Kiwi-Mango Jam

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups cubed kiwi
2 cups cubed mango (about 3 large mangos)
juice and zest of 1 lime
juice and zest of one lemon
1 box liquid pectin (6 oz, 2 packets)

Directions:
Prep jars/lids. Set aside. Place the sugar, juice/zest, kiwi and mango in a pot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 15 minutes. Stir in both packets of the pectin. Boil for 1 minute. Ladle into jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath.

Note: A great source for canning information is the Blue Book guide to preserving. I highly recommend it for learning how to can.

My thoughts:

It is that time in the winter when I am really craving something fresh and summery. Luckily I have few qualms about buying non-local produce in the winter because nothing is growing locally. Normally, I'd make jam with fruit I picked myself but hey, buying some truly lush kiwi and mangos was easy and made for a satisfying quick project. A little bit of sunshine in January if you will. Mango is a fairly low acid fruit so I added citrus just to make sure the acidity was at a safe level for boiling water canning. I also think it helped the jam maintain an attractive color, kiwi tends to turn sort of yellowish when cooked.

Tropical Fruit Ice Box Pie

Ingredients:
2 3/4 diced fresh pineapple
2 cups diced kiwi
3/4 cup diced mango
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 tablespoon butter

1 9-inch graham cracker crust


Directions:
In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups of the mixed fruit, half of the juices and the sugar to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch and remaining juice, set aside. After the mixture comes to a boil, stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook 2 additional minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining fruit and the butter. Pour into the prepared pie shell. Refrigerate for about 5 hours or until set. Best served the day it is made.

My thoughts:

I am all for eating locally grown fruits and vegetables but there is something about tropical fruits that just screams summer to me. Luckily the the fruit I can get are super fresh and lush. This pie is pretty lush itself. It is also on the juicy side, so it really is best the same day you make it. It is tasty the next day but the crust does get a little soggy overnight. Honestly, though, I don't think you will have any problem finishing this pie off in a single day! It is fresh and fruity and I love the slightly crunch the kiwi seeds provide. It just tastes like summer!

Kiwi-Lemon-Galangal Ice Pops

Ingredients:
4 cups peeled, halved kiwi
juice and zest of 1 (large) lemon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh or ground galangal root or ginger

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth and well combined. Pour into ice pop molds. Freeze until solid.

Yield: about 12 ice pops, depending on the size of your molds

My thoughts:

I sometimes hesitate about posting such simple recipes but the combination was so surprisingly good, I didn't want to keep it to myself. Ice pops are great for using up fruit, I recently had a ton of kiwi on my hands, enough that I made jam and a pie and these ice pops and still had some leftover. That is a lot of kiwi! Kiwi has a high water content so you don't need to add any juice (I just added the lemon juice for flavor) or water or anything to make it the right consistency for a superior ice pop. The lemon added just a bit of tartness to my very sweet kiwi and the galangal added a background note of spice that kept it from being just another boring ice pop.

Kiwi Lemongrass Icebox Pie

Ingredients:
4 cups diced kiwi
4 stalks lemongrass
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
juice of 1 lime
zest of 1 lime

1 9 inch graham cracker crust
cheesecloth + something to tie it shut with
extra kiwi for garnishing


Directions:
Cut off the tops of the lemongrass and discard. Chop up the fragrant bottom half. Place the chunks into a cheesecloth pouch and tie shut. In a medium saucepan, bring 3cups of the kiwifruit, lemongrass, lime juice and zest and the sugar to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar and spread the lemongrass flavor throughout. Meanwhile, whisk together the cornstarch and water, set aside. After the mixture comes to a boil, remove the lemongrass pouch, stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook 2 additional minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining cup of kiwi. Pour into the prepared pie shell. Top with additional sliced kiwi if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours or overnight before serving.



Note: I really wanted to make this with a mix of green and yellow kiwi but alas, yellow kiwi proved elusive. It would have been pretty!

My thoughts:

Oh, I love icebox pies. I don't make them nearly often enough. They require no baking so they are perfect for the hot steamy days that we have settled into. Since our house is of an icebox era vintage and thus has no air condition (though of course we don't depend on the ice man to help us keep our perishables cool) any sort of baking during the summer months is done at your own peril.

Now, a lot of icebox pies (the most popular being key lime) are creamy and a few are frozen, but I have decided I like the ones that are basically just-held-together fruit the best. Now, kiwi is one of those fruits that reacts adversely to gelatin (it just won't firm up) but it behaves just fine when introduced to a cornstarch slurry. In fact, the resulting pie is so sturdy and since it has to be refrigerated overnight, one could even pack a slice for lunch. Or have it for breakfast if so inclined. Why relegate it simply to dessert? It is 90% fruit after all! One kiwi has more than the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. So that makes this pie practically health food, right?

So, keep your oven off! Let your pies set up in the fridge. Icebox pies are overdue for a comeback.

Kiwi Gelato

Ingredients:
4 golden or green kiwifruit, peeled
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon agave nectar* OR simple syrup

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender. Pulse until smooth. Pour the mixture into a ice cream maker and churn, about 15 minutes or until frozen and creamy. Serve as is, or freeze until more solid.

*Agave nectar is an natural sweetener that is 1 1/2 times sweeter than sugar. I love to use it in drinks and frozen desserts because dissolves instantly in liquids, and I don't have to bother making simple syrup. It also has a low glycemic index (if that is a concern) and since it is natural, there is no aftertaste. I use 100% Organic Partida Agave Nectar.

My thoughts:

You might be wondering why this kiwi gelato is yellow and not bright green. I made it using the lovely golden kiwi that my friend Heather nicely picked up for me at Trader Joe's this weekend. I've had golden kiwi in the past but haven't been able to find them in years. They are very similar to regular kiwifruit, but their skin is less bristly and they have a higher vitamin C content. I also think they taste less acidic. Anyway, what better, more refreshing way to use kiwi is there than gelato? It has been in the upper '90s for days now, and I needed some relief. I made this recipe so it makes roughly two servings (no leftovers means I can move on and make my next frozen treat!) but it can easily be doubled or even tripled to make this simple, healthy dessert for a crowd.

And let me just mention how difficult it is to photograph gelato when it is over 95 degrees out and you don't have air conditioning. It took about 30 seconds to go from a frozen scoop to completely liquid.

Kiwi-Mango Slush

Ingredients:
2 kiwi, peeled
3/4-1 cup ice
1/4 cup cubed mango
2 tablespoons ginger simple syrup

boba pearls (optional)

Directions:

Boil some water, pour in as many boba pearls as desired. Cook until they all float to the top. Place the ice, kiwifruit, mango and ginger syrup in a blender. Pulse until fairly smooth. Pour the boba into the bottom of a tall glass. Top with drink. Serve with a large straw.


Serves one.

My thoughts:

It is finally warm here in sunny Baltimore and I thought it was a perfect time to have a cool drink. I had some especially juicy kiwi and mango and thought they'd make a great, quick frozen drink without having to add any extra liquid. It was very refreshing! I have seen frozen boba drinks in the past, so I thought I'd throw some of the pearls in, but it would be yummy without them too.

Kiwi Pineapple Smoothie

Ingredients:
4-6 kiwi (depending on size)
8 oz plain yogurt
6 oz pineapple juice
dollop of golden syrup

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender. Pulse until smooth. Divide among two 8 oz glasses or pour into one really big glass and serve.

My thoughts:

The other day I asked my friend Heather for ways to use up extra juice and she suggested making a smoothie. When she said that I realized that I don't think I've drank a smoothie before. I've seen them, but I think I've always associated them with over ripe bananas (which I abhor) and stayed away. Heather reassured me that they can be made with banana free and with yogurt so when I found myself with 6 kiwi on the verge of spoiling, I thought I'd give smoothies a shot. I was a little worried-in addition to my aversion to over ripe bananas, I am also find it difficult to drink large amounts of liquids at one time-but it was great. It had a fresh kiwi flavor, used up a can of pineapple juice I've had since I made pineapple cupcakes last June, and I felt virtuous and healthy while drinking it. The recipe did yield a lot of beverage and next time I make it, I will wait until there is some one around to share it with, but it was good enough to make me rethink my avoidance of the smoothie.

Kiwi (Freezer) Jam

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 lb kiwi, peeled
45g packet of freezer jam pectin*

Directions:
In a medium bowl, use a potato masher (or a spoon) to mash the kiwifruit. Add the sugar and pectin. Stir (or whisk if it is liquid enough) for 3 minutes. Pour into 4-5 clean 8 oz jars, leave 1/2 inch of space at the top. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes then serve, refrigerate (up to 3 weeks), or freeze (up to one year).



*You cannot substitute regular pectin for this. Look for freezer jam pectin in the canning or baking isle at your local store. May only be available during the canning season, ask for it.

My thoughts:

If you've been reading this for a while, you know I am a little leery about canning. I made some lovely refrigerator pickles last August (a jar of which is still crisp and edible in my fridge by the way!) that didn't require any scary canning methods. I've been dying to make jam but was still a little scared about attempting traditional canning. What if I made a mistake and ruined the jam or worse-what if I made a 12 jars and didn't like it? So you can imagine my excitement when I was offered a set of Ball freezer jam jars and pectin. I loved it! In less than 15 minutes we made yummy kiwi jam. We had so many kiwi in the fridge that I wanted to use them up before they went bad. I couldn't find directions for a kiwi freezer jam so I just used all the kiwi we had, guessed how much sugar, used a whole packet of the pectin and it came out wonderfully. I am now a freezer jam devotee. Freezer jam is great because it uses about a 1/3 of the sugar as "regular" homemade jam or jelly. Traditional jam recipes often call for more cups of sugar than fruit! I also love that you don't have to cook it (or freeze it for that matter, despite the name), and you can eat it within 30 minutes of canning. Ball makes a set of reusable plastic freezer jam jars (perfect if you are actually going to freeze the jam-safer than glass if the jam expands more than you expect) that comes with directions and a sample of the pectin. And to head off some future emails: freezer jam pectin is vegan, as is regular fruit pectin.

Kiwi Kumquat Salad with Key Lime Syrup

Ingredients:
6 kiwi, sliced
6 kumquats, sliced or halved
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon key lime juice
1/2 teaspoon key lime zest

Directions:

In a saucepan, bring water, sugar, juice and zest to a boil. Stir until completely dissolved and syrup has thickened. Meanwhile, arrange fruit in a bowl. Cool the syrup completely then pour over fruit. Pour any leftover syrup into a clean jar and cap tightly. Store leftover syrup in the refrigerator.

My thoughts:

I made this little fruit salad for breakfast this morning. It couldn't be simpler. I enjoyed the simple kiwi-kumquat combo but I bet it would be divine with some added chunks of citrus. Maybe blood oranges?

Kiwi Sorbet

Ingredients:*

8-10 kiwi, peeled
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions.

In a small pan, heat water and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Cool the syrup. In a blender or food processor, pulse syrup, juice and kiwi until almost smooth. Pour the mixture in an ice cream maker and freeze about 30 minutes. Eat as is, or freeze until it acquires a firmer texture.


*This yields about four modest servings. It can easily be doubled or even tripled to feed a crowd.

My thoughts:

This is one the quickest and healthiest ways to keep cool this summer. It is fat free, vegan and yields maximum reward for minimal effort. The only drawback that I can see is that often, in Maryland at any rate, kiwi (or kiwifruit for you non-North Americans) can be rather expensive. I was lucky to find a box of about 15 kiwi for under $2 at a local Korean market. Generally, kiwi run about two kiwi for $1 and I rarely get a chance to base a whole recipe around them. I was so excited about my bargain, I rushed home and made this recipe. It really lets the sweet tartness of the kiwi shine through.

Summer Fruit Salad with Ginger Lime Syrup

Ingredients:

syrup:

1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 inch knob fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
zest of one lime
juice of one lime


salad:
1 mango, cubed
3 peaches, sliced
3 kiwi, cubed
� cup blackberries
� cup blueberries*



Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat water, zest, juice, ginger and sugar to a boil. Stir until the sugar is dissolved then boil, uncovered for about 20 minutes. It should reduce slightly and look �thick�. Strain out any large pieces of ginger or zest. Allow to cool completely then pour over fruit. Toss and serve.

*other fruit suggestions: strawberries, pineapple, papaya

My thoughts:

This is the perfect way to end a meal during the hottest weeks of the summer. The ginger-lime syrup is rather thin so it adds a spicy flavor to the fruit without leaving it weighted down or gloppy. A great improvement over the overly sweet fruit salads I have suffered in the past.

If you have leftover syrup, you could drizzle some over pound cake or even better, add it to bubbly water to make homemade ginger ale.