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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

A Trio of Tropical Pops ...inspired by The Mistress of Spices {food 'n flix}

As a young girl in India, Tilo's parents were murdered by bandits, but she escapes and (literally) washes up on the shore of a hidden group of mistresses led by First Mother.  First Mother teaches Tilo and the rest of the girls in the ancient art of spices.

When she is ready, Tilo is dispensed to San Francisco where she runs Spice Bazaar.  Her mission: to help clients achieve their desires; but never her own.  She must never leave the store.  And she must never touch the skin of another.  Tilo has the ability to see the future.  Using her clairvoyance, she dispenses spices and food as curatives...and to help others get what they need.

All is well until a mysterious stranger appears and caused Tilo to question the ways that she was taught and lives by.
This is a fun flick laden with rich, visual imagery of both food and spices, but also clothing and landscape.  It has romance.  And plenty of opportunity for a belly rumble.  It definitely brings out my inner witch.  It's not the deepest of films and I thought it was lacking a lot.  I'm betting the book will answer my desire to delve deeper into the story.  (It's on order.)  Oh, and as another foodie aspect, Padma Lakshmi has a little part in the film...though it has nothing to do with food.

The Mistress of Spices is our Food 'n Flix pick for this month, chosen by our host Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  There's still a couple of days left for you to watch and post something inspired by this film, if you like.  Since I am in hard-core popsicle mode lately, it probably comes as no surprise that I chose to make some that were inspired by this film.  Afterall, it's hot in India.  And in San Francisco.  Go with it.  And all three are laced with the mysterious properties of their spices...so choose wisely when sharing them.


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Vanilla for... its power to bring love, its lust-inducing properties, and its ability to restore lost energy and improve the mind.
Paletas de Coco (Creamy Coconut Ice Pops)

by Heather Schmitt-González
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 10-15 minutes for toasting coc
Keywords: dessert side coconut coconut milk popsicles American Mexican summer

Ingredients (6-8)
  • 1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
  • 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
  • ⅔ c. half-and-half
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ c. unsweetened, shredded coconut
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325° F. Spread coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Place in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, stirring it around every few minutes for even toasting. Alternately, you could place coconut in a nonstick pan and toast on top of the stove (my preferred method because it's quicker), but you need to watch it at all times. Toast and toss constantly until golden and toasty and beautiful smelling.

Place coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, half-and-half, salt, and vanilla in blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the toasted coconut.

Divide among popsicle molds and freeze until hard, inserting popsicle sticks at the correct time for your molds.
slighty adapted from Paletas
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Chiles for... their ability to bring and reveal love and fidelity, and also for their hex-breaking properties.
Spicy Pineapple Ice Pops (Paletas de Piña con Chile)

by Heather Schmitt-González
Prep Time: 30 minutes + time to freeze
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Keywords: dessert snack vegan chiles pineapple popsicles American Mexican summer

Ingredients (8-10)
  • 1 c. water
  • ½ c. superfine sugar
  • 1 serrano chile, split lengthwise
  • 1 ripe pineapple, peeled & cored
  • 2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1½ tsp. ground chiles de árbol (or piquín or guajillo)
  • ½ tsp. salt
Instructions
Cook water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high until mixture comes to a boil and sugar dissolves. Add the serrano and lower heat; simmer for 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then strain.

Finely dice 1½ cups of the pineapple. Mix with ground chile and salt; set aside.

Coarsely chop the rest of the pineapple and place in a blender with the cooled syrup and lime juice. Blend until smooth.

Divide mixture among your popsicle molds, leaving about ¼ - ⅓ of the mold empty. Freeze until slushy, ~30 minutes.

Divide the pineapple-chile mixture among the molds, in the space that you left, pushing it down a bit with one of the popsicle sticks.

Freeze pops, adding sticks when appropriate for your molds, until solid.

note:
How many ice pops you get really depends on the size of your pineapple. Try looking for one that is medium in size.
slightly adapted from Paletas
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Cinnamon for... increased spirituality, overall healing, increased psychic powers, protection, and its ability to manifest lover, gain knowledge, and be a friend-maker.
Roasted Banana & Cinnamon Popsicles

by Heather Schmitt-González
Prep Time: 30 minutes + time to freeze
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Keywords: roast dessert snack vegetarian nut-free bananas cinnamon popsicles American Mexican summer fall

Ingredients (8-10)
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • ¼ c. packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 Tbs. sugar
  • 1 c. whole milk
  • ½ c. heavy cream
  • ¾ tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • 1 Tbs. dark rum (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400° F. Wrap unpeeled bananas individually in foil. Roast until soft, ~25-30 minutes. When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh from the peels and place in a small bowl.
Add both sugars and smoosh together with a fork until the sugars have dissolved. Place in the jar of a blender along with milk, cream, vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, and rum (if using). Blend until smooth. Refrigerate until cold.

Divide mixture amongst popsicle molds and freeze, inserting popsicle sticks at the correct time for the type of mold you have.
adapted from Paletas
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I am sharing this post with:
Food 'n Flix hosted by Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Food‘nFlix
The Summer of the Popsicle 2012 at girlichef.com Tasty Tuesdays 33 shades of green tasty-tuesday-larger-logo1 hearthnsoul150 a little birdie told me rook no. 17


Would you like to comment?

  1. wow my pop queen ;-))
    I would love to start with the pineapple one!

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  2. Oh, my gosh! I'm drooling! They look excellent, Heather and I'd love a sample of each right now. Thanks for the flick review, I will check it out.

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  3. josé manuel martín fernándezJune 26, 2012 at 5:09 PM

    Que pinta los polos, me los apunto.

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  4. This post really annoyed me. Mainly because I am not eating any of these popsicles at this very moment, and I want to be. YUM. Seriously. What could be better than a spicy pineapple popsicle? Oh, I know, a creamy coconut one. :-)

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  5. Apparently I was born in the wrong climate because all of these popsicles sound heavenly to me! It's at times like these I thank the lord for imported fruit. Seriously,

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  6. CJ @ Morsels of LifeJune 26, 2012 at 10:23 PM

    These popsicles look really good - especially the pineapple! I really like how they're not just your usual flavors too. :)

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  7. Ooh! What a great post and what great inspired pops! My post should be up on Friday, but it truly pales to this post and these popsicles three-ways!

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  8. oh my gosh, that banana and cinnamon one sounds so rich and delicious!

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  9. Oh, thanks so much! Can't wait to see what the flick inspired you to make! (p.s...I think the "due date" is Thursday, so maybe drop Camilla a line to let her know you'll send it over Friday...if u haven't already) =)

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  10. It is incredibly rich...decadent almost.

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  11. How much cinnamon in the banana recipe? I see it's in the title and mentioned in the instructions, but not on the ingredient list. Thanks!

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  12. Yikes! Thanks for catching that... it's 1 tsp. Off to fix that now! =)

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  13. You are on a pop kick, Heather! And what fabulous recipes too. I'm totally sold on the coconut ones....because there's condensed milk in them, of course. :) But would love to try them all.
    Super post!

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  14. I could go for one of each right now! Especially the coconut! I never had roasted banana - this is the 2nd time seen in a recipe today so it must be a sign.

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  15. This is such an amazing entry. I got a Zoku quick pop maker. In this hot summer heat, it wouldn't hurt at all to pour some of these mixtures into it!

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  16. Hey Heather--
    I just made the coco pops and they are in the freezer. I had a lot leftover b/c I only have one mold, but I have the rest in the fridge and will try it in the ice cream maker tonight. I think these are going to be delicious.

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  17. What a coinkeedink, I made a batch last night! The coconut really are one of my all-time faves. I hope you like them! =)


    p.s...if you wanted to make more pops, you could always remove the frozen ones from the molds and wrap them in wax paper (or freezer or parchment) and store them in a baggie in the freezer...and then make more! =)


    Although I have a lot of popsicle molds, if I make a bunch of types or big batches, that's what I do!

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  18. These tropical pops all sound so good - and I love how you have listed the properties of the spices you have used in them. There's always something lovely and mysterious about how spices work and their benefits. I think my favourite will be the creamy coconut pops but there is something in each recipe that makes me want to try them all!

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  19. Wow, they all look amazing. I think the first and second would be my favorites. I love coconut and the spice addition sounds great. Thanks for sharing with Hearth and Soul!

    www.elsacooks.com

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  20. My coconut Popsicles wouldn't freeze! 12 hours and nothing is frozen. The other three flavors I made last night are good to go. Any ideas?

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  21. ?? Not sure. Did you make them exactly as written? I've made them several times and they've always worked. The only thing I can think of is substitutions that didn't "act" the same. I've tried both regular (full fat) coconut milk and reduced fat, so I know both of those work. ??

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  22. I absolutely love this! Popsicles...I have to rethink that!! It's going to be over 100°F the rest of the week...Hmmmm. Oh my...what wonders you have unleashed! LOL! Your photo set up was outstanding as well!! Bravo!!

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