Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: summer

Monday, July 1, 2024

Fizzy Berry Smoothie @KorinaMossAuthor

As soon as the warm weather hits, I start hankering for ice cream and smoothies. We had an early heatwave in Connecticut, so my first urge of the season happened when I was out doing errands. I stopped at Playa Bowls and ordered a smoothie. It was delicious, but at $10 a pop, it's not something I want to do often. (I could've bought a cozy mystery for that price!) And it is something you can make just as delicious at home. I already had everything but the juice at home, so once I bought that, I was ready to make my own. There's a lot of ways you can make this your own -- use different types of juice or fruit, use full-sugar juice or soda, use coconut or almond milk instead of juice, add protein powder, use seltzer instead of soda, or leave out the bubbly if you don't want the fizz. I like the zhuzh it adds, and who doesn't want a little more zhuzh in their life?

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups ice

1/4 cup Ocean Spray Diet Cran Pineapple (add more after you start blending if needed)

2 cups frozen berries (do NOT defrost)

1 banana

optional: a few fresh berries (I had a few I needed to eat)

a few splashes of Sprite Zero Chill (Cherry Lime flavor)

Makes approximately 2 cups

Directions:

Chop the ice in your blender (or pound the heck out of it in a ziplock)

Add the fruit. The frozen berries are great because you want it nice and cold.

Add the juice. Tip: Put the juice in your fridge as soon as you buy it, so it's cold for the recipe.

Blend until desired thickness. If it's too thin, add more berries. Too thick, add more juice.

Pour into a glass. Add a few splashes of Sprite for a little bubbly fun. Enjoy and stay cool!

I love berry smoothies! Once I use up all these berries, I'd like to make a pineapple coconut smoothie. What kind is your favorite?

KORINA MOSS is the author of the Cheese Shop cozy mystery series set in Sonoma Valley, including the Agatha Award winner of the Best First Novel, Cheddar Off Dead and current nominee for Best Contemporary Novel, Case of the Bleus. Her books have been featured in USA Today, PARADE Magazine, Woman’s World Magazine, AARP Magazine, and Fresh Fiction.

For the past several years, Korina has been on her own Eat, Pray, Love journey, which seems to have stalled at the Eat phase. When not writing or sampling new cheeses (a perk of the job), she can be found with a new favorite cozy, doing jigsaw puzzles, or discovering new travel destinations. She has an affinity (some might say 'addiction') to coffee mugs, loves cats, and can't pass up a new notebook or journal with all those fresh, empty pages.

Become a part of #TeamCheese! Subscribe to my FREE monthly newsletter at my website korinamossauthor.com. To read past newsletters, visit my Pinterest page. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

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Tuesday, June 12, 2018

No-Bake Key Lime Cheesecake Pie by Cleo Coyle

This cross between a no-bake cheesecake and a Key lime pie is a beautiful, light dessert for the lazy days of summer. Despite the dessert's title, don't feel you must use Key limes, which aren't always easy to find. The larger, more common Persian limes will do a fine job on the flavor, and no one is likely to notice the difference. So what is the difference? See my note at the end of this post. And now...

Let's get our lazy cheesecake going!

Sweet and dreamy. Tart and creamy.

A Note from Cleo

Cleo Coyle has a partner in

crime-writing—her husband.

Learn about their books

by clicking here and here.

The no-bake cheesecake has been around for years. Where did it come from? Best guess, it originated on product packaging or in a newspaper's recipe section. This particular recipe came from my husband's mother, who spent many years living and working in Florida. In a little tribute to her, Marc and I sent our amateur sleuth (Clare) to Florida in our 13th Coffeehouse Mystery, Billioniare Blend, where she blissed-out at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival on her way to resolving a series of suspicious crimes, including a car bombing outside her Greenwich Village coffeehouse. And on that note, I'd like to reiterate...

Billionaire Blend:
A Coffeehouse Mystery

Using the more common Persian limes in this dessert (instead of Key limes) would be no crime. :) However using bottled juice for this recipe absolutely would be. For best results, use freshly squeezed lime juice. Do not use bottled, even bottled "Key lime" juice, which will impart a sourness to your pie. Freshly squeezed juice is what you want.

Other than squeezing that fresh juice, this is an insanely easy dessert recipe. Marc and I always enjoy it. We hope you do, too...

🍴

To download a free PDF
of this recipe that you can
print, save, or share,
click here.

Click for the Free Recipe PDF.

Cleo Coyle's
No-Bake Key Lime
Cheesecake Pie

Makes one 8-inch pie

Ingredients:

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (Key or Persian can be used)

2 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened

1 graham cracker pie crust (pre-made is fine)

(optional) sweetened whipped cream

Directions:

(1) Place the sweetened condensed milk, freshly squeezed lime juice, and softened cream cheese in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. If you have a low-power blender, you may need to stop the blender and give the mixture a stir. You want the cheese to be completely whipped into the other ingredients, no clumps or lumps. Blend until smooth, about the consistency of a thick milk shake.

(2) Pour the mixture into an 8-inch graham cracker crust. A pre-made crust is fine to use. On a lazy day, I'll use one to save time and drop the foil pan into a glass pie plate for stability (as you can see in my photos). Use a spoon to smooth and even out the top.

(3) Chill for at least 6 hours, overnight is even better. Slice, garnish with whipped cream. Try a sprinkling of lime zest for a bit of color, or a few mint leaves, and...eat with summertime joy!

Lime Time: Key vs. Persian

Key limes are smaller, rounder, more aromatic, and have a thinner rind than our more common Persian limes, the ones we're more likely to see in US grocery stores.

The Key lime is picked green and turns yellowish as it ripens. Of course, the fruit’s association is with the Florida Keys, but today most Key limes are cultivated in Mexico. Around the world it's more commonly known by other names: the West Indian lime, the Omani lime, the Mexican lime, and the Bartender’s lime.

What about the taste difference? Is there one?

Yes. The larger, Persian limes were created in 1895 by a California man who wanted to develop a lime that was milder than the Key lime, and it is. But, as I said, it will still do a fine job providing the lime flavor in this recipe.

KEY LIME JUICER

Lime Juicer. To learn more or buy, click here.

If you're new to juicing Key limes, a hand press is what we use, as you can see in my photo above. It makes quick work of juicing the little orbs. Of course, there are other methods and devices that will help you with the task of juicing Key or Persian limes. If you have trouble finding such kitchen tools at your local store, try an online vendor. Click here to see a selection.

Click for the Free Recipe PDF.