I am also with everyone that there is never bad weather for ice cream. I will eat it sitting out in the middle of a blizzard.

Pineapple ice cream, oh this screams lovely to me. This looks just amazing.

Deborah said...

I have never tried to make homemade frozen yogurt before - I think this recipe has given me the excuse to try!

sher said...

That makes my taste buds tingle, just looking at that picture. We also have had terrible winds here. They stopped, thank heavens. I could have used some of your lovely sorbet while I was huddled in my house.

Lis said...

Mmmm pineapple.. *swoon*

Anonymous said...

I was thinking that I need to break out my ice cream maker today. That looks delicious!

Anuhea said...

I seriously need an icecream maker. I think I'm gonna cry! :(

Maggie said...

We have unseasonally good weather here in the UK and have even been able to eat outside. Now for dessert after my barbecue last weekend your 'bowl of sunshine' would have been perfect.

Anonymous said...

I always peruse people's food choices (and feel the same sense of shock and wonder) at the grocery store. It frightens me to see how many people don't buy a single real food item. I have been obsessing lately about healthy-type foods, and I would love to be able to dedicate myself to teaching people how to take gosh darn care of themselves. It's crazy. And your pineapple sorbet is crazy in a good way.

K and S said...

lots of sunshine in that glass there!

Anonymous said...

Oooh! I love pineapple! This would be gone in an instant with me! And it does sound healthy and good :)

I agree with your amazement at those lunches. People give me lots of flak about the food I eat, fatty pork, bacon, bone marrow, crab fat, basically a lot of things fattening and not quite so healthy. But at least it's actually food, and not strange manufactured/microwavable stuff...

Peabody said...

Where's the rum? This screams add rum to me! Does look like a bowl of sunshine though.

Elle said...

Sorry you had to watch those folks abuse their bodies through food choices, but this dessert is a lovely choice and you can almost hear the tropical breezes...

Gattina Cheung said...

here is rainning (and cold... and flooding). Was thinking of going out to get ice-cream to make me happy, seeing your delightful fro-yo I'm gonna change my mind :)

Anonymous said...

Oh! It's so good, i love that

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Who couldn't be cheered up by eating a bowl of this scrumptious pineapple treat?

knitphomaniac said...

I adore pineapple ~ I'll have to try your frozen yogurt recipe for sure!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Pineapple is one of my true passions, Brilynn - we've got the perfect weather here for this beauty!

leslie @ definitely not martha said...

So I haven't returned to your blog since I saw your bacon brittle (sorry - it just scared me!), but looking at this wonderful tropical tease drew me right back in.

Yummmmmy! And it's also exciting that it's now FINALLY warming up. Yippee!

Sara said...

Looks totally super, I am a sucker for anything with pineapple.

Claudia said...

Well that sunny little beauty is the perfect thing for a grumpy day and yeah, I agree with Brian, a little rum... and a splash in your glass for good measure ;-))

neil said...

I love fresh pineapple, but doesn't it drive you mad getting out all those little eyes.

Anonymous said...

What a bowl of sunshine! This definitely chases the blues away.

Anonymous said...

I read your description of watching the people eat as though you were watching a train wreck and just nodded. Sad, isn't it? Fascinating too. Of course, whenever I'm watching someone or a bunch of someones, I always think I'm invisible and that the watchees can't watch me, the watcher.

After the day you had, pineapple frozen yogurt would have been my choice too.

Anonymous said...

I too am often amazed at the horrible things people eat for lunch!

The frozen yogurt sounds delicious, Brilynn!

Ilva said...

WHY didn't I buy the pineapple I was looking at in the shop?????

janelle said...

YUM! That was a great story. If I had been sitting next to you I would've watched the train wreck with the same shock/curiosity. What an amazing roundup of nasty lunches:).

I just printed off the pineapple sorbet, and am going to make it with my 10 year old this weekend! We will both love it!