A frozen banana (or your favorite fruit) goes into the machine, banana soft serves comes out in a minute. Photo © Corinna Gissemann | Fotolia.

Now, you can make your own 100% fruit soft serve “sorbet” without added sugar, thanks to the Yonanas Frozen Treat Maker.

Yonanas almost instantly transforms your favorite fruits—banana, berries, mango, pineapple, the whole fruit department—into a silky-smooth frozen confection.

The frozen fruit—pre-frozen or frozen by you—goes into the chute (see the photo in the full review). It emerges as thick, creamy soft serve-like “sorbet.”

The compact Yonanas machine is well worth the cost (list $49.99) and the space. It’s not only easy to make, it’s easy to clean the machine. Everything but the motor portion goes right into the dishwasher.

Get yourself a Yonanas machine: You deserve it!

And, you may become more popular as people begin to invite themselves over for some Yonanas. Tell them to BYOFF: bring your own frozen fruit.

Read the full review.

Find more of our favorite frozen desserts and recipes.

Looking like enormous scallions, leeks are cousins to onions and garlic. The flavor and aroma is evocative of, but much milder than, onions.

Leeks are served raw, braised, fried and sautéed, alone or as part of a more complex recipe. Typically, recipes call for only the white base and very light green portion of the stalk, although the green tops can be used for other purposes.

The only challenge with leeks is the sandy soil in which they grow. The sand gets in between the concentric leaves, and takes time to wash away.

But that’s no reason to avoid luscious leeks. The video below shows you how easy it is to clean them. Then:

Find some favorite vegetable recipes in our Gourmet Vegetables Section.

FOOD TRIVIA: The leek has been the national symbol of Wales since the sixth century. Welsh warriors wore them on their helmets to identify themselves from their enemies on the field of battle.

Fried leeks are the elegant relative of fried onion rings. Chefs at fine restaurants use them to top steaks and fish for visually arresting height and palate-pleasing crunch.

The deep fried leek strips are equally at home atop a burger or eggs: omelet, poached or scrambled.

In the recipe in the photo, executive chef/owner Christopher Seckman of Louisville’s North End Cafe serves grilled Atlantic salmon atop an asparagus-shiitake risotto cake with chardonnay butter sauce and sautéed spinach (the photograph shows a substitution of asparagus in season).

The garnishes: fried leeks and a balsamic reduction.

Try your hand at making fried leeks. We predict they’ll become a popular garnish in your home.
 
 
RECIPE: FRIED LEEKS

Ingredients

1. Sift flour and cornstarch together.

2. In a frying pan, heat oil to 350°F.

3. Dust leeks in flour mix and fry in one layer until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Drain on a paper towel, season with salt (we use fine sea salt).

Find more of our favorite vegetable recipes.
 
 
WHAT TO DO WITH LEEK GREENS (LEEK TOPS)

Don’t toss the leek greens you’ve trimmed way. They can be julienned and fried separately for another dish. You can julienne and fry them or add them to soups and casseroles.

Here’s how to cook them.
  

Head to the Oregon Truffle Festival to get
your share! Photo courtesy Taste Of Oregon.
Check out this recipe for Roast Chicken With
Truffles.

Registration is now open for the eighth annual Oregon Truffle Festival, with Early Bird pricing available through September 30th. The festival takes place in the southern Willamette Valley, in and around Eugene, Oregon.

The Festival celebrates Oregon’s native truffles, which reach the peak of ripeness in late January. The truffles are foraged in the forest, then brought to glory on the table by prominent chefs, whose dishes are paired with fine Oregon wines.

Truffle lovers can luxuriate in all things truffle on January 25, 26 and 27, 2013. Consider it as a memorable vacation or holiday gift.

Ticket packages begin at $525 per person, plus travel and accommodations. Options include these events and more:

 
There is also a truffle cooking class and other trufflicious options.
 
Learn more at OregonTruffleFestival.com.

All about truffles.
  

Believed to have originated in Australia, the nuts grow on a genus of evergreen trees. They were named after named after John Macadam, a botanist who first described the genus.

While macadamia nuts contain even more heart-healthy monounsaturated fats than the nuts included on the FDA’s recommended list of heart-healthy nuts, they did not make the list because of their caloric density. (The FDA recommends that an ounce of nuts a day can be part of a heart-healthy diet.)

A one-ounce serving of dry roasted macadamia nuts, about 10 nuts, has 200 calories*. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t include them in your meals—just don’t eat them by the bowl full.

According to a 2008 study in the Journal of Nutrition, a diet rich in macadamia nuts may lower LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol (it’s the monounsaturated “good” fats lower blood pressure and cholesterol).

(Dog owners note: Like chocolate, macadamias are toxic to canines.)

National Macadamia Nut Day is September 4th.

> Check out the year’s 38 nut holidays.

> The history of macadamia nuts.

> Take a look at the delicious macadamia-crusted fish fillet recipe below.
 
 
WAYS TO ENJOY MACADAMIA NUTS

Some of our favorite uses:

 
Macadamia Butter

Pick up a jar of macadamia butter at a natural foods store (Artisana macadamia nut butter was a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week).

Use it as you would peanut butter—as a spread, in ice cream, in baking, in sauces. We like it as a sauce with this easy fish recipe.
 
 
FISH FILLETS WITH MACADAMIA BUTTER

Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. COOK THE FISH. Lightly rub fish fillets with oil and sprinkle with salt. Sauté or steam, as you prefer (you can also fry them). Move to a warm serving platter.

2. MAKE THE SAUCE. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the macadamia butter and cook over low heat for 1 minute.

3. PLATE & SERVE. Plate the fish, pour the macadamia butter sauce over the fillets. Garnish the fillets with chopped parsley and chopped macadamia nuts. Serve with a lemon wedge, your favorite green vegetable, steamed, and brown rice, quinoa or other whole grain.

[1] Macadamia nuts (photo © Fotostreet | iStock Photo).

[2] Macadamia nuts growing on the tree (photo © Hawaiian Host | Facebook).

[3] Macadamia nuts in shell (photo © Australian Macadamias).

[4] Instead of PB: macadamia butter and jelly (photo © 34 Degrees).

> Find more of our favorite nuts and nut butters.

> Free e-books and recipes from Australian Macadamias.

[5] Macadamia-crusted fish fillets. Here’s the recipe (photo © Australian Macadamias).
 
________________

*A one-ounce serving of macadamias also contains 2 g of fiber, 2 g of protein and 20 g of fat (including 4 g of saturated fat); 15% of the daily value (DV) for thiamine, 8% DV for magnesium, 6% DV for vitamin B6 and phosphorus, 4% DV for niacin and iron and 2% DV for zinc and calcium.
 
 

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