October is breast cancer awareness month. Yesterday, as I walked along the streets of the Village in NYC, I saw supporters of Avon Breast Cancer Walk doing their bit to raise awareness about breast cancer and funds for research. Avon walk was my first ever charity walk in the US, four years back. This year, I am going Pink for the month to show my support.
It is also in support of the Pink for October campaign run by Matthew Oliphant. The campaign is about blog and website owners showing their support for breast cancer awareness by turning their sites pink for the month of October.
And ofcourse, me being a foodie, I had to make something pink for the cause. Following on the pomegranate theme from last month, I decided to make pomegranate ice cream with yogurt rather than a custard. As it turns out, I do think it is a fitting pink dish for the month. And, it is my entry for Virtual Girl's Night In event being hosted by Dragon Musings.
Pomagranates are one of the richest natural sources of antioxidants that slow down aging process and consequently function as inhibitors of cancerous growth. Research shows that pomegranates contain a compound that eats breast cancer cells. The most powerful form of it is the oil from seed, but you get the effects from eating the fruit or drinking the juice, too.Anyway, putting aside the heavy duty stuff, they make you feel younger and btw, taste fantastic. My in-laws, in their 60s, have taken to eating pomegranates everyday now because of it anti-aging qualities. I find that highly cute... :)
Soo.. back to the ice cream. I chose to do yogurt instead of custard to keep with the low-fat, healthy theme. I used reduced and thickened pomegranate juice to add flavor in the ice cream and as a sauce on top to accentuate the fruit flavor even more. You could also fold in some fruit for extra texture. I was happy with sprinkling a bit on top and just snacking on the rest... :)If you are interested in participating in the Pink for October campaign, please read about it here. You can read about participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer and check out the schedule for your city here.
Pomegranate Yogurt Ice Cream
1 cup strained yogurt
1 cup light cream
2 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/4 cup sugar
You can make the strained yogurt at home by straining two cups of plain yogurt through thick paper towels (placed over a seive) overnight or atleast 4 hours.
Bring the pomegrante juice to a boil. Lower to medium-low and reduce to half the volume. In a small cup mix 2 tsps of the hot pomegranate juice with the corn starch. When fully mixed pour starch mixture back onto the rest of the reduced juice. Keep stirring and cook for a 5 more minutes. Strain mixture to remove any lumps and let the sauce cool to room temperature.
Reserve half of the pomegranate sauce for serving. In a medium bowl, whip the yogurt and sugar to a smooth cream. Add the light cream and fruit sauce and beat for a couple of minutes to make a smooth mixture. Regrigerate and then pour into an ice cream maker and follow product instructions.
If you don't have an ice cream maker, place the cooled mixture in the freezer in a wide bowl. Every 35-45 minutes, whenever the mixture starts freezing, give it a good whip to break the ice crystals and make it creamy. Repeat 4-5 times. Then let is freeze and set for atleast 4 hours.
To serve, pour sauce over ice cream scoops and garnish with pomegranates..
