April 9th, 2012 § § permalink
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
For pavlovas
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon fresh lavender flowers
3 egg whites
3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
For granita
2 cups water
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh lavender flowers
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup honey
1 cup fresh orange juice
2 cups fresh rhubarb, chopped fine
Directions
For pavlovas
Preheat oven to 300°F. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and herbs. Set aside. In a mixer (or with a whisk), beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the water, and beat. Continue beating soft peaks. Increase speed, and add sugar and corn starch mixture a little at a time. Next, add vinegar, and beat on high speed until glossy and stiff. Place a spoonful on a lined baking sheet, making 6 to 8 little bowls. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes, until starch hardens, before eating. For serving, place a little granita in a pavlova cup and drizzle a little lavender syrup on top. Garnish with some fresh herbs.
For granita
In a blender, combine all ingredients until mixed well. Add more honey to desired sweetness. Pour in a shallow, metal pan, and freeze, scraping frozen granules every 10 to 20 minutes for about a total of 2 hours.
Beet  Lavender Flower Syrup
Ingredients
½ cup honey
1 cup water
1 medium beet chopped
¼ cup turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon lavender flowers
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
Directions
In a small sauce pan, whisk the honey, water, sugar and herbs together while bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 8 minutes, take off heat and allow to cool.
July 7th, 2011 § § permalink
Makes 3 cups
Ingredients
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
½ cup fresh mint leaves
Juice and zest of 2 limes
2 cups watermelon
Directions
In a blender place all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour into a low metal dish with sides and freeze. After the first hour, using a fork, scrape puree every 20-30 minutes while it freezes. This should create flaky crystals. Freeze and scrape until desired consistency. The process should take approximately 2-3 hours. The granita can be scraped at the very end as well but the consistency (flaky ice crystals) will be better if you follow the method of occasional scraping. Before serving, scrape well to get icy crystals.
July 7th, 2011 § § permalink
Makes about 5 cups
Ingredients
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
½ cups fresh lemon thyme leaves
2 cups fresh blueberries
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
½ cup heavy cream
Directions
Make simple syrup in a medium saucepan by combining the sugar and water and lemon thyme. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves, simmer for 5 minutes, take off burner, allow cooling. Place in a blender with the blueberries, lemon zest and juice and heavy cream and blend just until the blueberries are crushed to desired consistency. Process in a ice cream maker according to instructions.
May 27th, 2011 § § permalink
Makes 20-25 bites
Ingredients
1 cucumber, sliced semi thin
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped tomato
¼ cup white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
Directions
On a baking sheet lines with parchment paper, freeze the cucumber slices. In a blender combine the gazpacho ingredients: chopped cucumber, tomatoes, onions, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, vinegar, olive oil, herbs and salt. Blend until semi smooth. Place blended gazpacho on a metal baking sheet and freeze, scraping with a fork every 10-15 minutes until a icy granite is formed. Place a spoonful of the granite in-between two frozen cucumber slices and freeze again. Allow to thaw for a few minutes before serving.
April 20th, 2011 § § permalink
Makes about 3 cups of granita
Ingredients
1 cup lemon sugar syrup (recipe follows)
½ cup limoncello
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped fine
Directions
Combine all ingredients and pour into an 8-by-8-inch glass baking dish. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until the mixture is firm. Using the tines of a fork, scrape the mixture into small serving bowls or glasses. Serve immediately.
Lemon Sugar Syrup
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon zest
Directions
In a medium saucepan, over medium-low heat, add sugar, water and lemon zest and warm through until sugar is dissolved. Take syrup off heat and let cool until ready to use.
February 24th, 2011 § § permalink
Serves 6-8 (Makes 3 cups of granita)
Ingredients
For pavlovas
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon thyme leaves, chopped
3 egg whites
3 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
For granita
2 cups water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ cup honey
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup fresh raspberries
Directions
For pavlovas
Preheat oven to 300°F.
In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and thyme leaves. Set aside.
In a mixer (or with a whisk), beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the water, and beat continue beating soft peaks. Increase speed, and add sugar and corn starch mixture a little at a time. Next, add vinegar, and beat on high speed until glossy and stiff. Place a spoonful on a lined baking sheet, making 6 to 8 little bowls. Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 10 minutes, until starch hardens, before eating.
For granita
In a blender, combine all ingredients until mixed well. Add more honey to desired sweetness. Pour in a shallow, metal pan, and freeze, scraping frozen granules every 10 to 20 minutes for about a total of 2 hours.
January 2nd, 2011 § § permalink
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
½ cup honey
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 cup fresh citrus juice (tangerine, lime, Meyer lemon, orange, or combinations are excellent)
¼ cup citrus zest
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped fine
DIRECTIONS
Whisk together all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl until well combined. Pour in a shallow metal pan and allow to freeze. Taking a fork and scraping the ice every 10 minutes until frozen, about 4 hours. Garnish each serving with a sprig of thyme.
October 14th, 2010 § § permalink
Makes 3 cups.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup fresh pomegranate juice
2 cups fresh tangerine juice, pulp included
½ cup honey
PREPARATION
Whisk together honey and about ½ cup of the tangerine juice until honey is dissolved, add remaining juice. Pour into a metal pan with sides and allow to freeze, scraping with a fork occasionally. To serve scrape with fork. Garnish with fresh pomegranates seeds.
October 13th, 2010 § § permalink
Makes 3 cups
INGREDIENTS
1 ripe mango peeled, pitted and cubed
½ cup sugar in the raw
1 cup cava
½ cup fresh mint
1 cup blackberries
PREPARATION
In a blender or food prosecco mix mango, sugar and cava until pureed smooth. Pour into a metal baking pan (shallow) and freeze, scarping with a fork every 10 minutes. Scrape with fork to serve with fresh blackberries on top and garnish with mint leaf.
June 2nd, 2010 § § permalink
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 pineapple, peeled , cored and cubed
1 cup sugar
¼ cup fresh sage, chopped
PREPARATION
Blend up all ingredients using a hand held food processor. Pour into a low dish cover and freeze. Scrape puree every 20 minutes while it freezes, this should create flaky crystals. Freeze and scrape until desired consistency.
June 2nd, 2010 § § permalink
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup tangerine juice
½ cup basil leaves, chopped
1 cup plain Greek style yogurt
PREPARATION
Make a simple syrup in a medium saucepan by combining the sugar, water, tangerine juice and chopped fresh basil. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves, simmer for 5 minutes, take off burner, cool, strain, and set syrup aside. Whisk together simple syrup and yogurt until a smooth texture forms. Pour into a low dish and freeze. Using a fork, scrape puree every 20 minutes while it freezes. This should create flaky crystals. Keep frozen dish covered while freezing. Freeze and scrape until desired consistency.
November 3rd, 2009 § § permalink
INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup lemon basil
3 cups watermelon
PREPARATION
Make a simple syrup in a medium saucepan by combining the sugar, water and chopped lemon basil. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves, simmer for 5 minutes, take off burner, cool, strain, and set syrup aside. In a food processor, blend watermelon and add simple syrup until a puree forms. Pour into a low dish and freeze. Using a fork, scrape puree every 20 minutes while it freezes. This should create flaky crystals. Keep frozen dish covered while freezing. Freeze and scrap until desired consistency.
November 3rd, 2009 § § permalink
INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
½ cup red basil
3 cups watermelon
PREPARATION
Make a simple syrup in a medium saucepan by combining the sugar, water and chopped fresh herbs. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves, simmer for 5 minutes, take off burner, cool, strain, and set syrup aside. In a food processor, blend cantaloupe and add simple syrup until a puree forms. Add remaining chopped mint and basil. Pour into a low dish and freeze. Using a fork, scrape puree every 20 minutes while it freezes. This should create flaky crystals. Keep frozen dish covered while freezing. Freeze and scrap until desired consistency.
November 3rd, 2009 § § permalink
INGREDIENTS
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
¼ cup mint
¼ cup basil plus 2 T each of basil and mint chopped fine
3 cups cantaloupe
juce and peel of 2 limes
PREPARATION
Make a simple syrup in a medium saucepan by combining the sugar, water and chopped fresh herbs. Bring to a boil until sugar dissolves, simmer for 5 minutes, take off burner, cool, strain, and set syrup aside. In a food processor, blend cantaloupe and add simple syrup until a puree forms. Add remaining chopped mint and basil. Pour into a low dish and freeze. Using a fork, scrape puree every 20 minutes while it freezes. This should create flaky crystals. Keep frozen dish covered while freezing. Freeze and scrap until desired consistency.
October 25th, 2009 § § permalink
1 lb lemon skins
½ c sea salt
1 bay leaf
1 pinch of black peppercorns
juice of 1 lb of lemons
Put all ingredients except lemon juice in a glass jar and mix well. Let stand for 3-4 days. Add lemon juice and let stand in a dry dark, cool place for 1 month. Making sure the lemon skins are submerged well.
FOR THE GARNITA:
2 c lemon juice
½ c sugar
½ c preserved lemon
zest and juice of 2 lemons
½ c chopped fresh mint
Combine all ingredients except mint in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat to allow cooling. Pour the mixture into a shallow metal pan and add the chopped mint. Freeze for about 1-2 hours scraping the pan occasionally. Scrape the granita well before serving to break it up.