Making Homemade Sorbet: Blueberry & Orange *Martha Stewart*

Lately I have become obsessed with making everything myself from scratch. Has anyone read the book Eat This, Not That? Well, if you have then you understand where I'm coming from. If you have not, and you care about what you put in your body, then you should read it. Now I am by no means a health junkie, but I really don't want to be eating pesticides, manmade chemicals, dyes, or preservatives if I don't have to. And I especially do not want my children to eat them. What does all that mean? Well, my kids love ice cream, sherbet, sorbets, and of course, popsicles. I bought an ice cream machine a couple years ago and I did make some homemade ice creams. Then I packed it up and put it away because we were eating too much ice cream. Last week I had an overabundance of fresh fruit, which I did not want to go to waste, and I was inspired to make several fresh and homemade sorbets. This was relatively simple and fun, thanks to Martha's new book, Cooking School.

I knew I wanted to make several different flavors of sorbet so I began by making some simple syrup. I consider myself "experienced" in the kitchen, however everytime I've tried simple syrup it has failed. I had just borrowed Martha's Cooking School from the library so I figured I'd give her simple syrup a try......and it was a HUGE SUCCESS!! This recipe is simply 3 cups of sugar and 3 cups of water. I used a big stockpot because I didn't want to risk a sugar burn. You just bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until sugar is dissolved for about 10 minutes. Then you need to let it cool. You can keep this in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. **You can also flavor the simple syrup with aromatics such as: mint, basil, ginger, citrus peel, cinnamon, vanilla and the list goes on and on. You would just get about 1/2 cup of any aromatic and pour the desired amount of simple syrup over it. Let it steep for about 2 hours and then remove the aromatics or strain to remove small pieces. This would allow you to create all kinds of wonderful flavor profiles.

Now that you have made the simple syrup, you are over halfway there. If you are lucky enough to have the syrup in your fridge, then making sorbets is a real cinch. A sorbet is simply a mixture of fruit juice and simple syrup. Here are Martha's guidelines for different types of fruit sorbet. I like to try and cut back the amount of syrup I add to the fruit juice, but you can compromise the final product. The correct amount of simple syrup helps the mixture to freeze and become more solid.

NOTE: Buying this much fresh fruit can be expensive. You can absolutely use frozen fruit that has been thawed. I have tried this with the same results and it is much more economical and just as healthy. I have also cut the recipe in half with great results. Each batch will make 2 cups of sorbet. For now on, I will refer to simple syrup as SS.

Blackberry - 4 cups of blackberries and 1/4 cup water pureed together and strained. Add 2 cups of SS.
Strawberry - 5 cups of chopped strawberries and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water pureed and strained. Add 1 and 1/4 c. SS.
Raspberry - 6 cups of raspberries and 1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons water pureed and strained. Add 1 and 3/4 cups SS.
Blueberry - 5 cups blueberries and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water pureed and strained. Add 1 and 1/4 cups SS.
Lemon - Juice of 8 lemons and 1 and 1/2 cups SS.
Orange - Juice of 5 oranges and 1 and 1/4 cups SS.
Lime - Juice of 8 limes and 1 and 1/2 cups SS.
Grapefruit - Juice of 2 and a half grapefruit and 1 and 1/4 cups SS.
Mango - 6 cups chopped (3 mangoes) and 1/4 to 1/2 cup water - depending on juiciness. Puree and strain fruit mixture and add 1 and 1/4 cups SS.
Kiwi - 4 cups chopped (16 kiwi) and 1/2 cup water + 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice. Puree and strain mixture and add 1 and 1/4 cups SS.
Pineapple - 3 cups chopped (2/3 pineapple) + 1/4 cup water + 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice. Puree and strain and add 1 and 1/4 cups simple SS.

After you have made your mixture, pour into the ice cream maker and turn on. My ice cream machine took about 30 minutes for each sorbet.

As the warm weather comes upon us this is something that I will be making a lot!! I am getting ready to experiment with passion fruit, guava and also some chocolate sorbet.

Enjoy!!

layouts and a surprise

Hi all , hope you are all doing well. I have some layouts to share and a little something that was left on my doorstep today. The thing you will notice about all the layouts is that Larsen is wearing the same out fit and doing the same thing in each photo. This was not done on purpose, its just which layouts I had left to complete from my last batch of photos. LOL

Addison just loves doing tummy time with Larsen.

Although this photo was taken a while ago the message is still the same he is growing like a weed.

These arrived on my doorstep today, a beautiful anniversary surprise from my husband who is working in Melboune. Happy four year anniversary David, I love you !

till next time

Sauteed Baby Artichokes

One of my favorite things to do is to go to Whole Foods and do my grocery shopping. I know it, I'm crazy. Last week I got a lot of fun things to cook with in the kitchen. I got these baby artichokes, passion fruit, guava, blood oranges, duck breast, local lamb shanks and lamb loin chops, and a bunch of other fun stuff.

Back to the baby artichokes. Originally I wanted to stuff them, but I just didn't have time for that. So, I decided to go with sauteed baby artichokes. How can you go wrong with parmesan cheese on top? My mom was over visiting and together we ate the whole plate of them for lunch. They were very, very good!

Recipe
1 package baby artichokes
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbs. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
dash pepper

How to prepare artichokes: Cut stem off at base. Peel back and snanp off petals until cone of yellow petals remains. Cut off top 1/3 of each artichoke. Drop artichokes into bowl of water with 2 Tbsp. lemon juice at each step to prevent browning (they will brown a little anyway. Quarter or halve artichokes. Drain well before cooking.

Pat dry and heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add baby artichokes and cook and stir until tender, about 5-8 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss with hot cooked pasta and parmesan cheese or add to risotto or pizza.

We chose to eat them by themselves for a healthy lunch option! I can't wait to buy some more.

Piadina (Italian Flat Bread)

Let me just say that this is a recipe that every bread baker should make! It was easy, delicious and can be made fresh in minutes when needed. I needed some flatbreads for a recipe in Tyler's book so I located this recipe. This is a yeast dough that is rolled into rounds and cooked in a skillet in about 5 minutes. My recipe made 8 flat breads. I cooked half for lunch and left the remaining dough out for dinner so they could be made fresh. My cookbook on bread says that these flat breads were served in the Romagna region of Italy in bars where it is usually served warm and wrapped around a filling such as prosciutto and basil. I have used my for the Tyler recipe (posted below), to wrap around salad, and this morning I wrapped one around my scrambled eggs. This is by far one of my favorite bread recipes and I will be making them a lot.

Ingredients:
2 tsp. dry yeast
5 tbsp. water
3-1/4 cup bread flour
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup carbonated water - I used club soda

1) Sprinkle the yeast into the water in a bowl and let stand 5 mins. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast, the oil, and 2/3 cup of carbonated water
2) Mix in the flour. Stir in the reserved carbonated water as needed, to form a firm, moist dough.
3) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 10 minutes. ***I used my kitchenaid mixer to do this and it turned out wonderful*
4) Put the dough in a clean and oil bowl, then cover with a dish towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch down, then let rest for 10 minutes.
5) Divide dough into eight equal pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each piece to form a round, 6 inches across and 1/2 inch thick. If the dough resists rolling out, let it rest for 1-2 minutes, then continue.
6) Heat a heavy frying pan or griddle over medium-low heat until very hot, about 10 minutes. **Recipe does not say to oil or butter the pan each time, but I found that I needed to do this*
7) Place one of the dough rounds in the hot pan and prick all over with a fork to prevent air bubbles. Cook until golden brown on both sides, flipping it over frequently to avoid scorching and to aid even cooking, about 5 minutes.
8) Repeat with the remaining dough rounds as directed in step 7. Stack the rounds on top of one another and cover with a dish towel to keep soft and warm.

Enjoy!!

Grilled Flat Bread with Caramelized Onions, Gorgonzola Mascarpone, and Crunchy Red Grapes *Recipe #28 Page 168*

First of all, ignore the way the caramelized onions look in the picture. After I took the picture I ate the flat bread and then realized the onions look like worms! Not so appetizing. On to the recipe. Naturally I could not find flatbreads to make this recipe, so I had to make my own. This is not a bad thing because I am part of a group called BYOB (Bake your own breads). The flatbread recipe will be in my next post and I encourage anyone to make them. They are delicious and you cook them in a skillet so there is no long baking times.

In Tyler's description he says that this recipe is a truly unique flavor profile. I have to admit that I was skeptical to try this recipe and wanted to try it out for myself first just in case. The first few bites were a little strange, but the more I ate of it the more addicted to it I became. I ate the whole flatbread! This dish is hard to explain, but my flatbread was warm and soft like a pillow. It had the shape and shape of a pita bread, but the taste of a pizza dough. There were so many tastes and textures in this one because you have soft from the bread, creamy from the cheese, crunchy from the grapes and walnuts. The dish is sweet, nutty, tangy, cheesey and a little smoky from the grill. This is a must try and would be an easy dish for spring or summer. Tyler's flatbread was one large flatbread that would serve up to 6 people. I think this would make a good appetizer because it would be something unique that people would talk about. I'll stop babbling now, here is the recipe:

extra-virgin olive oil
3 large onions, sliced
1 large store-bought rustic-style flatbread
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups mascarpone
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
2 cups firm red grapes, halved
2 tablespoons chopped fresh italian flat-leaf parsley

In a large saute pan heat a 2 count of olive oil over medium-heat. Add onions and slowly caramelize until brown and creamy. Set aside.

Preheat the grill to high. Quickly and carefully wipe the grate with oiled paper towels to create a nonstick surface. Brush the flat bread with oil and season with salt and pepper. Reduce grill heat to medium. Grill bread on both sides until warmed through and brown with grill marks.

Quickly transfer flat bread to a platter and smear with mascarpone while still warm. Sprinkle with Gorgonzola, caramelized onions, toasted walnuts, and grapes. Season with a few turns of freshly ground black pepper, drizzle lightly with some additional oil, and top with a shower of fresh parsley.

Arugula, Fennel, and Grape Salad *Recipe #27 - Page 237*

I made this salad last week sometime but have to confess that I have spent a couple days obsessed with facebook. If you haven't joined that, then you should. Anyway, this salad was very light and refreshing. I had never ate arugula before and I had never made a salad dressing either. Making the salad was so quick and easy that I was kind of mad that I hadn't tried this recipe earlier. I chilled my salad plates and made sure everything was good and cold. Then I tossed the salad in a separate bowl altogether. This really made a difference. I felt like I was eating a salad that had been ordered from a restaurant.

Vinaigrette: 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Combine lemon juice and mustard in a large bowl. Slowly pour in the oil, whisking until the mixture has emulsified. Season with sugar, about 1/2 salt, and black pepper.

For the salad:
1 small fennel bulb
4 cups packed baby arugula
1 cup red seedless grapes
1/2 cup roasted cashews
Wash fennel bulb. Using a mandoline or sharp knife, shave the fennel lengthwise so each piece is still held together by the root. Drop shaved fennel pieces in a large bowl of ice water for 1 minute to crisp; drain and dry.

When ready to serve, toss fennel, arugula, grapes, and cashews together in a large salad. Toss salad with vinaigrette, to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Enjoy this salad as part of a healthy diet. I had this salad twice for lunch this week and lost another 2 pounds.

scrapbook creations

I ventured out to the newsagency to day to pick up the latest scrapbook creations magazine and this is what I discovered.

These three layouts are featured as well I was the artist in the spotlight this month.

Wow I feel so lucky to be published .

Enjoy your weekend.