自家製芒果酸奶冰淇淋 Homemade Mango Frozen Yogurt Ice-cream

昨天是香港和很多個國家的母親節，身居英國的我們今年在三月已慶祝了這兒的 'Mothering Sunday'。但在香港長大的我，在這一天對母親自是倍覺思念。

Yesterday was Mother's Day in Hong Kong and for a lot of other countries in the world. Here in the UK we already celebrated the Mothering Sunday in March. As I grew up in Hong Kong, this June Mother's Day means a lot more to me, and so on this day I think about and miss my mother a lot more.

最近我常做甜點，因為家中那位先生已到達了愛吃甜的年紀 -- 我母親說的：『上了年紀的人，返老還童，像小孩子一樣，每天總有個時間，要吃到糖做的，才滿意。』我把這話告訴那人，猜他怎麼說？『怎麼把我放進「上了年紀」那階段？ 你不知道嗎？今天的五十來歲，是新的四十歲呢！』

Recently I have made quite a lot of puddings and desserts. My husband has arrived at a stage where he craves  for sweet things. My mum used to say," When people have reached certain age, they - like children - like eating sweet things. Once a day, they need to have that treat to feel happy and satisfied." When I told my husband this, guess what he said? " Why did you put me in the "Certain age" category?  Don't you know 50 is the new 40!"

他的行為舉止，有時其實比十四歲的頑童更幼稚。像我們帶 Josh 去散步時，看到野兔松鼠，他總叫 Josh 去追。Josh 才沒那麼笨，明知追不到的。不想去時牠就轉頭過來看我，像問我為甚麼還不去駡牠老爸似的。

His behaviour is sometimes more childish than a fourteen year old boy. For example when we are out walking our dog and saw some wild rabbits and squirrels, he tells our dog Josh to chase after them. Josh is not stupid, he knows he could never catch them. Sometimes he turns round and looks at me as if he wants to ask me why I don't tell his old dad off.

踏進五月之後，天氣果然轉熱過來。院子裏有很多園務要操作了。他亦依我的要求做這做那。每次汗流夾背回來，進浴室前就會要求等會下來要吃雪糕、凍紅豆冰、冷糖水 ... 等等。我又不是神仙，當然不能隨時變出這些東西來。

As soon as May arrived the weather became warm and sunny. There are quite a bit of work to do in the garden, and every time my husband comes in after gardening he asks for ice-cream, or sweet red bean ice, or cold sweet soup etc;  does he think I am a fairy and I can produce something like that at a moment's notice!

想起以前好友的女兒 Andrea 在倫敦唸書時；每次與她見面，飯後她都帶我們去吃酸奶冰淇淋 (  霜凍優格 frozen yogurt )。滿滿的一杯加了多多的水果等，吃得暢快又安心。

I remember when my good friend's daughter Andrea used to study in London; every time we met up with her, she would take us to this trendy place to have frozen yogurt after dinner.  We would always order a big pot for each of us, piled it up with fresh fruit, it was delicious! The best thing was we didn't need to worry as much about the calories; we could enjoy a big bowl of dessert without feeling guilty.

我决定要做酸奶冰淇淋。於是嘗試了好幾個食譜，加進自己的心得；掌握到適合個人的口味和方法。因為沒有做冰淇淋的機器，自然做不到在外面吃的幼滑細軟口感。但據一份飲食雜誌的報導；店裏賣的「霜凍優格」都是用結晶果糖、葡萄糖、麥芽糖和優格粉，加上乳酸芽孢桿菌等調配的酸奶口味冷凍甜品。至於人們視其為健康食品的原因，大多是因為「優格」的名字讓他們以為是由新鮮酸奶製成。

I decided to make frozen yogurt myself, so I've tried and tested a few recipes, blending in my own preferences. Because I don't have an ice-cream maker,  my frozen yogurt isn't as smooth as the shop bought kind. But according to an article in a food magazine, the commercial products of frozen yogurt are made up of crystal sugar, glucose, maltose and yogurt powders; adding live and bacteria yogurt cultures then churned into the popular frozen yogurt desserts.  The reasons people regard this as a type of healthy food, it's because the name 'yogurt' let us believe they are made with fresh yogurt.

自己在家做的話，只需要三種材料；一部很基本的攪拌器就行了。

To make frozen yogurt at home, you only need to use 3 ingredients and a blender.

自家製芒果酸奶冰淇淋
( 8 人份)

材料：

• 冰凍 frozen 芒果塊 500g  ( 可以在超市冰凍櫃購買，也可以自己用新鮮芒果切塊冰凍。)
• 有機希臘式優格 Organic Greek style natural yogurt 500g
• 流質蜂蜜或龍舌蘭糖漿 Agave syrup 4 湯匙
• 隨意的各式水果作裝飾和伴吃

作法：

1. 把希臘式優格，流質蜂蜜或龍舌蘭糖漿，冰凍 frozen 芒果塊一起放進攪拌器內 ( 很基本的像我這款也可以了)，攪拌至完全軟滑 --  期間要把機器停下數次，用大匙把四週的果碎撥下來埋進底部，才再繼續攪拌。重覆至完全攪拌光滑。倒進一個寬底的大容器內。
2. 把整盤蓋著的優格放進冰格部份 freezer ( - 18C ) 冰凍 8 小時以上。要吃前 20 分鐘取出至稍為軟化。用被熱水浸過的冰淇淋大匙撥挖大球進玻璃杯去，排進水果。喜歡的話，放上熱情果和石榴的籽在頂部作裝飾。隨意加進各式水果一塊享用。

Homemade Mango Frozen Yogurt Ice-cream

( serves 8 )

Ingredients：

• 500g frozen mango pieces ( you can buy them from supermarkets or you can freeze freshly diced mangoes yourself )
• 500g organic Greek style natural yogurt
• 4 tbsp runny honey or Agave syrup
• Fresh fruit of your choice to decorate and to serve with the yogurt ice-cream

Method:

1. Put the yogurt, frozen mangoes and the honey / Agave syrup into blender ( a very basic machine like this one is good enough). Blend till the texture become smooth. You'll need to stop the engine a few times to spoon the fruit pieces down from the wall into the bowl before blending it again. When you're happy with the consistency, empty the content into a deep and wide container.
2. Cover the container and put it in the freezer to freeze ( - 18 C ) at least 8 hours or overnight. Take it out and leave it in room temperature to soften before serving. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and passion fruit seeds on top, and arrange different types of fruit in the bowl to serve.                        

自己做酸奶冰淇淋的好處除了用料都是健康食材，低脂低糖和低卡，好吃有益外。你還可一次做大盒放進冰格蓋著冷藏，想吃甜品、或要消暑解渴的時候，便可以隨時有供應了。加進各式鮮甜的新鮮水果，大人小孩都會喜愛。

The good thing about making your own homemade frozen yogurt; not only they are delicious, healthy, low fat, low in sugar and calories; but you can also make a large portion each time and keep it in the freezer. So whenever you want to have something sweet or something cool, you can help yourself. Serving it with lots of fresh fruits, they will be loved by both adults and children.