Off-Beat Fruit

OK. We all know that tomato is a fruit even though grocery stores group it with vegetables. Well, I was browsing in my local Chinese food market, and may I say it was a wondrous experience, and I picked up a bunch of off-beat ingredients. I cut into them and found glorious insides, colors, and textures, but most of all seeds -- which means they are a fruit. Not a big surprise for Dragon Fruit, and of course the Kobacha Squash has seeds, but the Thai Eggplant -- seeds as well. Therefore, eggplant is a fruit, along with peppers, cucumbers, and other edible vessels containing seeds -- the definition of a fruit. Kind of psyched about these photos and will follow soon with recipes! Think I'm finally off my cupcake jones!

Dragon Fruit

Thai Eggplant

Kobacha Squash

Photo Credit: Jeanne Benedict

Del Monte Fruit Chillers Blogger Event

My friends at Del Monte invited me to a fab event at New York's Soho House to introduce bloggers to Del Monte Fruit Chillers Freeze & Eat Tubes. Given that the temperature outside was over 100 degrees that day, all were more than thrilled with the sorbet treats!

I had received some in the mail earlier in the month and gave the 2 flavors, Strawberry Snow Storm and Grape Berry Blizzard, to the "in-house" testers: my kids. My 5-year-old daughter gave them a big thumbs up, and my 11-year-old son pretty munched the whole box!

Here's the cool thing about these sorbet tubes:

*Each carton contains 1lb. of real fruit.

*There are 8 (2 oz.) tubes per carton and the retail price is @$2.89 (about 36 cents per tube).

*No artificial flavors or corn syrup. Plus, they're a great source of vitamin C, fat free, and only 55 calories!

*The tubes are made of a sturdy material with a fun design.

*You'll find the tubes in the canned food aisle of the grocery store, as opposed to the frozen food section, so you don't have to worry about them melting in the grocery cart. Just freeze them overnight when you get home!

Many of the bloggers at the event were moms who really appreciated both the 1lb. of fruit in each carton and the 55 calories per tube!

I like the Fruit Chillers as a healthy kid snack, but have also used them as a sorbet for dinner parties and a quick ingredient in recipes like the one below. For more recipes and tips visit the Del Monte Fruit Chillers® website. Enjoy!

Creamy Fruit Chillers® Pie

Impress your guests with a chilled pie that makes a wonderful end to a fancy dinner.

Prep time: 5 minutes Freeze time: Overnight
Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS:

• Four 4.5 oz. cups of Del Monte Fruit Chillers®, any flavor, at room temperature
• 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt or whipped topping
• One 9-inch prepared chocolate or graham cracker crust

DIRECTIONS:

Combine room temperature Fruit Chillers sorbet and yogurt in bowl; mix well. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Cover with freezer-safe plastic wrap and freeze overnight until firm. When ready to serve, remove from freezer about 10 minutes before serving and, if desired, decorate top with additional yogurt, fresh berries, or sprig of mint.

VARIATION:

Instead of mixing well, use a fork or spoon to make swirl patterns before pouring into crust and freezing.

Pictured Above: Bryson from Del Monte and Jeanne Benedict

Photo Credit: Bobby Marro