All you need is fruit, yogurt and sweetener. Take advantage of the summer peach and nectarine crops or use other favorite fruits—strawberries and raspberries, for example. Or try high-antioxidant blueberry-yogurt ice pops.

You can make coffee-flavored pops or any of your favorite flavors.

• Get the recipe.
• Find more frozen delight recipes and product reviews in our Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt Section.

Keep homemade yogurt pops in the fridge
for an instant, healthy sweet treat. Photo courtesy Tovolo.

Innocent or guilty? One of the well-known extra-virgin olive oils alleged to be not exactly extra-virgin.

The follow-up news may shock lay people, but it’s just more olive oil “business as usual.”

A group of prominent California restaurateurs and chefs has filed a class-action lawsuit against olive oil distributors and retailers.

The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, targets 10 major olive oil brands: Bertolli, Carapelli, Colavita, Filippo Berio, Mazola, Mezzetta, Pompeian, Rachael Ray, Safeway Select and Star. It also names 10 major supermarket chains and big box stores that allegedly sold substandard oil as “extra-virgin.” This includes olive oil mixed with cheaper types of oil, lower quality olive oil and olive oil degraded by heat or age.

An olive oil labeled “extra-virgin” should assure consumers that the oil was extracted without the use of heat or chemicals, that it is pure, that it satisfies a taste test and that it falls within chemical parameters established by the International Olive Council (IOC).

• Take a look at our Olive Oil Section to learn more, and to discover artisan brands that don’t monkey around with their product.

 
 


CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.  
 
 

[1] Spicy bites for snacks or garnishes (photo by Katharine Pollak | © THE NIBBLE).

[2] A juicy turkey burger (photo © Diestel Turkey Ranch).

Does hot weather beg for hot pickles?

Rick’s Picks, our favorite pickle-maker (read the review), has launched Hotties, crinkle-cut spicy pickle chips spiced with Thai sriracha sauce and habanero.

Sriracha sauce is a dipping sauce made of hot red chiles, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. It is named after the coastal city of Si Racha on the Sea of Thailand, where it was first produced and served at seafood restaurants.

Use Hotties hot pickle chips anywhere you’d use pickle chips. Add a bit of heat to burgers, sandwiches, eggs, and snacks with these little missiles of mild/moderate heat. Toss them into green salads for a surprise. Garnish deviled eggs.

Hotties are healthy, too: They’re low in sodium (105mg/ounce), low in calories (12 calories/ounce), and gluten-free; there is a small amount of sugar. Pickles by nature have no fat or cholesterol.

A 24-ounce jar is $7.99 at fine retailers and at RicksPicksNYC.com.

Rick’s suggests that you try them with this low-fat turkey burger (feel free to substitute beef or plant-based protein):
 
 
SPICED UMAMI TURKEY BURGER RECIPE

Ingredients

1. TOAST cumin and coriander seeds (you can combine them in the pan).

2. MIX gently all ingredients up to egg white. Don’t overwork the meat. Form 4-6 burgers, depending on how large you like them. Coat with olive oil.

3. PLACE a grill pan on the stove and turn the stove on to med-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add burger patties.

4. COOK 4 minutes per side and cover with foil as you cook.

5. OPTIONAL: TOAST buns while burgers are cooking on their second side.

6. ASSEMBLE the burgers with Hotties and optional lettuce, tomato, and onion slices.

Serve with some of our Top Pick Of The Week spicy ketchup.

Top-quality room sprays that are
environmentally-friendly. Photo courtesy
Fruits & Passion.

The home products in the Cucina line have never failed to please. We’ve used both the “ambiance” products (candles and diffusers, home fragrances, potpourris); and household care products (cleaning, laundry and ironing and air fragrances).

We recently tried three of the six varieties of Deodorizing Fragrant Kitchen Spray: Coriander and Olive Tree, Ginger and Sicilian Lemon, and Pink Pepper and Anise. We’re not sure about the Sicilian Lemon, but the others filled the air with sophisticated fragrance of a lush garden or flower bouquet. You can tell that the finest ingredients are used. The water-based formula contains a deodorizing agent and fragrance.

The Pink Pepper and Anise spray is more feminine and pretty; the Coriander and Olive Tree spray is more unisex and sophisticated. (We preferred the latter.)

The company aims to be environmentally responsible. The sprays comply with regulations for improving air quality and reducing VOCs. They are hydrocarbon-, alcohol- and DE/DEH phthalate-free. The spray is released from the bottle simply using nitrogen, the main component of air.

A 5.2-ounce spray is $14.00 at US.Fruits-Passion.com. Think of it for house gifts, holiday gifts and teacher gifts.

But what if you’ve bought a middling melon—cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon or other favorite—that’s lacking in sweetness?

Don’t despair or reach for the sugar bowl. Instead, sprinkle on some non-caloric sweetener. For those who don’t use artificial sweeteners, natural agave nectar is delicious and is the lowest-glycemic natural sweetener available.

Other options: a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, or a pinch of salt. While salt may seem counterintuitive, it heightens the flavor of foods. That’s why there’s at least a pinch of it in most recipes, including cakes and cookies.

Not sweet enough? Fix it! Photo courtesy
BaldorFood.com.