The Daily Grind, Chop and Fry

It is finally Summer here in Western Washington. While the rest of the country had been enduring record-breaking heat waves, we had a miserably long, cold spring that hung on well into July.  Fourth of July Barbeque in my neck of the woods had us all wearing sweaters or fleece, and foregoing the ice in our drinks.

The sun seems to have brought me an unexpected gift – a box of my old sketchbooks, precious things I thought lost in a sad disaster. They are a very personal chronicle of my growth as an artist, friend, student, girlfriend, sister and cook, and date from my first year of college to about 12 years later. One small flip pad has nothing but self-portraits, done over a five year span.

You can't smile for a self portrait. And, yes, I was very young.

The sketchbooks, and the food notes in them, made me pull out the original James Beard recipe that I’ve been riffing on for years when it gets super hot. We’re not there yet up here, but we usually get a stretch of 100 degree days, with no air conditioning and no serious consideration to cross-breezes in our house designs. The recipe is such a throwback – it is clearly a sorbet, but he calls it sherbet. But when I first made it, I did not have an ice cream maker, so I made it hillbilly style, which is to put it in a freezer bag and take it out of the freezer and smash it up every few hours until it is in small bits, or grains, which is where “Granita” comes from. Now I make it at the beach and employ the kids to kick it around the porch (you have to double-bag, and use a fresh outer bag each time). When it is done, the first bites cause everyone to say, in genuine surprise, “Wow! Cold!”  They do this even if they’ve seen five people before them do it. And they do it for the first two bites.

Finding those books has inspired and excited me in many ways, and I hope it changes this here blog.

Grapefruit Champagne Granita

1 ¼ C. sugar
4 cups water
1 bottle dry sparkling wine
Juice of 1 grapefruit
Grated rind of ¾ grapefruit

Heat sugar and water and bring to a rolling boil; boil for 6 minutes. Add the champagne and heat just to evaporate alcohol. Remove from  heat and stir in juice and rind. Cool, then pour in large zip freezer bag and freeze for 30 – 60 minutes. Remove from freezer and break up ice crystals by squeezing and mixing with unfrozen liquid. Return to freezer and repeat. As mixture thickens, you will need to be more vigorous to mix it. Pound or kick the bag, but wrap it in a towel or another bag to keep the crystals from poking through the bag that hold them. When mixture is the texture of very coarse sand, it is done.

Experiment with your favorite fruits and flavorings.  Just remember not to make it too potent a mixture – it should be refreshing, not overpowering. Taste the liquid to test for sweetness. Have fun! This can also be made in a baking dish and stirred with a fork while freezing, but that isn’t as romantic, or tough, or whatever.