POM Review

I had a busy weekend and was just now able to get caught up on all your blogs. I will post another recipe on Wednesday but I wanted to post a review of POM juice that was sent to me a few months ago. I'm sorry POM Wonderful for taking so long!

The gracious people at POM Wonderful sent me two large bottles of Pomegranate Nectarine and Pomegranate Kiwi 100% Juice. I was really pleased with its flavor and enjoyed it much more than the 100% POM juice. The addition of the kiwi and nectarine flavors made it somewhat tropical tasting. I tend to find the regular POM juice a tad tart and somewhat bitter but I didn't feel that way about these juices.

I also really enjoy Martinelli's apple juice but I find it too sweet so I mixed the two for a nice beverage cocktail over ice and drank it with breakfast. It's also really good with orange juice but the color isn't so attractive :-) It was really refreshing and I suggest if you can find it in your grocery store to give it a try.

Thanks POM Wonderful!

A Perfect Pearing

I saw this recipe for Red Wine and Pear Sorbet on the PBS show, Everyday Food. I don't drink red wine so I thought, "oh I'll never make this" and quickly fast-forwarded through it. Then I remembered I still had POM juice in the fridge and rewound it and paid careful attention. I immediately pulled out my laptop and bookmarked this recipe.

My mother-in-law loves pomegranate juice so I decided to make this for her birthday and I served it with angel food cake and strawberries. I wish I had doubled the recipe though because we quickly consumed it and I was longing for more.

Since POM juice is sweeter than red wine, I cut back slightly on the amount of sugar and I added a few drops of red food coloring just to brighten it up a bit. It came together quickly and morphed from a frozen solid mass into a smooth blush beauty with the assistance of the food processor. Tart, smooth, creamy, sweet and refreshing. A perfect fat free summer treat.

POMegranate and Pear Sorbet adapted from Everyday Food

• 1 cup POM juice
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 lb. ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces (2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Coarse salt
• a few drops red food coloring, optional

In a small saucepan, bring juice, water, and sugar to a boil over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar dissolves. Add pears; reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice, food coloring (if using) and a pinch of salt; cool completely. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. Freeze until solid, about 6 hours (or overnight).

With a fork, break frozen mixture into large pieces. In two batches, purée in a food processor until completely smooth, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Transfer to an airtight container; freeze until ready to serve (sorbet will be soft).

Makes 1 quart

NOTE: I made this in two steps. On the first day I boiled the juice, sugar and pears and poured it into a pyrex dish. I then froze it for a couple days, then processed it til smooth on the third day. Do what you can with the time you have. This recipe's flavor will not be affected, in the least.

See my other POM recipes:

• Strawberry POM Smoothies
• Chocolate POM Cupcakes

Updated: I entered this in the ice cream social sponsored by ScottySnacks, SavortheThyme and Tangled Noodle.

Bedazzled

I'm back from my mini vacation, but I'll tell you more about that in a later post. For now, here is another POM recipe that I made last week.

Michel-lee asked me how I got all this wonderful POM juice. Well, the POM Blogger, Diana, contacted me via email and asked if I'd like to sample some of their juice and I of course said YES! A few days later, I received a case of 8 oz. bottles! So exciting!

The first thing I did was pour it over crushed ice in a tall glass. Refreshing. With half a bottle I made Strawberry POM Smoothies, and the other half I made these yummy cupcakes. I quartered the original recipe, because I didn't want or need 24 cupcakes. I assumed it would make 6 cupcakes, but it made 7. Fine by me. I frosted my cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting, leftover from the Rainbow Cupcakes and topped them with Jelly Bellys to resemble pomegranate arils. They turned out so cute!

These cupcakes were fudgey and INCREDIBLY MOIST. So moist that when I tried to frost them with room temperature frosting, the edges crumbled. They weren't quite as chocolaty as I would have liked, so if I ever decide to make these again, I'd up the amount of cocoa. They also had slightly fruity undertones, which were unexpected and nice. Another bonus, these cupcakes don't contain any eggs or butter, so they're vegan (minus the frosting, of course)- woo hoo!

To see others POM cupcakes, click here, here and here.

POM Chocolate Cupcakes from POM Wonderful

• 1/4 cup POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water, heated to boiling
• 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F with rack placed in the center. Place a paper baking cup in regular sized muffin tin; set aside.

Combine the dry ingredients and whisk together. In a large measuring cup, combine pomegranate juice and boiling water. Add oil, vinegar and vanilla to the pomegranate juice mixture.

Add to the flour mixture all at once to the wet mixture and whisk to combine (batter will be lumpy). Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups (about 3/4 full).

Bake 20-24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and free of crumbs. Mine took exactly 22 minutes. Let cool completely before topping with the frosting of your choice.

Makes a mini batch of 7 regular cupcakes.

Visit the POM website to find the recipes for pomegranate chocolate or vanilla cream cheese frosting.

Slurp!

Since the POM Wonderful people were so gracious in sending me a case of 100% Pomegranate Juice, I decided the first thing I'd make with it was a smoothie. My husband and I drink smoothies almost every weekend with our breakfast and it just seemed the natural choice.

Did you know POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice has more antioxidant power than red wine? My FIL is a fan of red wine for this reason, but now there's a healthier option for him since drinking red wine for breakfast really isn't an option for most people :-) Drink it alone or add it to a smoothie. The pomegranate juice in this smoothie adds a brightness, the honey sweetness, the yogurt creaminess and the strawberries body. It's good and good for you!

Strawberry POMegranate Smoothie

• 2 ripe bananas
• 8 oz. yogurt
• 4 oz. POM Wonderful Juice
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 12 frozen strawberries

Place all ingredients in blender in order as they appear above. Blend well til the frozen strawberries are smooth. Scrape the honey down off the pitcher sides if necessary. Pour into tall glasses and garnish with a fresh strawberry and a straw.

Makes 2 tall servings- about 4 1/2 cups.

BTW, I added a cool little feature at the bottom of my blog. Go ahead, take a look, I'll wait.........................Okay, you back? Isn't it fun? You can add it to your side bar or anywhere on your blog. Click here to get one!

And while you're at it, click on over to Donna's blog to her Spring Fever Giveaway!

Surprise Package!

Look what came in the mail today!

Thanks for the care package POM Wonderful!

Which recipe should I try first?