Earthly Eating

Try these sweet treats that are not only good for you, but low in fat and calories as well.

• Lemon Yogurt Cheese over Fruits
Serves: 4

2 cups reduced fat vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tbs., fresh lemon juice
2 to 3 cups fresh fruit, cut into bite-sized pieces

Set a strainer over a large bowl and line the strainer with cheese cloth. Place the yogurt in the strainer and cover with a piece of plastic wrap and leave in refrigerate over night. The yogurt will thicken and the liquid will expel from the bowl leaving yogurt cheese behind in the strainer. Discard the liquid.

Whisk the yogurt cheese, sugar, lemon zest, and juice together in a small bowl. Let it stand until the sugar dissolves, this will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve on top of the fresh fruit.

• Cherry Sundae with Chocolate-Cherry Sauce
Serves: 4

1/2 cup light whipping cream
5 tbs. sugar, divided
3 tbs. clear cherry brandy, divided
4 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tbs. light unsalted butter
1/4 cup dried tart cherries, chopped
2 cup fresh sweet cherries, halved and pitted
Low-fat vanilla ice cream
Whipped Cream, optional
4 whole fresh cherries, optional

Bring the cream, 3 tbs. of sugar, and 2 tbs. brandy to simmer in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat.

Whisk in the chocolate and butter. Stirring until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Whisk in the dried cherries. Place the halved cherries in a bowl and add remaining 2 tbs. of sugar and 1 tbs. brandy and let stand 20 minutes.

Layer the ice cream, halved cherries, and sauce in sundae dishes. Top with second layer of ice cream, sauce and cherries. Garnish with whipped cram and whole cherries. Garnish the top with whipped cream and the whole cherries.

• Nectarine Tart in a Gingersnap Crust
Serves: 8

Crust:
25 gingersnap cookies, broken into pieces
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Finely grind gingersnaps in a food processor or blender and add the butter and add to snaps till they are moistened. Using plastic wrap or buttered hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Bake the crust until the color darkens, about 8 minutes. Cool completely before next step.

Filling:
8 oz. container mascarpone cheese
6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbs. grated lemon peel
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbs. finely chopped crystallized ginger

Beat the first 6 filling ingredients on a bowl until they are smooth. Beat in crystallized ginger and spread the filling in prepared curst. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.

Topping:
4 to 5 small nectarines, halved, pitted and cut into thin slices
1/4 cup peach jam, warmed
2 tbs. finely chopped crystallized ginger

Overlap the nectarines slices in the filling and arrange into circles. Brush in crystallized ginger. Spread the filling with shopped crystallized ginger. To release, push up the bottom of the pan to release the tart.

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Earthly Eating Recipe

Bar-B-Que Slaw
Makes: 6 cups

Chop the cabbage and onion. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Chill over night before serving.

Happy Eating!