We have reached the final week of popsicles! Finishing us out are Karma’s tropical chia seed popsicles. These icy treats are relatively healthy and make a great summer snack for children or the adult criminals you think of as children. They have 2 types of fruit, are just barely sweetened, and are full of nutritious chia seeds.
This recipe uses only 5 ingredients! well, 6 if you count the pinch of salt, but that’s barely an ingredient. Coconut milk, sugar, mango, açai puree, and chia seeds. My grocery store had little packets of açai puree in the frozen fruit section, but if you can’t find it you can substitute it with an equal amount of red dragonfruit, raspberries, papaya, or whatever other tropical fruit you’d like.
Combine the sugar, a pinch of salt, and coconut milk.
Add 1/4 cup of the sweetened coconut milk to the mango and blend or process until smooth. Set aside.
Add 1/2 cup sweetened coconut milk to the açai puree and stir.
Add 1 tablespoon chia seeds to the sweetened coconut milk, 1 tablespoon chia seeds to the mango coconut mix, and 1 tablespoon chia seeds to the açai coconut mix. Let sit for 20 minutes. This will let the chia seeds absorb the liquid.
Pour the mango mix evenly among the popsicle molds; mix should reach up 1/3 of the mold. Next, pour the sweetened coconut mix. Top with the açai coconut mix. I got 7 popsicles with our mold.
Tropical Popsicles with Chia Seeds [makes 6-10 popsicles depending on the mold]
1 (13-14oz) can coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt
200g diced mango (about 1 cup), frozen or fresh
100g açai puree*
3 tablespoons chia seeds, divided use
Combine the sugar, a pinch of salt, and coconut milk.
Add 1/4 cup of the sweetened coconut milk to the mango and blend or process until smooth. Set aside.
Add 1/2 cup sweetened coconut milk to the açai puree and stir.
Add 1 tablespoon chia seeds to the sweetened coconut milk, 1 tablespoon chia seeds to the mango coconut mix, and 1 tablespoon chia seeds to the açai coconut mix. Let sit for 20 minutes.
Pour the mango mix evenly among the popsicle molds; mix should reach up 1/3 of the mold. Next, pour the sweetened coconut mix. Top with the açai coconut mix. Place sticks in the mold and place in the freezer for 4-6 hours.
*Note: açai puree can be substituted with an equal amount of red dragonfruit, raspberries, papaya, or other tropical fruit puree.
In episode 23 the crew treats themselves to some ice cream. They get pistachio, lime, and salted caramel. Pistachio and salted caramel are easy enough to find in the grocery store, but lime can sometimes be tricky to get (outside of sherbet and sorbet). So today we’re making lime ice cream and using coconut milk as the base. This adds a wonderful hint of coconut flavor, and keeps the recipe vegan.
This ice cream uses coconut milk and coconut cream in place of traditional dairy. Coconut cream and milk have higher fat contents than many other non-dairy alternatives and will give your ice cream a smooth, creamy taste.
Cornstarch and xantham gum are used as thickeners and binders. They will keep the coconut fat from separating out of the mixture and make the base thicker which will create a richer mouthfeel.
Xantham gum is a soluble fiber and bags of it can usually be found in the baking aisle. Most grocery stores I’ve been to carry the Bob’s Red Mill brand. If you can’t find it, or don’t want to buy a whole bag for one recipe you can leave it out.
In a small bowl or cup pour ½ cup coconut milk. Whisk in the cornstarch until completely combined. Mixing the cornstarch into a small amount of liquid will make it easy to combine and prevent clumps.
This will get set to the side to be used later.
In a saucepan combine the coconut cream, remaining coconut milk, and lime zest.
Over medium heat bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Remove from the heat, cover, and tell your R2 unit to set a timer for 30 minutes.
This will infuse the coconut milk with all the flavor in the zest.
Strain the zest out of the coconut mix. At this point the zest has given up its flavor and removing it will give a smoother texture to the ice cream.
Return to a clean saucepan with the xanthan gum, salt, and sugar, and any optional extract or food coloring.
Adding a little bit of lime extract will create a very strong, punchy lime flavor. If you want a more mellow, smooth flavor leave it out.
Naturally this ice cream will have off-white, barely there green color. If you want a more colorful lime green color you can add some food coloring.
If you can’t find “lime” food coloring, you can make your own by using 3 parts yellow, 1 part green.
I mixedg mine in a little sauce bowl, 1- for the photo and 2- because I want just a hint of color and 4 drops would be too much for that.
But if you want a strong green color go ahead and add 3 drops yellow and 1 drop green directly to the mix.
This is the finished “lime green” food coloring mix. I used about a fourth of the mix.
Before
After
Stir the ice cream mix over low heat until sugar has fully melted and mixture is warm.
Gradually stream the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan while whisking non-stop. Once everything has been incorporated, whisk continually until the mixture comes to a soft boil.
Strain the mixture into a large measuring cup or pitcher to remove any lumps. Stir in the lime juice. The lime juice is getting added at the end here to keep it bright and tart.
Press plastic wrap against the surface of the mixture so a skin does not form.
Place in the refrigerator next to all your yogurt cups and fully chill. You want the ice cream mix to be as cold as possible so when it goes into the ice cream maker it’ll freeze faster, which will make smaller ice crystals which means a smoother texture.
Churn in an ice cream maker, following the machine’s instructions. You could make this recipe and use a “no churn” or “no machine” method, but the result won’t be as airy and smooth. An ice cream machine will freeze the mixture faster, creating smaller ice crystals, and churning will introduce air, making the ice cream lighter.
Once out of the ice cream maker, place in an airtight container, cover, and freeze for at least 3 hours to allow it to further firm up.
Lime Coconut Ice Cream [makes about 1 quart]
1 400-ml can coconut milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 400-ml can coconut cream
3 tablespoon lime zest (from 2-4 limes)
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
¼ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1-3 limes)
Optional: 1/2 teaspoon lime extract
Optional: lime green gel food coloring (or 3 parts yellow + 1 part green)
In a small bowl or cup pour ½ cup coconut milk. Whisk in the cornstarch until completely combined.
In a saucepan combine the coconut cream, remaining coconut milk, and lime zest. Over medium heat bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for 30 minutes.
Strain the zest out of the coconut mix. Return to a clean saucepan with the xanthan gum, salt, and sugar, and any optional extract or food coloring. Whisk to combine. Stir over low heat until sugar has fully melted and mixture is warm.
Gradually stream the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan while whisking non-stop. Once everything has been incorporated, whisk continually until the mixture comes to a soft boil.
Strain the mixture into a large measuring cup or pitcher to remove any lumps. Stir in the lime juice. Press plastic wrap against the surface of the mixture so a skin does not form. Place in the refrigerator until fully chilled.
Churn in an ice cream maker, following the machine’s instructions. Once out of the ice cream maker, place in an airtight container, cover, and freeze for at least 3 hours to allow it to further firm up.
The Ithorian Bellows! Ordered by members of the crew while at the Gooberfish. It was described as a creamy blue-green drink in a tall glass. With it being summer and ridiculously hot where we are (it’s suppose to be 100F/37.8C later this week) we decided to go tropical.
This delicious drink combines coconut milk drink, coconut rum, blue curaçao, and lime juice (with a little bit of food coloring). It’s sweet, but not overly, with a tang of citrus, and a wonderful creaminess from the coconut.
The mocktail version is just as good. The rum is replaced by a tiny bit of coconut extract and the blue curaçao with orange juice and blue food coloring. We made both versions and both were gone within minutes.
A small note to make: this drink uses coconut milk drink, the kind in a carton sold with the other dairy alternatives, not the canned variety. However, if your store doesn’t sell coconut milk drink you can make canned coconut milk work. Make sure to shake the can very well and then combine it with 28 ounces (3.5 cups) of water, a pinch of salt, and 1-4 teaspoons sugar or other sweetener.
While not described as having a little umbrella, we felt like they made sense. If we ever do a full retcon, the first thing we’ll do is add more cocktail umbrellas.
Ithorian Bellows [serves 1]
8 ounces coconut milk drink (or other dairy alternative, or dairy)
2 ounces coconut rum
1 ounce blue curaçao
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 small drop green food coloring*
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain in a highball glass.
Ithorian Bellows Mocktail [serves 1]
11 ounces coconut milk drink (or other dairy alternative, or dairy)
1 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce orange juice
1/4 teaspoon-1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
2 drops blue food coloring*
1 small drop green food coloring*
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Strain in a highball glass.
*We used a store-brand gel food coloring. Depending on what type and brand you use, you may need to use more.
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