Archive for Tag: frozen yogurt

Purple Cow Frozen Yogurt

Purple Ice Cream

Last weekend I finally got to go to the beach for the first time this summer. It was fabulous. I even briefly braved the 66 degree ocean temp for a quick dunk. Once upon a time someone told me that salt water increased your highlights. Obviously this meant more to me when I was a blonde and not a brunette. Oh well! On the way home we made the necessary stop at Russell Orchards and CK surprised me with a dish of “Purple Cow” frozen yogurt. I was off in the other room buying kitten magnets for some reason.  Don’t ask…

The Purple Cow yogurt was homemade black raspberry yogurt studded with chucks of white and dark chocolate. I honestly think I almost fell into a dessert swoon on the way home as we shared the frozen treat in the car. Of course, I had to try to make my own.

On Friday I stopped by Whole Foods to purchase the ingredients. There weren’t any fresh black raspberries to be found, but a huge display of blackberries were on sale, so blackberry frozen yogurt would have to do. They’re both purple, right?

I got home, prepped everything as outlined below in the recipe, rocked out to some Better Than Ezra Greatest Hits and pulled out my KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker attachment. Then I totally forgot how to use it, found the “quick start” card it came with, dumped in the ice cream mix, attached the paddle, turned on the pink goddess and all I heard was, “Click click.  Click click.” In hindsight, I probably should have actually read that card… meanwhile I yelled for CK.

What was supposed to happen, was that I attach the paddle, turn on the machine, pour in the ice cream mixture and shortly afterward a vat of tasty goodness forms. Unfortunately, my yogurt was now sitting in a semi-frozen state in the bowl. CK tried to help. I yelled at CK. CK yelled at me. Than we made-up and mutually chiseled out the ice cream from its icy prison with a collection of wooden spoons and rubber spatulas and graciously participated in a frozen yogurt “do over.”  Eventually it all worked out.

Was it worth it? Let’s see:

$9.58 for two containers of Fage Yogurt
$2.50 for 4 ounces of Ghirardelli White Chocolate
$2.50 for 4 ounces of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate
$5.00 for 2 half pints of blackberries
1 moronic girl
1 fight with CK
Equals: Fabulous Purple Cow Frozen Yogurt.

Purple Cow Frozen Yogurt (Frozen Yogurt base previously published in David Lebovitz’s book Perfect Scoop as discovered on Heidi Swanson’s website 101 Cookbooks).

3 cups Greek-style yogurt (Note: I used Fage)
3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups blackberries (or black raspberries, if you can find them)
4 ounces of white Ghirardelli chocolate, chopped
4 ounces of dark Ghirardelli chocolate, chopped

Mix together the yogurt, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Puree the blackberries in a food processor and than strain through a fine mesh sieve to separate the liquid from the seeds. Stir 1 tablespoon of sugar into the berry puree and also refrigerate for 1 hour.

Thoroughly combine the frozen yogurt base with the berry puree and freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Don’t be like me and actually read them. Stir in the chocolate chunks by hand at the end of the freezing process. Finally package in a tightly sealed container and leave in your freezer until completely frozen. Serve and make-up with anyone you may have offended during the cooking process.

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Stop! Collaborate and Listen - And the Winners Are…

You Rule!

You guys asked such amazing questions!  Don’t be surprised if you all end up highlighted on “Ask Erin Cooks” in the very near future.  Unfortunately though I only have three Häagen-Dazs packages to give away.  So after conferring with a host of very impartial friends (thanks Meghan, Anna D, Anna K, Melissa, and CK) we’ve made our selections!

And without further adieu the winners of all those free saturated fat calories are:

Nix:
http://vaginalarmageddon.blogspot.com/
For daring to wonder how she should best go about devising a romantic summer picnic menu for her vegetarian boyfriend.

Cze-Johnson Carrie:
http://czejohnson.blogspot.com/
Who essentially called me out and demanded to know what I don’t like to eat, and then challenged me to find a way to enjoy it.

Farida:
http://www.azcookbook.com/
Who asked if I truly believe the old adage that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

Congratulations ladies!  Get your spoons ready!

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Last Chance to Be a Winner!

You still have time to think up a question for “Ask Erin Cooks” and to be in the running for a big box of fancy new flavors of Häagen-Dazs ice cream.  Just head on over to the original post to submit your response.  Entries need to be in no later than 1:00 PM EST tomorrow (Monday, April 14th).  The winners will be announced tomorrow night.  Good luck!

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Ice Ice Baby

Dry Ice!  Yay!

Allen, the extremely kind purveyor of Eating Out Loud, was a total prince and made sure to check in first to confirm that the pints and pints of rich and decadent Häagen-Dazs ice cream he wanted to bestow upon me weren’t going to interfere with my “diet.” I told him I could measure ice cream servings too, and to bring it on (pretty please)!

Free Treats! And now I want to ruin 3 lucky Erin Cooks readers’ diets (Note: Unfortunately this offer is only open to U.S. residents). Here’s the catch: all you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a question for me to potentially answer for “Ask Erin Cooks.” I’ll pick my favorites, no doubt with a little assistance from live-in taste tester CK, and you’ll win free ice cream! Believe me when I say that there’s almost nothing as fabulous as getting ice cream in the mail. You’ll be the envy of all your neighbors who only receive packages of books from amazon.com and credit card offers.

If you win, your frosty package may contain the following delicious treats: Vanilla Honey Bee, Pomegranate Chip, Frozen Yogurt with Vanilla Honey and Granola, Fleur De Sel Caramel, and a box of snack size Vanilla and Almond Ice Cream Bars. They even throw in a packet of “Bee Friendly Seeds” for you to plant. What more could you ask for?!

So get your thinking caps on, but not too tight, and submit your questions below. Your ice cream is waiting! The winners will be announced on Monday.

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