Pomegranate-Mango Guacamole

There are various types of people who make up groups of friends, and I'm sure a lot of you are the foodie friends. That makes two of us. Whenever a party commences, I'm required to bring these two things: bean salad and guacamole (we're dip people). Of course I can add to my contributions, but if these items are not on the table, someone is going to bring it up. And it's not that I mind in the least bit either. These two dips guarantee my appetite will be taken care of amongst a sea of buffalo chicken and cream cheese. I tend to stick with variations of these and other Mexican-style dips, because I know they'll be crowd pleasers. "Vegan dip" can sometimes be met with wandering eyes. I've been holiday party hopping as of late, so I changed things up slightly to be a little more festive. Green avocados + red pomegranate seeds? Nailed it. And I know pomegranates can seem like a lot of work, but c'mon, they're like instant (not so instant) fancy food. I've been sprinkling these magenta jewels on just about everything, so I knew they'd be a great addition to a savory dip, not to mention meet my desire to add to the nutritional profile of anything I serve. This pomegranate-mango guacamole is skin-loving, superfood heaven. The entire pomegranate fruit (skin and all) has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years, from remedies for intestinal troubles, to blood building and cataracts. The arils inside contain free-radical fighting antioxidants and provide the body with a good dose of vitamin C, vitamin K, and dietary fiber - all of which are effective in reducing blood pressure and heart disease risk factors. Their antibacterial properties may even help with dental plaque! On top of all that, the avocado, perhaps the most delicious addition to any meal, has a nutritional profile to match. Recent research shows that lycopene and beta-carotene (two key carotenoid antioxidants) absorption increase tremendously when avocado is added to an otherwise avocado-free salad. It's also recommended to peel your avocados rather than squeezing out the buttery insides to get the most bang for your buck. The greatest concentration of antioxidants lie just underneath the skin. Besides the healthy fat that make up most of the calories in the fruit, avocados are excellent sources of fiber, vitamin K, folate, vitamin C, B5, B6, and potassium. All of these stats are sure to combat the entire bag of chips you're about to throw down, too. It's called balance.

Pomegranate-Mango Guacamole

Inspired by A Cup of Jo

4 ripe avocados

3/4 cup chopped mango (fresh or frozen, thawed)

3/4 cup pomegranate arils

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 red onion, finely diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

juice of 2 limes

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

himalayan pink salt (or sea salt), to taste

Add the onion, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, cayenne pepper, and salt to a medium sized bowl. Mash as much as possible with the back of a fork or a potato masher (or use a mortar and pestle). Add in 3 of the avocados, and mash again, mixing everything together. Stir in the mango and pomegranate arils. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt or lime juice if necessary. Chop the last avocado into chunks, and gently fold in. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, and enjoy!

Pomegranate Yogurt Cake

Did You Know? Pomegranates have existed for 50 to 70 million years. The plants themselves live 100 to 150 years in the wild, and 300 years or more in cultivated gardens. They bear fruit in their second or third year, and can produce 440 to 660 pounds of fruit annually.

With a huge case of POM Wonderful and some tubs of Oikos, I needed a recipe to put these ingredients to use, preferably all at once. I'd had a recipe for grapefruit yogurt cake bookmarked for some time, and with a few substitutions, I knew I could have something really great. The original recipe had mentioned that the grapefuit syrup did not thicken up as hoped, so I made sure to let the pomegranate juice reduce down for a few extra minutes; it ended up being my favorite part.

As for the cake itself, it has a wonderful crumb, and is super-moist. Flavorwise, it's definitely more lemon than pomegranate, but I expected that. The original recipe had praised the grapefruit-zested sugar that was incorporated, but with no rind to zest from a pomegranate, I opted for a lemon instead, and threw in a tablespoon of pomegranate juice for good measure.

Pomegranate Yogurt Cake
Adapted from Joy the Baker

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup pomegranate juice, plus one tablespoon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt to blend.

On a clean surface, or in a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar and zest. With the back of a spoon or a flexible bench knife, rub the lemon zest into the sugar. The essential oils will release into the sugar creating a wonderfully fragrant lemon-sugar.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs and lemon-sugar until the eggs are thick and pale yellow. Add the yogurt, oil, one tablespoon of pomegranate juice, and vanilla extract. Stir well to combine. Add the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted near the center. Place the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, and cool completely on the wire rack.

In a small saucepan, combine the powdered sugar and the remaining 1/2 cup of pomegranate juice and bring to a boil Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring, for 10-15 minutes, or until the glaze is slightly thickened. Remove from heat.

To finish, pierce the cake all over the top with a skewer and pour the warm pomegranate syrup slowly over the cake.

Store at room temperature, wrapped well, for 2 days.

POM-Berry Chip Ice Cream

Did You Know? Man first began planting pomegranate trees sometime between 4000 and 3000 B.C. Many scholars now suggest that it was the pomegranate, not an apple, depicted in the biblical Garden of Edan.

I was recently contacted by POM Wonderful with the request of sampling some of their 100% pomegranate juice to feature here on Buff Chickpea. Being a huge fan of their products anyways, I was thrilled to get a case free of charge. Being the only brand guaranteed to contain 100% authentic pomegranate juice, POM Wonderful has always been the only bottle I look towards at the grocery store. And besides being packaged in a wonderfully curvy and creative bottle, the health benefits of this tart juice are amazing. Backed by $25 million in medical research, POM Wonderful contains no added sugars, preservatives, colors, or fillers. It has been shown to improve cardiovascular and prostate health, as well as being a fantastic source of antioxidants.

But what to do with all these bottles? My ice cream maker has basically sat in my freezer ever since I got it back in December, and I've been really wanting to start experimenting and perfecting my technique. The weather has been pretty miserable up until now, so the timing of their delivery was pretty perfect. The weather is warming, the sun is shining, and cookouts are bound to make a regular appearance on my back deck. To me, there's nothing that says Summer more than an ice cream cone. Soft serve or hard, jimmies or sprinkles, studded with candy or dipped into a crunch coat, the possibilities of add ons are about as lengthy as the flavors themselves. And there's definitely no better way to end a humid day at the beach than waiting in a never-ending line at your favorite parlor. I love ice cream, and I hope you do to.

The whole process of churning ice cream is pretty amazing to me. I mean you pour in some custardy-liquid and about 20 minutes later you have a bucket full of creamy, frozen goodness. And the result of my final creation was everything I could have hoped for. Sweet and tart, and studded with mini-chocolate chips, this was the freshest ice cream I've ever tasted. I definitely recommend consuming this the day it's churned, but I added some limoncello to keep it from freezing solid just in case we couldn't. And not to worry, it was still good a few days later, just not as creamy as day one. I was thinking of starting some sort of ice cream feature on Buff Chickpea when the weather warms up a little more permanently. So let me know what you think, and what your favorite flavors are. Enjoy your weekend!

POM-Berry Chip Ice Cream

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cups heavy cream
4 strips fresh lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 lb strawberries, trimmed and quartered
8 oz. POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons limoncello liquor
3/4 cup mini-chocolate chips

Combine milk, cream, zest, and salt in a heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and discard zest.

Whisk eggs and yolks with 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking. Pour back into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon.

Immediately pour custard through a fine sieve into a metal bowl, then cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Chill, overed, at least until cold, about 2 hours, and up to 1 day.

While custard is chilling, purée strawberries in a blender with remaining 1/4 cup sugar, pomegranate juice, and limincello until smooth. Force through fine sieve to remove seeds and any pulp. Stir purée into custard.

Freeze in ice-cream maker. Fold in the chocolate chips after churning. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden up a bit.