Mystery Dessert!

Hello again! Today I have a dance/dessert post. . .

Yesterday evening, I attended DanceMoves at The Merc (part of the Old Town Temecula Community Theatre) in Temecula, Ca. A piece I choreographed for Avocado Dance Theatre (of which I am a company member) was performed there. The other performers were the instructors who teach at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Temecula. They were beautiful and skilled ballroom dancers! There was also the apprentice company of Eveoke Dance Theatre from San Diego, Ca. They were very expressive modern dancers! My fellow Avocado dancers performed my piece superbly and that would have been enough to make it a great night. . . but it kept getting better!

At intermission, my Mom (who was my date for the evening) and I bought raffle tickets to win some prizes. Well, my Mom was just concerned about supporting the theatre and the dancers/choreographers in attendance, but I had a particular prize in mind. There was a mystery dessert being raffled and I had to have it. . . and as fate would have it, I won it. . . along with three other prizes!!! We won tickets to see Oregon Ballet Theatre perform at the Old Town Temecula Community Theatre, a gift certificate to take ballroom dance classes at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Temecula and a basket full of avocados. Luck was definitely on my side! I actually started to feel bad stealing the prizes out from under all the other raffle ticket buyers!

After I got home I was able to enjoy the mystery dessert - I heard it may be called a "Bionica," but I am not sure. I was quite surprised to discover that it was a dessert. . . when I first got it, it looked like a parfait with fruit, yogurt and granola - basically a breakfast item. You would probably think the same after seeing just this image. . .



But this thing was nowhere near a breakfast item! It is a dessert in the truest sense of the word! Strawberries, apples, bananas, mango, cantaloupe, coconut, almonds, oats, and whipped cream. . . this was the most sweet, refreshing dessert I have had in a long time! My ingredient list may not be completely accurate - for instance it may not be whipped cream, but cool whip, or a cream mixture of some sort. And it very well could be a pre-mixed granola as opposed to the separate parts I mentioned. Also, I have no idea where this dessert comes from! I imagine it is somewhere in Old Town Temecula, and it may or may not be called a Bionica. . . but I think I kind of like not knowing. . . for me it may always be the mystery dessert!

I think this would be a pretty easy dessert to recreate at home. Just cut up your favorite fruits, add coconut, almonds, granola and cool whip and you're good to go. And it is a fairly healthy dessert, which is an added bonus! I have a feeling I will be attempting to recreate this soon. . . 8 out of 10 for this mystery dessert that I won at DanceMoves!

*If you are interested in attending DanceMoves, here is the link with information about it. It is a wonderful intimate evening where you get the opportunity to see local choreographers/companies and the works they are creating!

http://tickets.temeculatheater.org/eventperformances.asp?evt=430

{-Red Bean Ice Cream-}

Red bean ice cream. . . hmmm. . . so good! I discovered this dessert item when I met my husband. He was working at a sushi restaurant when we met in high school and he took me out for my first sushi experience. I wasn't crazy about the sushi at first, but I fell in love with red bean ice cream. . . and my future husband :-) Now whenever we go to an Asian restaurant that has it on the menu, I always order it! This picture of red bean ice cream comes from a restaurant called Curry House in Irvine, Ca (which serves tasty curry as well!):



Creamy deliciousness! Usually made with Azuki beans, this ice cream has a taste I feel is a little similar to strawberry, it's just as sweet, but a bit more earthy. There are actual bean pieces in it and that adds an interesting grainy texture. It really is a hard dessert to describe, it is just so good! It has to be experienced! I give red bean ice cream a 9 out of 10. The next time you are out at an Asian restaurant, check to see if they have red bean ice cream and if they do give it a try! It's amazing!!!!

In Irvine you can get red bean ice cream here:
Curry House - http://www.yelp.com/biz/curry-house-irvine

In San Luis Obispo you can find red bean ice cream here:
Golden Gong - http://www.goldengongslo.com/
Goshi's (Brandon, my husband, worked here!) - http://www.goshis.com/index.html

In Murrieta you can find red bean ice cream here:
Woomi Sushi (where I first tasted this delicious treat!) - http://www.yelp.com/biz/woomi-sushi-murrieta