Cooking to Combat Cancer Archives - Passionate About Baking

“Ice cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn’t illegal.”

Voltaire

And when it is ‘N O F A T’, as in fat-free, insanely fruity & tangy, & has yogurt, then it’s even bettah! This refreshing Frozen Strawberry Yogurt is much the ice-cream that I crave, & has all the goodness of the world stirred inside it.

Stirred because it’s hand made, yes you heard right, as I don’t own an ice-cream machine, & David Levobitz is quite right when he says you can make ice-cream without a machine. Rolling lasagna for Daring Baker’s Lasgana of Emilio Romagna (embarrassingly I was amongst a large number of us who thought Emilio Romagna was a lady, not a region as it actually is), gave me strong biceps. Making hand made ice-cream just adds to the toning…LOL!!

I found this recipe posted by Coco @ Purple Foodie & have made it twice already, the first time with basil, & the second time without. Perfect scoop each time. I love yogurt with fruit & this has to be the easiest & most delicious summer dessert. While I wait impatiently for the mango season to arrive, I have a few bag of strawberries in the freezer… Thank you for the idea Coco!

This post is specially for Year 3 of Cooking to Combat Cancer, an the event which is on its third go around. Cooking to Combat Cancer was started in March ’07 by Chris @ Melle Cotte after her world was rocked by cancer.

Have you met Chris? She’s a fighter & she’s doing a great job sharing her experience & knowledge about combating cancer. in her words, “As you’re cooking over the next couple of weeks, try to work in recipes which include ingredients that help the body fight cancer. In short? Think healthy.”

Check out her post here for many useful links. Berries are part of this list of 11 cancer fighting foods that I found on her post.

Berries: The two most widely studied cancer-fighting compounds in berries are ellagic acid (richest in strawberries and raspberries) and anthocyanosides (richest in blueberries). Ellagic acid is believed to help prevent skin, bladder, lung, and breast cancers, both by acting as an antioxidant and by slowing the reproduction of cancer cells. The anthocyanosides in blueberries are currently the most powerful antioxidants known to scientists and are beneficial in the prevention of all types of cancer.

I think this recipe might work as well with blueberries too, though I can’t try that version as blueberries are non-existent in India. My best choice was strawberries for Chris, & they do make this a very delicious low-cal dessert!

FROZEN STRAWBERRY YOGURT
Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
1 cup (240g) hung curd
1 pound (450g) strawberries, rinsed and hulled
2/3 cup (130g) sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Method:

Tie the yogurt in a cheesecloth and let it sit in a strainer in a bowl overnight or for at least 2 hours. This will help drain off all the whey and result in a very creamy frozen yogurt dessert. (I think overnight is a better option)
Cut the strawberries and toss it in the sugar until it begins to dissolve. (I used vanilla sugar)
Blend it together to a puree. (Strain if you don’t like the seeds in)
Next, blend in the yogurt and lime juice until the mixture is smooth. (Check the sweetness if you like)
Freeze the mixture in a wide dish or plastic container. (The larger the surface area, quicker the freezing – since we have to pulse this mixture a couple of times).
Keep checking on the mixture every 30 minutes or so and use the stick blender to break the icicles, 4, maybe 5 times. (I used a sturdy whisk).

Once it’s almost set, you can add a handful of finely chopped fresh basil, or else, some chopped pistachio nuts if you like.
Garnish with sliced strawberries & a sprig of basil, or, chopped pistachio nuts & mint!

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Mango Yogurt Panna Cotta…light & delicious

With the mango season finally upon us, it’s difficult to stay away from this sensuous fruit. It is enticing, it is mesmerising, & it is bursting with juicy sweetness. The season will last the next 3-4 months & I intend to use this luscious fruit as much as I can! I guess you will see quite a few mango posts, some healthy & others not entirely so, popping outta my blog this summer (it’s already 42 degrees C here; small mercies that mangoes don’t melt!!!)

Looks & tastes good…both in the bowl & upside down!

This is one such fruity adventure to herald the beginning of the mango season here, & is a healthy dessert…a satisfying fresh panna cotta; almost harbouring on the creamier edge of a flavoured yogurt but more indulgent! This post is specially for Chris @ Mele Cotte who is running the Cooking to Combat Cancer event for the second year.

She has bravely combatted cancer, won the battle & this event is her small way to continue to promote cancer awareness. Her call is to “utilize recipes which include ingredients that help the body fight cancer. In short? Healthy recipes“…

…this one’s for you Chris!

There are strong indications that fruit and vegetable consumption does reduce cancer risk. The nutrients that have been determined most responsible for reducing cancer risk are vitamin A, vitamin C, and fiber. Mango is one such fruit that has all 3!
Did You Know?

Mangoes are an excellent source of vitamins C and A, both important antioxidant nutrients. Vitamin C promotes healthy immune function and collagen formation. Vitamin A is important for vision and bone growth.
Mangoes are a good source of dietary fiber. Diets low in fat and high in fiber-containing grain products, fruits, and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of some types of cancer.
Mangoes contain over 20 different vitamins and minerals.

Yogurt is listed as a very good source of calcium, phosphorous, riboflavin-vitamin B2 and iodine, but some of the most interesting health information about yogurt comes from a different context – its potential inclusion of live bacteria. Mangoes have been cultivated in India for about 5,000 years, and were originally small, fibrous fruits, somewhat like plums, with a taste like turpentine. The mango (Mangifera indica) is a tropical Asian tree of the cashew family. They are now grown extensively throughout the tropics, and are sometimes known as ‘the peach of the tropics.’ The spice amchoor is made from dried, ground unripe mangoes.More fresh mangos are eaten every day than any other fruit in the world.The ‘Paisley‘ design motif is a design from India based on the mango. (The paisley is my favourite motif).

Ingredients:

Thick Yogurt – 2 cups (I hang mine for 24 hours in the fridge to get rid of the whey)
Low fat cream – 1 cup
Gelatin – 3 tsp
Mango pulp – of 2 mangoes
Castor sugar if required
Fruit slivers, pistachio nuts, mint leaves, chocolate curls etc to garnish

Method:

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cup of cream & allow to stand for 10-15 minutes / till it softens. Whisk well & strain into a big bowl.

Add the thick yogurt + mango puree to the bowl & whisk well. Adjust for sugar. Add some castor sugar if required.

Divide into 6-8 very lightly greased ramekins and refrigerate until firm, at least 3-4 hours.
To unmould, dip ramekins in very hot water for a few seconds and invert onto plates.You might need to nudge the sides out with a butter knife first; otherwise garnish & serve in the bowl!

Since this is a yogurt based panna cotta, it doesn’t set as firmly as the full cream version…but is delicious nonetheless!

Serve with a drizzle of light cream, sliced fruit & pistachio nuts…or in bowls topped with chocolate curls, mango slivers, mint leaves, pistachio nuts etc.

A Light & Charming Dessert…with the goodness of mangoes!

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Tag: Cooking to Combat Cancer

FROZEN STRAWBERRY YOGURT…a refreshing ice-cream in disguise!

MANGO YOGURT PANNA COTTA…A TANGO WITH MANGO!

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