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Roasted Blueberry and Lemony Yogurt Popsicles
In my opinion, it isn’t summer until you make the first frozen treat of the season! I’d love to say I have the energy and time to bust out the ice cream maker every week throughout the summer. I don’t. Homemade ice cream is good, but just so much work and there are so many steps. Honestly, popsicles are my favorite! Always an easy way to celebrate the season and all of it’s beautiful, fresh offerings. I also love that if you are smart with your ingredients you can make popsicles that will work for just about everyone at your party, no matter their eating style or preferences. No need for an ice cream maker or anything besides popsicle molds and you can even skip on those, just pour these into paper cups, add a popsicle stick and call it a day. Easy!
If you haven’t been able to tell by the 5 years of posts up until now, I am slightly obsessed with roasting. OK a lot obsessed. It’s my easy answer to bringing out the best in foods. Fruit or veggies, there is just something about roasting, even in the dead of summer, I refuse to deny myself. Especially when it concerns fruit, roasting brings out the inherent sweetness, it provides pretty bursts of color and flavor and it’s a simple way to maximize all that juicy, saucy, sweet goodness. So yes, I am complicating something meant to be simple, by adding the extra step with the oven here, but you have to just trust me on this one.
These popsicles have the perfect mix of sweet and tart, one of my favorite combos. I tend to go light on the sweetness myself, so if you want them more sweet than tart, you may want to add a bit more coconut sugar when roasting and/or more maple or honey. I like to barely fold in the roasted berries, to keep the gorgeous swirls of purple, violety blue.
I opt for my homemade coconut yogurt to keep these popsicles dairy-free/vegan, but you can also go with Greek yogurt, regular yogurt or goat’s milk yogurt. I just suggest whatever you choose, to go with full fat if you can, this give you the rich creaminess and the extra fat which cuts down on the icy factor.
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Smoked Salmon Cucumber Bites with Asparagus Ribbons and Dill Cashew Sour Cream
Guess what today is? Today is baby shower day! A bunch of us food bloggers got together and we are throwing a surprise virtual baby shower for our friend Emily of The Pig & Quill, who is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her first little piglet in the next month.
First off, I want to talk about how jealous I am of their new addition. I am pretty sure this is going to be the most well-fed little one, ever! That Emily sure knows her way around a kitchen and she doesn’t mess around when it comes to combining flavors and creativity in her recipes. When it came time to create a dish to bring to our little virtual gathering, I quickly realized that couldn’t just bring any ‘ol pink cupcake or some chips and dip, I had to step up, bring my A-game and get serious with my offerings. But, as you guys know I am still smack in the middle of an elimination diet (it was 10 weeks this past Friday, but who is counting) – so with lots of restrictions and true to the real life, selfishly I also wanted to bring something to this party that I could eat.
These delicious little bites are so simple to put together, they are so fresh and light and they are absolutely beautiful to top it off. Perfect for any party. I’ll be honest, the concept of this recipe came straight from me looking for a savory dish I could incorporate the color pink, given that Emily and Chris are expecting a girl! Though salmon isn’t exactly that pale baby girl pink color we all know, I still think I should get major bonus points on sticking with a theme! Thank you.
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Sprouted Hummus Cucumber Cups
One of my favorite things about blogging has been connecting and making friends with people who I not only have so much in common with but who I also adore, so much, too. Who knew it was possible to have, what some people would consider to be “perfect strangers”, as some of your most favorite people and some of your closest friends.
Since most of us bloggers are scattered all over the
countryworld, it would be nearly impossible to get everyone together to throw a party in someone’s honor – so the next best thing is a virtual party and today a bunch of us teamed up to do just that! In honor of our lovely friend Ella, of Pure Ella today we are hosting a virtual baby shower for and you are all invited. Ella is one of the most sweet and inspiring people I have met, Ella’s energy, happiness and positivity makes me smile every day and I am so proud to call her a friend, despite the fact that we haven’t even met in the real life. Ella’s beautiful site is filled with delectable, swoon-worthy recipes, that are always so perfectly photographed. Plus, besides all of the yummy goodness, she is always sharing fun creative ideas for healthy living, beauty, home, crafts and more.I am so happy to be able to get together with some friends today, albeit virtually, to celebrate Ella and her family’s pending new addition.
Whether you have an upcoming baby shower you are attending or you are planning a baby shower, a bridal shower or even your mother’s day brunch – there are tons of incredible ideas here for you to knock your guests socks off. The best part is, every single recipe is both gluten-free and vegan, too!I am so honored to be sharing my recipe amongst this amazing group of talented bloggers, so please after you check out this recipe, head over to each of their sites and check out their amazing recipes, too. Of course, be sure to pin them, share them, print them out, memorize them or whatever you’ve gotta do – these recipes are all so perfect for entertaining, so I know they will all come in handy at some time or another, whether for an upcoming baby shower, bridal shower or another occasion.
