Exotic Flowers in Boston

Who says a blizzard makes you want to just eat hot foods?  What about all of the yummy desserts inspired by the New England winter season?  Okay, crock-pots filled with simmering chicken noodle soup might seem nice but we can’t forget to sugar up on all of the delicious sweet treats made perfect for this chill infested weather!  No, I’m not just talking about stopping by the ice cream aisle before the next storm arrives.   I’m talking decadent, sensational blizzard ready concoctions that will be adored by the whole family.  Not only are they tasty, but they can be a fun project to make together when the house bound boredom sets in.  Easy to create and simple instructions, you won’t be disappointed by these festive New England indulgences.

photo credit via allrecipes.com

Vanilla Snow Ice cream

This one is so fabulous because the main additive is the stuff piling up outside your door-SNOW!  Have the kids go outside and grab a bucket of snow that is clean and un-dirtied by salt or soot.  In a mixing bowl, combine the fresh snow with 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 1 cup of sugar, a half-cup of milk (or added until desired consistency) and a teaspoon of salt.  Stir thoroughly until your batch resonates an ice cream body.  Put in the freezer for 2 hours and serve into white or light blue bowls for an extra creative flair.  You will flip over the reactions to this easy peasy ice cream recipe!

Snow-Capped Winter Cookies

This is a great one to make with your children on a snow day because the very name is thematic after the season and contains a very simple list of ingredients.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and take out confectioners sugar, flour, salt, butter and vanilla extract.  Mix together 1 cup of confectioners sugar with 1½ cups of melted butter.  Add a ½ teaspoon of vanilla and 2 ¼ cups of white flour.  Add a pinch of salt for seasoning.  Stir together until a soft consistency gels and put in the refrigerator to chill for about a half hour.  Then roll the dough into small balls placing them on a cookie sheet setting them evenly apart.  Bake for 12 minutes and then sprinkle with more confectioners sugar to get a snowy effect.  Let the cookies cool and store in an airtight container until serving time.

Blizzard S’more Frappes

I love this one because again, its fuss free and tastes of so delicious!  All you need is 2 scoops of really good vanilla ice cream, 1 crumbled graham cracker, 1 cup of chocolate chips, 1 cup of whole milk and ½ cup of mini marshmallows.  Throw everything into a blender and lightly mix until the desert resembles a white mound of blizzard delight!  Serve in high ice cream flasks and sprinkle with white sugar or confectioner’s sugar.  Everyone will love the presentation and you’ll love how little effort this desert was to make!

Independence Day is filled with red, white and blue food including delicious desserts for kids! Not only can we utilize the yummy berries that are finally in season such as blueberries, raspberries and strawberries but our pastry chefs all over Boston are whipping up scrumptious creations that are sure to please the whole family.  While some foodies suggest high calorie desserts with extensive ingredients (not to mention extensive sugar), this selection offers easy to prepare directions as well as fuss free diet restrictions.  With these delightful treats, you’ll be able to ring in the 4^th of July with a bang!

Freeze Your Own Popsicles

Making your own popsicles is a simple way to invent a fast snack while still being able to control the sugar content by selecting a preferred juice.  Flavors that work the best for a red, white and blue theme are cranberry, fruit punch, grape, blueberry, white grape and lemonade juices.  Most of these varieties offer a low calorie and reduced sugar version so your kids will be able to cool off while slurping down a healthy Popsicle.  If you really want to get fancy, you can freeze them in three separate levels by placing one layer on top of the other just as long as you freeze them one at a time.

Strawberry Shortcake

Okay, so this sweet may not be on the healthy side but honestly, who cares!  You can make this dessert an essential dish at your 4^th of July barbecue table just by place a huge scoop of whip cream on top of a piece of shortbread (store bought is fine).  Once you’ve started piling on the good stuff, add red and blue berries  (strawberries and blueberries work best with shortcake) that will finish it off perfectly.  Don’t be afraid to substitute when needed such as replacing the cream with a high quality French vanilla ice cream.               photo credit: MarthaStewart.com

Strawberry Bombs

                         photo credit: thefreshfridge.com

This is so great you’re going to want to make these year round!  Just take a strawberry and clean out the insides with a spoon delicately.  Fill the middle with whip cream and top with one ripe blueberry.  Place in the refrigerator overnight to allow hardening so the cream doesn’t spill out.  Serve before, after and during your barbecue and watch that plate disappear within seconds!

It’s about that time again and most of us are in the same boat…

This winter no doubt challenged many Bostonian’s waistlines with the winter storms calling us to indulge in comfort foods of macaroni, cheesy casseroles and juicy oven roasts.  Really, who could blame us for putting on a few pounds of insulation while blizzard after blizzard struck our city?  Its all part of New England living but unfortunately so isn’t the ritual of an annual spring diet. 

Now we don’t have to go nuts with Spartan dishes and cardboard tasting meals-that’s just not how Bostonians get the job done! Northeasterners understand that the proper way to lose a seasonal spare tire is too eat healthy portions infused with lots and lots of fresh produce.  Our plates should gleam with bright colors customary to fruits such as berries, peaches, apples and other delicious goodies.  One area of our menus that utilize this concept to the fullest is within our desserts!  So what if we’ve been satisfying our “sweet tooth” with French vanilla ice cream smothered in caramel toppings or strawberry cheesecake dripping with cream and icing? Colder months of the year call for these decadent enticings but now it’s time to clean up after some of these excessive calories and revamp our dessert choices!  These are a few of my favorites that promise to curb weight inducing cravings and ready you for those soon-to-be visits to the beach!

                                         photo credit: marthastewart.com

Plum Kebabs

This is a wonderful recipe to try once you’ve salvaged your grill from the winter storage basement!  All you need are a few wood skewers, red and purple plums and sugar to sprinkle on top.  First, soak the skewers overnight in water to prevent burning during grilling.  Take 4 to 5 plums of different varieties and colors and skew through the sticks.  Try changing up the pattern to make a fun and interesting visual presentation if using this one for summer barbecues.  Once the fruit has all been secured, dip the entire rod in a dish full of white sugar.  Roll entirely in mixture until the fruit is completely covered.  Heat up the grill and place the skewers on top, turning slowly until the sugar has caramelized and the plums begin to cook.  Take the sticks off and either serve as is or with a scoop of vanilla yogurt.  This tastes so good and you’ll be surprised how little calories you are consuming for such a yummy spring treat! 

           photo credit: dole.com

Banana Pudding Pops

I found this gem from “Eating Well” and have used this for my kids when in a pinch because they are easy to make and requires few ingredients for the recipe.  First heat a skillet and add 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of cornstarch and a pinch of salt.  Boil mixture until all of the ingredients have gelled well.  Add 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract to the skillet.  In a processor, blend the skillet preparations with 3 cups of chopped banana.  When the mixture resembles pudding, then scoop into freezer-ready, popsicle molds and let them sit overnight until frozen through.  Serve them immediately or store until the next hot day calls for them!

Suzie Canale

Westwood, MA

The holiday season is packed with celebrations amongst family and friends where we can enjoy one another’s company, sip champagne and feast upon the most delicious treats.  There’s the turkey at Thanksgiving, red velvet cake at Christmas time and for New Years, just about any decadent cuisine is up for grabs.  The holidays are wonderful but if you’re like most recovering from the festivities, you’re looking to pare down the calorie count and get back into those favorite jeans that have been on vacation in the closet.  So many people swear off dieting in January because they just don’t want to give up satisfying their sweet tooth just to dial back the numbers on the scale. I agree, it’s depressing but what if we could compromise by allowing dessert if we only swapped a few ingredients here and there?  Now I don’t mean eating strange non-dairy cheesecakes -we don’t have to get crazy to lose a couple of pounds.  I, myself, love a sweet morsel before bedtime and refuse to get weird when it comes to denying certain after dinner accompaniments.  This is what I’ve tried and amazingly, it works.  Give it a go and you’ll see you’ll be strutting your stuff in no time!

                              photo credit: Whole Foods Market

Berries, Berries, Berries

Berries are nature’s savior in the dieting department because they pack a ton of vitamin value and antioxidants (something many need after a little too much bubbly over the last month).  Raspberries, blueberries and strawberries (my favorite) can all be found in your produce department year round and can be mixed in with any dessert dish being served.  Blackberries are another yummy berry but can be difficult to find in New England grocery stores but if you do, ground the berries to make a natural, finishing syrup.   You don’t need to add any other flavoring or sugar and the beautiful color will top off any cake or soufflé magnificently.

Frozen Yogurt-You’ll Never Know The Difference

There is a long running argument that frozen yogurt can’t match the taste of ice cream but I strongly disagree.  Not only does the creamy consistency taste wonderful but you’re literally ingesting a quarter of the fat and sugar, therefore upping you metabolism to burn more wasteful calories.  You can select just about any flavor desired including chocolate chip, chocolate mousse and peanut butter cup.  Fantastic varieties include Breyers, Friendly’s and Edie’s, try them blind folded for an ultimate test.  You can’t go wrong with any of there products and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the results. 

Splenda Makes Splendid Treats

Splenda is a sugar substitute that many bakers have been using as a sweetener substitute.  Prepared within cakes, cookies, muffins and cupcakes, many speculated that Splenda wouldn’t deliver the “sweet” effect that consumers were yearning for.   They admitted their mistake when tasting that the low calorie sugar really did deliver and was pleasantly comparable with traditionally made desserts.  Although the ingredient was mainly implemented at first by pro-dieters and diabetics, the tasty confection has proved to be a big hit on the dessert menu!

 Suzie Canale, Westwood, MA 

Suzie frequents Wilson Farm in Lexington, Market Basket in Waltham, and Roche Brothers in Westwood for fresh produce and quality ingredients for her and her family.