COCHON555 2019

This month, Cochon555 returned to NYC at Weylin in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to present an epic food competition that pairs 5 local chefs, 5 heritage pig farmers and 5 sommeliers together. The chefs each have one whole heritage breed pig. Each year, Cochon555 has competitions in an array of cities. At the end of the season, the chefs that won each city compete in Chicago in order to be 2019's winner of the Grand Cochon. Since 2016, Athleisure Mag has been a proud media sponsor of this event as we're all about sustainable eating as well as being introduced to the chefs creations as well as supporting food vendors that participate in this event.

This event begins with a judging round where this year's judges included an array of food professionals that included Brady Lowe (founder of Cochon555), sommeliers, a member of the International Culinary Education, foodie personalities and even our Co-Founder/Creative + Style Director as well as Co-Executive Producer/Host of Athleisure Kitchen.

This year, Kimberly Plafke of (Executive Chef of Grand Army Bar/paired with The Piggery - Mulefoot), Christina Bartloli (Executive Chef of Gelso and Grand/paired with Spring House Farm - Large Black), Garrison Price (Chef and Culinary Director of Cafe Clover/paired with Autumn's Harvest Farms - Berkshire), Allan Walker Hodkin (VP of Culinary of The Grey Dog/paired with Dogpatch Farm - Mulefoot) and Seungjoon Choi (Executive chef of Hortus/paired with Debragga, New York's Butcher - Gloucester Old Spot) competed.

The Somm Smackdown was comprised of Anna-Christina Cabrales (General Manager and Beverage Director of Morrell Wine Bar), Wei Liu (E&J Gallo WInery), Stefanie Schwartz (Olmstead), Betsy Ross (L'Avenue at Saks Fifth Avenue) and Kristen Goceljak.

In addition to the judging of the tasting meal, there is also a panel of judges who select a winner from the Punch Kings to see who the top mixologist of the night is. Fellow foodie enthusiasts have the opportunity to try the foods that are created at this event which includes 1,500lbs of heritage breed pork whether they have a general admission or VIP ticket.

A portion of all sales will benefit Cochon555's sister charity, Piggy Bank.

NYC's winner for this leg's Prince of Pork, was Seungjoon Choi of Hortus, the winner of the Somm Smackdown was Anna-Christina Cabrales, General Manager and Beverage Director of Morrell Wine and Maison Pickle was the winner of the Punch Queen.

PHOTOGRAPHY | Paul Farkas

IG @Cochon555

Read Athleisure Mag’s April Issue and see Cochon555 2019 in mag.

S1. E3. | ATHLEISURE KITCHEN WITH FOOD & WINE MAGAZINE + TOP CHEF JUDGE GAIL SIMMONS

On today’s Athleisure Kitchen, we head downtown in New York’s NoLita neighborhood to The Kitchen Table to sit down with Food & Wine as well as Top Chef judge, Gail Simmons. We talk about her food journey and the array of jobs that she took on in professional kitchens to understand the industry in order to be an effective food journalist. In addition, we talk about her unexpected transition into being a TV personality, how it’s like to prepare for being on the show as well as what’s currently in her kitchen as we continue through the Spring in making new dishes, welcoming guests into our homes for Spring celebrations and what key ingredients are in her kitchen for this time of year!

Check out the latest issue of Athleisure Studio for additional episodes.

BINGELY STREAMING

THE DROP OUT

ABC Radio

Spotify

When Elizabeth Holmes was charged by the SEC for defrauding investors, blood testing startup, Theranos shut down. These actions took place due to Wall Street Journal's John Carreyrou who began peeling back a number of questions people had about this company. Many questioned how Theranos went about its business, how it marketed itself especially with a method of obtaining blood, that technically would be a game-changer never actually worked or was used by them!

Over the next few weeks and months, you will see various media outlets telling this story, but ABC Radio's podcast which is hosted by chief business, economics and technology correspondent Rebecca Jarvis walks us through a number of people who worked with Elizabeth in this six-part series that took three years of invesigation! You'll hear various depositions that were obtained by the network, interviews from her family and more.

Throughout the podcast, you hear about how she created the company, how she crafted her message, how she was able to raise staggering amounts of money to fund her company from major investors as well as how she garnered accounts for her blood testing machines into Walgreens and ultimately, how everything started to crumble due to a fractured culture and secrecy that plagued the company.

CONVERSATIONS WITH A KILLER: TED BUNDY TAPES

Netflix

In the True Crime world, many are going back to some of the biggest cases to find out more information on those who created horrific crimes. Currently on Netflix, they are focused on Ted Bundy, who sexually assaulted and murdered at least 39 women in multiple states in the 1970's. It wasn't until days before his execution in 1989 that he actually confessed in detail to his crimes.

In this documentary, never before heard interviews are released as well as archive footage within this four part series.

ATHLEISURE KITCHEN

Athleisure Studio

Apple Podcast

From the creators of Athleisure Mag, we're pleased to share another show from Athleisure Studio.

We all have our favorite dishes and places to eat. Many of us enjoy cooking and are consistently evolving by learning from cookbooks and our favorite culinary shows. In Athleisure Kitchen, we delve into cooking with your favorite chefs, restaurateurs, General Managers, food personalities, brands, and more to find out their journey to food, their unique approach to creating their culinary world and how they have extended it and themselves as cherished by the world.

You can listen to the launch of our first episode with Season 14 winner of BRAVO's Top Chef, Chef Brooke Williamson who is the owner of Playa Provisions, The Tripel, Triplikit, Small Batch Icr Cream, Hudson House, Da KikoKiko is influenced by her love of seasonality and locality.

Read more from the Feb Issue of Athleisure Mag and see Bingely Streaming in mag.

THE ART OF THE SNACK | THE DATE NIGHT MEAL WITH CHEF MARCUS SAMUELSSON

ATHLEISURE MAG: So we’re excited to have you in Athleisure Mag and Athleisure Kitchen, our readers have loved you for a very long time. Chef, with Valentine’s Day being this month and just date night dinners in general, what should we be making so that we can always stun our significant other?

CHEF MARCUS SAMUELSSON: Oh cool. I’m excited that you guys came today. For me, I feel very fortunate that I have been lucky to partner with Pure Leaf. Pure Leaf is always looking for great flavors and unique flavors that are super delicious. I think with this collection, Pure Leaf has found something really cool and interesting. Hibiscus, being African you find this all over the Caribbean and Africa. Sometimes, it’s known as Sorel. A beautiful flower that has that beautiful floral note that has become a really big trend in restaurants. What would be more fun than to be able to bring that trend setting food back home to a cocktail or through a simple appetizer. We’re going to do both.

The collection has all hibiscus and is caffeine free. They’re herbally brewed, also all around hibiscus along with a mango, a peach and a cherry. I put some of the mango flavored hibiscus iced tea with a little gin and you can also do it as a mocktail with no alcohol. I also put in some orange bitters and some citrus juice and just give that a shake and put some ice in at and give it a little light shake. This cocktail is called the Valentine and it has this beautiful rose color. It’s light and bright. Then we will put that little bit of sprig of thyme just to add to the floral note.

Making a light bright dish that is a flavored forward dish can be simple. I am going to start with some greens – a little bit of baby arugula and then frizze. I’m searing my scallops just 3 minutes on each side so that they are golden brown. In the pan, which is a cast iron skillet, there is a little bit of olive oil but I am also adding in parsley and adding in thyme so that those herbal notes can come back out again. I said it before that Pure Leaf has this beautiful collection of hibiscus and this one is Hibiscus Cherry flavor. It has a gorgeous burgundy color and it’s light with all of the flavors that you want. We also took some sundried cherries and just soaked them over night in the iced tea which makes them nice and loose in terms of texture.

Remember those scallops?

AM: They’re beautiful.

CHEF MS: Yes, they’re golden brown. When you get scallops like this, you want them to be dry scallops and you want to ask for sushi quality grade A. When you do that, you’ll have the best seafood! You also want to buy seafood from the same person because then you’re building a relationship with them and you’re ensuring that you’ll always get the good stuff. Then garnish with a bit of parsley and nuts – which you don’t have to if someone has a nut allergy. If they don’t it’s good for crunch. Then we will use the parsley that we seared up and top off the dish with some of those fresh herbs.

AM: It’s an easy dish to make.

CHEF MS: That’s the key right? We wanted to make the dish flavor forward, but also very easy to make. Jump in!

AM: It’s one of my favorite dishes as I love scallops.

CHEF MS: Yes, it’s scallops and just that idea that it’s hibiscus with that cherry profile. It’s light, bright and a beautiful appetizer.

AM: This is so good!

CHEF MS: Today I’m serving you for free. When you come to Red Rooster, I have to charge you, this is so much better!

AM: When did you realize that you wanted to be a chef?

CHEF MS: Well I cooked my whole life! You know I grew up in Sweden with my grandmother and she was a cook and just to be here 30 years later and to do a craft that I was taught in her kitchen is an unbelievable experience and it’s not a job. It’s something that I am passionate about and feel that it’s a privilege to work with my passion. To be to work with communities and to be able to create jobs for our inner city kids, whether it is through Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, our restaurants, through our festival Harlem Eat Up! and with that, you need partners like Pure Leaf that sees those opportunities to help me create that.

AM: How do you decide what and where your next restaurant is going to be?

CHEF MS: You know those are tough questions for me. First the city has to speak to me. I love New York and you know it’s not just about the city, it’s about the part of town. You know we just opened in Newark a beautiful town that has a strong African American narrative in terms of culture, music, jazz and we felt that it was a place that we thought was important for us to contribute to for jobs and to hire locally.

We always look at the city, we opened the Red Rooster in London which has always been – I mean growing up in Europe, London is your New York. To be able to be there has been a privilege as well. But then again it has been a privilege to be able to do what I love in so many different cities and Harlem will always be home. We have our festival coming up soon and it’s something that we look forward to.

AM: As the producer of Harlem Eat Up!, how did it come about and why is its intersectionality so important?

CHEF MS: I was always a guest to all of these great food festivals whether it was Miami, South Beach, Aspen or New York. And then I thought, wait a minute, Harlem is such an incredibly rich community in terms of culture and rich history. The chefs there deserve to also be able to tell their story and the food festival has been able to tell that story!

With that, to do it because half of our Harlem Eat Up! is for free, and we can’t do it without sponsors like Pure Leaf, whether it’s to help set the table for Valentine’s Day or whether it’s to set the table for a food festival.

AM: So I’m a huge fan of Red Rooster, what are 3 signature dishes that we need to eat there and you can only choose 3 now haha!

CHEF MS: When you come to the Red Rooster you have to have as starters the Cornbread and the Deviled Eggs. It’s easy and you can have a drink and you definitely need to start off with a Brown Stoner or a Bourbon forward drink and then I love a Shrimp and Grits, which is super super delicious. It’s comforting and you have to have the Yardbird.

AM: This month is the South Beach Food and Wine Festival. Why do you love participating in that, attending and why is it so important?

CHEF MS: SoBe is one of the festivals that started the great festivals. You have SoBe and Aspen. As a chef, it’s such a privilege and you get to also see your chef friends. I’m going to be able to see and hang out with Bobby, Alex and my friend Scott – people that we work together, but we don’t always have time to hang out. That’s the time that we get to hang out. I also go over to Overtown and I get to do cooking demos. This year, I made sure that my events are always at Overtowns so I can bring that South Beach audience over to another part of town that they may or may not have been to before.

AM: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us and to make this incredible meal!

CHEF MS: Well you’re good! You’ve got your cocktail – The Valentine and you’ve got your Scallops that are beautiful and I hope that you enjoy it.

CHERRY HIBISCUS SEARED SCALLOPS with Mustard Greens, Tea Infused Cherries, Almonds

For the Cherry-Hibiscus Sauce

1 ounce dried hibiscus petals

1 quart Pure Leaf Cherry Hibiscus Herbal Tea

In a large pot, heat the tea and hibiscus until it’s just barely simmering. Remove from the heat and let sit for 20 minutes. Strain and chill.

For the Tea Infused Cherries

1 cup dried cherries

2 cups Pure Leaf Cherry Hibiscus Herbal Tea

Bring the tea to a boil. Pour over the dried cherries. Let sit at room temperature for two hours to infuse.

For the Roasted Almonds

1 cup whole marcona blanched almonds

1 tbsp olive oil

1/8 tsp salt

Toss the almonds in oil and salt and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Roast at 350 degrees until well browned and fragrant, approximately 5 minutes.

To Assemble

4 diver scallops (U10 size)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 ounce frilly mustard greens

1 ounce frisee

1 tbsp infused cherries

1 tbsp cherry-hibiscus sauce

1 tbsp roasted almonds

1 tbsp torn parsley leaves

Heat a sauté pan over medium high heat with half of the olive oil. Season scallops liberally with salt. When the oil is beginning to smoke, sear the scallops for two minutes on each side. Remove from pan.

In a shallow bowl, place the cherry-hibiscus sauce. Dress the mustard greens, frisee, and parsley with the cherries, rest of the olive oil, and a touch of salt. Place on top of the sauce. Arrange the scallops on top and garnish with the roasted almonds.

VALENTHYME

1 oz Pink Gin

2 oz Pure Leaf Mango Hibiscus Herbal Tea

¼ oz Simple Syrup

½ oz Lemon Juice

6 dashes Cranberry Bitters

3 dashes Orange Bitters

¾ oz Cranberry Juice

Shake all ingredients over ice and serve in a coupe. Garnish with Thyme sprig.

Mock

3 oz Pure Leaf Mango Hibiscus Herbal Tea

¼ oz Simple Syrup

½ oz Lemon Juice

6 dashes Cranberry Bitters

3 dashes Orange Bitters

¾ oz Cranberry Juice

Shake all ingredients over ice and serve in a coupe. Garnish with Thyme sprig.

PHOTO CREDIT | PG 88 Cedric Angeles

You can catch Athleisure Studio's podcast show You can catch Athleisure Studio’s podcast show, Athleisure Kitchen and hear our conversation with Chef Marcus Samuelsson next month wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts including Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast.

Read the latest issue of the Feb Issue of Athleisure Mag and see The Art of the Snack | The Date Night Meal with Chef Marcus Samuelsson in mag.

S1. Ep 1. | Athleisure Kitchen with Chef Brooke Williamson

The latest episode of Athleisure Studio’s culinary show, Athleisure Kitchen just dropped today with Chef Brooke Williamson.

When it comes to culinary competition shows, BRAVO’s Top Chef is one of our favorites. We enjoy the quick fire challenges, restaurant wars and watching competitors navigate across the show. We also like finding out about their restaurants and often seeing them re-appear on future seasons or other shows. On season 10, we were introduced to Chef Brooke Williamson, who came in second only to come back in season 14 - to win it all! In addition to these accolades, she is the Co-Owner and Co-Chef at The Tripel, Playa Provisions, Hudson House Bar, Da Kikokiko, Small Batch Icecream and Triplikit in Southern California. We find out more about her creativity, how she got into the industry, how she keeps fit and it all together.

INTRODUCING ATHLEISURE KITCHEN

Whether we’re eating solo, grabbing a meal at lunch or Happy Hour, having a date night or heading to brunch at our favorite spot - farm to table, fast casual, gastro pubs and fine dining places didn’t just pop up on their own. Sometimes we’re cooking from recipes that we inherited from our families, often we’re making and enjoying a dish as recommended by voices of the culinary world. The world of food is nuanced and those that add to its colorful language have a story that directed them to creating their culinary point of view and styles of cooking, their presentation, and how they have strived to envelop and expand their professional brand. In Athleisure Kitchen, we sit down with chefs, restaurateurs, general managers, and food personalities to share how your favorite sweet and savory meals came to your neighborhood and these tastemakers impact and extend their reach in and beyond the food world.

ATHLEISURE STUDIO LAUNCHES OUR PODCAST NETWORK

We're pretty excited to announce that our sister brand, Athleisure Studio is launching an array of podcasts via our multimedia network! We launched the first episode of 4LBUM which includes 4 tracks within an artist theme. Our first one, includes Biggie! Next month, we will roll out 3 podcasts that are extensions of features that we have run or regularly run here at Athleisure Mag. The Road to Tokyo 2020 will follow Olympic hopefuls on their journey to compete at the 2020 Summer Games. #TRIBEGOALS focuses on the power of building, creating, identifying and maintaining tribes. We will have interviews of celebrity fitness trainers, designers, recording artists and those that have a following that we enjoy being apart of as we all know your vibe is our tribe. Finally, Athleisure Kitchen focuses on interviews of food personalities, celebrity chefs and food notables.

4LBUM

The Road to Tokyo 2020

ATHLEISURE KITCHEN

#TRIBEGOALS

CELEBRATING GELATO

Last weekend, the Gelato Festival America touched down for the second year in a row and had its first Jersey City Edition at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. A professional judging panel which consists of eleven judges enjoyed evaluating participating gelato creators over a 2 day period. Attendees had the opportunity to enjoy authentic gelato and to assist in voting for their favorites. In addition, guests enjoyed demonstrations, contests and games, ceremonies and of course - tasting gelato.

Best flavor at the Festival was given to Dark Chocolate Surprise (this flavor included 80% dark Chocolate from South America with a little bitter infusion), presented by Giacomo d’Alessandro from Polosud Gelato, Coffee & Pastries in New York, NY. Taking 1st place meant that not only did he receive a medal from Florentine goldsmith Paolo Penko, he will compete in the North American Semi-Finals in 2019 for a chance to be 1 of 3 Americans to compete in the Gelato Festival World Masters in 2021 in Italy.

The Gelato Festival America is on a missoin to spread the culture of artisanal Italian gelato in the US, this year featuring eight cities. Held in collaboration with strategic partners Carpigiani, ISA, Italian Exhibition Group Sigep and main Sponsor PreGel, the Gelato Festival America 2018 generates the first entrants into the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021, the challenge for the best artisan gelato chefs on the planet. The first eight gelato chefs selected at each stage of the Gelato Festival America 2018 will win the right to continue the challenge towards the final – it’s the World Cup of gelato, a journey with hundreds of trials over four years on five continents!

The Gelato Festival made its debut in Florence in 2010 inspired by the idea of he first gelato recipe by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1559. Since then, the Gelato Festival has expanded its borders, beginning in Italy, then spreading throughout Europe and finally in 2017 to the United States - A total of 64 festivals, preparing the whole planet for the world championship of the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021.

The four 1st place winners from the 2017 Gelato Festival America, along with the eight 1st place winners from the 2018 Gelato Festival America will be competing in 2019 for one of the three spots to head to the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021 in Italy. The 2nd and 3rd artisans will be selected in 2019-2020. In the Gelato Festival World Masters 2021, there will be a total of 36 chefs from all over the world competing for the main title.

Additional gelato categories and their winners are below:

• The Fabulous Flavors of Jersey City '18 Winner: Dark Chocolate Surprise by Giacomo d’Alessandro of Polosud Gelato, Coffee & Pastries.

• The Fabulous Flavors of Jersey City '18 Runner Up: Buontalenti by Niccolo Pomposi of Gelateria Badiani

• The Fabulous Flavors of Jersey City '18 Third Place: New York I Love You! by Noel Knecht of Black Dog Gelato

• The Gela-to-go Award: The most sold gelato at the New Jersey festival was Dark Chocolate Surprise by Giacomo d’Alessandro of Polosud Gelato, Coffee & Pastries.

• Technical Jury by ISA: Persian Paradise by Mike Guerriero of Gelotti in Caldwell, NJ.

• Popular Jury by PreGel: Peach-Mango with Calamansi by Peter Jose of Jersey & Co Gelato in Jersey City, NJ.

• Kids Jury: Partly Cloudy by Jenny Ao of A La Mode.

• Speed Cup Race by ISA: Jenny Ao of A La Mode. Sponsored by ISA, Speed Cup Race is about speed. Each Gelato chef has 30 seconds to serve as many perfect servings of Gelato as possible. Jenny was able to serve 11 perfect cups, followed by Mike Guerriero of Gelotti with 9 and Dolma Yang Chen of Roots with 8.

• Stack It High by PreGel: Mike Guerriero of Gelotti. Sponsored by Pregel, each Gelato Chef was given 30 seconds to stack as many scoops of gelato into a cup as possible. Mike set a record with 22.

• Best Video: The best video made was by Kristina and Pierre Frantz of Dolce Brooklyn in Brooklyn, NY.

Read the July Issue of Athleisure Mag.

LEWD FOODIE | SAVOR THIS

ATHLEISURE KITCHEN | LEWD FOODIE

The temperatures are beginning to shift to cooler weather. That means, it's all about your favorite soups as you stay in for a cozy evening.

In the spirit of the fall, Athleisure Kitchen presents Pumpkin Soup with Spice Pumpkin Seeds. This dish uses almost all of the pumpkin - including the seeds which can be roasted and enjoyed in the soup or eaten separately for a perfect snack. In addition, to showcasing a number of vegetables and fall finds, this shoot is accented by great cooking and plating options as well. This recipe was adapted from Williams-Sonoma Soup of the Day, by Kate McMillan (Weldon Owen, 2011) and made by Chef Rosalie.
 
PUMPKIN SOUP WITH SPICY PUMPKIN SEEDS

Prep Time: 35 minutes  

Cook Time: 75 minutes  

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin, about 3 lb., such as Sugar Pie, peeled, seeded and chopped (seeds reserved)
2 tbs. olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 tbs. unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
4 cups chicken broth
For the spicy pumpkin seeds:
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, cleaned
1 tsp. canola oil
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
Pinch of ground cinnamon

Directions:

See more from the Oct Issue

The Art of the Snack - Tacos

We love a good taco around Athleisure Kitchen and this month, we shared some recipes from a foodie influencer and former The Bachelor/Bachelorette contestant who is an HGTV TV Personality.

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20-Minute Ancho Chicken Tacos

Lindsay, Pinch of Yum - IG @PinchOfYum

Serves: 12 small tacos

Ingredients

Ancho Chicken
•½ cup white whole wheat flour (all purpose also works)
•2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
•1 teaspoon southwestern or taco seasoning
•a generous pinch of salt and pepper
•2 tablespoons oil
•1½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Tacos and Toppings
•12 small corn tortillas
•a few green cabbage leaves, shredded
•one bunch cilantro, chopped
•toppings: lime wedges, sour cream, jalapeño slices, avocado slices, minced green or red onions

Instructions

1. Toss the cabbage and cilantro together. Prep the other toppings.

2. Combine the flour, ancho chili powder, southwestern seasoning, and salt and pepper in a shallow dish.

3. In a heavy duty pan, heat the oil to medium high heat. Cut the chicken breasts in half or quarters, toss in the flour mixture, and add to the pan. Cook for a few minutes; flip, and cook for another few minutes until the outside is browned and the inside is no longer pink. Remove from heat, sprinkle with a little more salt, and allow to rest for a few minutes. Cut or shred the chicken into small pieces.

4. Warm tortillas (I just microwave for a 20 seconds or so) and assemble with the chicken and toppings. Be generous with the lime juice and jalapeños for extra zing! 

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Air Fried Fish Tacos

Jillian Harris, HGTV Love It or List It Host - IG @Jillian.Harris

Ingredients

Corn Tortillas
Peach Salsa
Avocado Cream (recipe below)
Cilantro
Fresh Halibut
1 can of Beer
1 1/2 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp of Salt
Cholula sauce
Philips Airfryer

Instructions

1. On a plate, lay out corn tortillas, top with peach salsa, set aside.
2. Slice your halibut into small strips.

3. Mix 1 cup flour, salt, baking powder and enough beer until you have a nice consistency

4. Toss the halibut in remaining flour to give it an initial coating, then place it in the beer batter mixture until coated.
5. Set on GREASED philips air fryer rack and cook 6-8 minutes at 200 degrees until golden.
6. Place fish on top of salsa mixture top with avocado cream, more cilantro if desired and Cholula sauce.

Avocado Cream:

1 large avocado
3/4 cup buttermilk
Juice from 1/2 lime

Mix in a blender until smooth

The Art of the Snack - Fruits and Veggies

Snacking just got easier with two recipes that allow you to get vital nutrients, while taking very little time to make! These are perfect for the Spring and the Summer.

We hit the Athleisure Kitchen with Chef Rosalie from Williams Sonoma and began thinking about how we can get fruits and vegetables into our meals. These treats are perfect now as well as when we head into the summer. When you master these recipes, you can add your own twists to them and both can be done rather quickly!

We love a good ice pop as it's cool and refreshing. A few seasons ago we learned about Zoku which easily makes and freezes your pops of choice. A huge trend is being able to include slices of fruit, adding yogurt creation and when you have really mastered it, a boozy option that is perfect for day or night! We created a POM-pop, Pear Pop and a Passion Fruit Pop. 

POPSICLE INGREDIENTS

• Your drink of choice (we had three different pops so we used Ceres Pear, Ceres Passion Fruit and POM Wonderful - no sugar free juices) 

• Sliced assorted fruit 

• Zoku machine 

• Make sure to slice your chosen fruits into thin slices. We used plums, kiwi and strawberries 

• Pour your beverage of choice into the Zoku maker

• Place your sliced fruits into each slot with the beverage

• Place the spill guard sticks in the Zoku 

NOTE: You must place the Zoku in the freezer before using it to make your pops. The Zoku will freeze your treats within 12 minutes! Once it is frozen, you can make 3 servings of 3 (9 pops total) before you have to freeze it again.

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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Vitamix

Hummus is such a great snack that takes chickpeas to another level. The easiest way to make it is in the Vitamix. We have taken the classic recipe and added a few twists that give it an elevated taste while also being really quick and easy to make!

HUMMUS INGREDIENTS: 

• 2 15oz cans of chickpeas (garbanzos), one drained , one with liquid

• 1/4 cup (35g) raw sesame seeds

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice

• 1 garlic clove peeled

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• Salt and crushed red pepper

• Place all ingredients, except salt, into the Vitamix container in the order listed and secure lid

• Select Frozen Desserts program

• Press start

• Allow machine to complete programmed cycle, using the tamper to press the ingredients into the blades

NOTE: It takes 5 minutes to prepare this recipe and it makes 3 3/4 cups which is great for a solo nibble or for a small gathering. As we're hummus fans, we always like to shake it up. In this version, once we made it, we added a little more olive oil, pine nuts, sliced red peppers and crushed red pepper. This added a bit of a zest to our recipe - but there are a number of items that work well with this recipe. In addition, it can be served with crackers, mini pitas (shown here) and so much more. 

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY | Zoku + Vitamix

Read more from the April Issue