I have a tasty treat to cool you off this weekend. It just occurred to me that if the “t” and the “n” were closer together on the keyboard I could easily mistype and make you think I have a nasty treat. Thanks to whomever invented the qwerty keyboard. And can someone please tell me why swapping out a consonant turns the “a” from a long to short sound? These are the things that make words both interesting and maddening. These are also the things that make teaching a kindergartener to read as painful as a rat gnawing off a bunion. Am I off topic? So sorry. I have a lot of non sequitors in my head that don’t end up in a cul de sac.
Back to your regularly scheduled program…
The fireworks don’t stand a chance against my cool concoction. You must be expecting something patriotic for this Independence Day weekend. The Fourth of July happens to be my second favorite holiday. I’m a huge fan of fireworks and audibly ooh and aah on cue. Patriotic songs make me tear up (again with the tear vs. tear wordisms here!). Bird, Deal, and I plopped little American flags into all our planters today. We’ll all don red, white, and blue outfits this weekend, and we’ll partake in typical holiday weekend revelry – cooking out, swimming, watching fireworks, making sure the dog is cuddled and loved if the booms scare him. We would normally make ice cream over the weekend, but this time I’m opting to crank out something for the over-21 set.
Citrus Granita
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup orange blossom water (I bought mine locally at Neomonde. You can find it in most Middle Eastern or Indian markets.)
1 cup water
1/2 cup vodka
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
Orange twist
Bring the lemon and orange juice, orange blossom water, and water to a boil. Add the vanilla and sugar. Give it a stir. Once the sugar has dissolved, remove the mixture from the heat. Add the cream and the vodka. Stir gently and pour into a square baking dish. Freeze and scrape with a fork once an hour for 4 hours. The mixture should be flaky and frozen into shiny little crystals. Spoon into martini glasses to serve. Better yet, freeze the martini glasses first! Garnish with an orange twist and a spoon.
Cheers to chilling out this weekend.
“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” ~Erma Bombeck