SINGLETON'S COCKTAIL: MELON, CHERRY & GINGER FROSE:, fresh fruit, opt for no-alcohol

Enjoying your solitude watching summer sports events?

Make the most of it with an easy-peasy fresh and fruity long cocktail. 

This is such a great time of year for fresh fruit, and chilled melon & soft fruits help tone down the effects of blistering heat while jazzing up a (slightly) boozy beverage.

67's recipe adds rosé wine to melon and cherries and serves it over  plentiful ice.  

For a change, replace rosé with pink prosecco or champagne, melon with peaches, and cherries with blackberries. 

For kids and tee-totallers fizzy water is the way to go but the flavour will be lighter and needs pepping up with something like fresh or dried mint.  

Melon Cherry Frosé Cocktail is an easy flavoursome drink guaranted to cool you off.

Cost: £2'ish (7/23)

Makes: 1 long (and slightly heady) drink; multiplies easily

Ingredients:

2/3 cup fresh melon cubes (67 used 1/4 Golden melon, peeled & de-seeded) 

generous handful ripe cherries, pits removed (1/4'ish cup; in the absence of a mechanical pit remover, try a paper clip with one side extended or remove flesh with a small sharp knife) 

1 generous teaspoon liquid from jar of ginger in syrup

1/4 cup rosé wine

ice cubes

1 tsp fresh or 1/4 tsp dried mint (optional)

Garnish: fresh cherry & cube of melon

Method:

NO-BAKE SASSY SUMMER PUDDINGS: make-ahead, lower fat

YUMMY!

Summer rainstorms & bigger appetites call for layered 
puddings, this one with apple (see Budget Creamy  Puds below)

Want to get ahead and provide classy, creamy fresh fruit filled puddings at summer barbies and buffets that delight all ages?

And without cooking?

Try these (often lower-fat) sassy puddings from 67goingon50.

They're easy to put together, can be made hours ahead and stored in the fridge unitl needed.  Most also have half the fat and more fresh fruit than usual home-made puds & commercial offerings.  

Make these simple, sensational treats in individual glasses or in one pretty bowl with a small'ish! ladle  and plenty of small bowls (it'll go fast).

Budget Creamy Fresh Fruit Puddings:

Easy yoghurt-based desserts with a knock-out glaze that look like a million pounds but costs pennies! Includes layered puddings.

Pineapple Muscovado Sugar lower-fat Creamy Pud

Two-tone Chocolate Orange Pud

Rich layers of velvety dark and pearly white chocolate is a classy pudding made from a single base.  It's rather rich; small portions will more than satisfy.

   

Posh Strawberries 'n Cream with a Sweet Ginger Twist:

Strawberries 'n Cream but not as we know it, Jim...it's even better!

Sophisticated twist on a classic: sweet ginger in syrup with ginger nut biscuits; tasters said: '...unexpected but stunning!'

Special Occasion: Creamy, Boozy Fruity Chocolate Pudding

Dream-like pudding for a special occasion: beautiful, fabulously creamy with 'bits', wonderful brandy undertones. Easy, lower-fat; uses up left-over chocolate.

 

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This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

FREEZING SUMMER BERRIES FOR WINTER

Strawberries ready for freezing

updated June/24

If you're in a position to take advantage of the glut of fresh fruit which will soon be available, get ready to prepare the lower-priced berries for freezing.  They will bring so much brightness in crumbles and pies winter when darkness and cold dominate.  

Freeze berries in their natural state or make them into easy-peasy low-sugar jam/compotes for freezing in individual containers.

Both methods are easy-peasy but you might want to invest in equipment  to make life easier: a ridged pizza pan keeps berries in rows and easily separated; a griddle pan or a plastic microwave bacon tray will do a similar job.

Low-sugar compotes and jams are simplicity itself; freezing them in tight fitting jars saves all that messing about preparing sterilised jars.

The Art of Freezing Berries

Freezing Blueberries on a cheap 'n cheerful microwave bacon tray. 'When the summer months are a memory, frugal home-frozen berries add a jewelled sparkle to crumbles, pies & cakes.'

Frugal Low/No Sugar almost instant Jam/Compotes

'Astonishingly good for so little effort! I'll always prefer this to store-bought.'  (with low-fat/sugar Scotch Pancakes)

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B Lee/Bright Sun Enterprises accept no liability for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.  This advice  has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.

HEATWAVE 2023: BLOGGER'S FAVOURITE NO COOKING MENU

Who wants to cook during a heatwave?  Certainly not me.

I relay on these favourite no-cook dishes.  They may not all be frugal, some being for a special occasion, but they are easy, often  quick and mostly healthy and low-fat.

Some are all or part make-ahead.

STARTERS 

I love this dip because the different smoked salmon flavours and  textures make it very special.  It's also creamy without being calorific.

Skinnier Smoked Salmon Dip

Just 4 inexpensive ingredients: tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber & sherry provide a thrilling cold No-Cook Tomato Gazpacho.  It's ridiculously easy to make, smooth and creamy but dairy free.  And utter ambrosial to consume.  A Slimmers' Delight,  it is served in chilled glasses with vodka or in small bowls.

No-Cook Glorious Tomato Gazpacho

SIDES

So simple, so sensational, so Vegan.  Whenever I've served these 

tomatoes over the years, everyone is stunned by their flavour and demands the recipe.  They are a godsend when budgets are tight,  turning supermarket toms into gourmet treats!  With heritage or high-end toms, add a slosh of red wine vinegar for an even better  taste sensation.

                                   Mediterranean Tomatoes

This fruity crunchy slaw is a favourite because it's so quick and easy but also so pretty.  Slighty sweet, it's loved by kid/ults.  And the ingredients make a perfect  portable lunch.  Served alongside cold roast or poached chicken, it's wonderful.

Apple & Nut Slaw.

MAIN COURSE SALADS

This mouthwatering satisfying combo of protein, fruit and vegetables is one of the first main course salads posted on 67goingon50.  It's basically an assembly job and there will be chopping but getting others involved lightens the workload.  Much can be prepped in advance.  Intended for a crowd, it's many bright flavours and textures are a delight.   

'I'm on Holiday, too' Easy-Peasy Sunshine Salad

I've never been to Mexico but imagine this salad reflects the colours and flavours of the local cuisine.  I adore it,  partly because it contains  things I normally wouldn't serve in a healthy salad: cheese, sweet and particularly heat -- but they are in small quantities.  I like it as a main course, with good bread and butter, OR add lightly cooked cauliflower florets and mange tout plus calamari or prawns.

SWEET SOUR & SPICY CORN AVOCADO SALAD

TREATS

I've always loved chocolate mousse but as a cholesterol-phobe, usually avoid it.  But this recipe was specially created by 67 for slimmers: it has no cream (unless you want it as a garnish) or egg yolks.  It is still rich, dark and fabulous on the tongue.  It proves healthy doesn't mean insipid.  Pastry biscuits and berry cream optional.

Chocolate Raspberry & Brandy Mousse, fat & yolk free

One of my all-time favourite 67 cakes is this indulgent tender Swirl Cake, streaked with plum & cinnamon and dusted with coconut.  It makes wonderful use of a fruit often at bargain prices in supermarkets.  I did notice that bakng is involved...but it is worth it.  Make it ahead, in stages, and cook in the cool of the evening before needed.  Decorate before serving.  Trust me; you won't regret it.

Plum & Cinnamon Swirl Cake

Also try: 

SALADS FOR A SCORCHING WEEKEND : prepare ahead

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More vegan/vegetarian dishes NavBar/Recipes II  

These recipes are by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  They may not be reproduced without the author's written permission

CHILL OUT WITH SIMPLE HOME-MADE PICKLES: low salt, sugar & preservatives; Vegan

Home-made pickles straight from the fridge offer a cooling treat during a heatwave.

They taste wonderful, in fact much better than expected, are invigorating & refreshing, provide a 'wow' factor and will be popular  on the buffet table. 

Making your own are easy, economical and healthier than store bought;  the amount of sugar and salt is controlled and there are no nasty preservatives.

Make-your-own pickles take almost no effort.  No jars have to be sterilised, no boiling water baths wrestled with and no storing the pickles for months until they 'ripen'. Just simple prep with basic store cupboard ingredients plus a few hours or days in the fridge and they're done.    

Fuss- free Dill Pickles: low-sugar, salt, Vegan

 

Pickled vegetable Platter at very little cost 

Ready in 10 minutes

No-effort Pickling Brine

for small amounts of vegetable/fruit garnish; just 10 mins for crisp crunchy pickles

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More vegan/vegetarian dishes NavBar/Recipes II  

This recipe has been adapted by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission