Random post

Today a red-eared turtle walked across our street. A lady came along and rescued it. I went down to see if I could help but she had it in a bag by then. She was going to take it to Animal Welfare. It was about the size of a bread and butter plate. No idea where it came from! Bizarre!













Here is Miss D modelling the latest in smocked fashion. A pair of rompers. I've had that material since... oh.. probably since I was 17 or so. I finally smocked it just before DS turned 1. I finally sewed up the garment this week! Nobody can accuse me of doing things too quickly.

Gingerbread people. One of them is for DH's lunch box. Can you guess which one? *tongue in cheek*
















Strawberry Granita. Recipe below.

Strawberry Granita

Serves 8 (from Delia Smith’s Summer Collection / by Delia Smith. 1993. London: BBC Books. Page 156)

450g (1 lb) ripe strawberries

175g (6oz) caster sugar

570 ml (1 pint) water

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

Hull the strawberries and rinse in a colander. Drain well and dry them before transferring them to a food processor or liquidizer. Blend to a smooth puree, then add the sugar and blend again. After that add the water and lemon juice and blend once more.

Place a sieve over a bowl. Pour in the puree and rub through the sieve. This takes a little time but removes the small pips from the fruit making eating more pleasurable. Pour the sieved mixture into a freezer proof container (e.g. an old ice cream container), cover and put in the freezer for 2 hours.

After 2 hours the mixture should have started to freeze around the sides and base of the container. Take a large fork and mix the frozen mixture into the unfrozen, then re-cover and return to the freezer for another hour.

After an hour, repeat with another vigorous mixing with a fork. Cover again, and freeze for another hour. At this stage the mixture should be a completely frozen snow of ice crystals and is ready to serve. Unlike sorbet, a granita is supposed to have large ice crystals.

The granita can remain at serving stage in the freezer for another 3-4 hours, but after that the ice with become too solid to serve immediately. You will need to place it in the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes or until it is soft enough to break up with a fork again.

This dessert looks lovely served in wine or parfait glasses garnished with a little fresh chopped mint. A quick slosh of strawberry liqueur wouldn’t go amiss.