Strawberry Granita with Champagne and Frangelico

June 14, 2012 By

Strawberry Granita with Champagne and Frangelico

Summer has hit and I really wanted to use up some of my beautiful strawberries in a more inventive way than simply making jam from them. My husband and I had date night the other day and one of the desserts was a fresh berry granita so I decided to try making Strawberry Granita with our CSA strawberries. Of course I couldn’t leave it there so I decided I’d like to make this an “adult” granita and opted for a little champagne. While I was looking over our champagne bottles, yes we actually do keep champagne in our wine fridge, I decided to see what liquors we had. Then I remembered we had Frangelico from #Brandcation and realized that Frangelico and strawberries were a natural pair. And so Strawberry Granita with Champagne and Frangelico was born. I hope you like it, I think it is fabulous. You can serve it up straight or you can add a few spoonfuls to your champagne glass and top off with champagne and a little Cointreau. That is really elegant and would make a great drink for a bridal shower or Sunday brunch.

Strawberry Granita with Champagne and Frangelico Drink

Strawberry Granita with Champagne and Frangelico

  • 2 cups of strawberries
  • 2/3 cup champagne of choice, could also use prosecco or sparkling wine
  • 2 Tbs Frangelico (or more)
  • 2/3 cup simple syrup
  • dash fresh lemon juice

In a blender or food processor puree all ingredients except champagne. Skim foam. Add champagne and pour into shallow glass pan. Place in freezer. Every 30 minutes rake a fork from the outside edge into the center. The granita should be set after approximately 2 hours. Serve or store for later use.

 

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Bulgogi Recipe – Korean BBQ

October 19, 2010 By

Oct 19, 2010
You would think I married an Asian instead of an Italian. My husband LOVES almost all Asian foods. We have a new Korean BBQ place in the area, but since most of the family is GF we can’t go – they use soy sauce in the BBQ. So we have started making it at home. We had quite a bit of chip beef from our 1/2 grass fed steer so we are using it up as Bulgogi.

There seems to be quite a few Bulgogi recipes out there, but this is what we have been doing.

Chip Beef
sugar
apple sauce
small onion
soy sauce (Tamari Wheat Free)
sesame oil
red pepper flakes
garlic
ginger.

I typically eyeball my ingredients, but combine about 2 Tbs of sugar, 1/2 cup apple sauce, 1 small onion, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1 tps sesame oil, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if you want more spice), 1 Tbs garlic and 1 Tbs ginger, and pulverize in a blender/food processor. Pour mixture over beef and marinate for several hours. Heat a frying pan and cook meat until done. Serve with rice.

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Fermented Foods Again

June 1, 2010 By

June 1, 2010
This weekend I wanted to use up some of the carrots we have gotten with our CSA so I decided to ferment them. Last year I tried fermenting cabbage and making my own sauerkraut doing it the old fashioned way. That is, I packed it in salt water and let it naturally ferment using the wild yeast in the air in our home. But this year I decided to try Body Ecology’s Culture which I purchased at the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) Conference in Baltimore.

It was very easy. I simply shredded the carrots, added grated ginger and garlic, and then followed the instructions with the BEC. I packed everything into Ball jars and let them sit on the counter. The big difference here is that the culture is put in the veggie mix and closed tightly instead of being left open to the air. I can tell they are fermenting already. Can’t wait to try it out.

I also made homemade applesauce by taking cored apples and putting them and some water in my Vita-Mix blender with a little lemon juice. Wow, that really made some yummy and simple applesauce. No cooking necessary. I spooned the puree into some Ball jars and refrigerated. I didn’t can them since Matthew takes all of his meds with applesauce and I knew we would go through it very quickly. But it did make me realize that I will be able to make our own baby food with very little effort. The Vita-Mix did a great job and it was so quick and needed nothing added at all! Love the CSA and the Vita-Mix together – organic fruits and veggies blended to perfection.

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GFCF Shrimp Taco

October 30, 2009 By

Last night I wanted to try something different and decided to make shrimp tacos instead of our usual picata type shrimp. I decided to fry the shrimp and use corn tortillas and a spicy mayonnaise, hoping for the best. Well, they turned out delicious, at least to Larry and I. The boys weren’t so sure about them, but Matthew did eat all of his even if he was just trying to get strawberry sorbet as a dessert.

The Recipe:
enough shrimp for 3 shrimp per taco
flour blend (recipe below)
cumin
chili powder
salt
egg
lime juice
corn tortillas
mayonnaise
taco sauce
Tabasco sauce
Oil for frying
vegan cheese
GFCF “sour cream” if desired
cilanto (optional)

Clean and shell shrimp, including removing the tails.

In a shallow bowl mix eggs for an egg wash. In a separate bowl mix flour, cumin, chili powder and salt to taste. Dip shrimp in flour mixture, then into egg mixture and then back into flour mixture to get a nice even coating.

Heat oil in frying pan and fry shrimp in small batches until golden brown and cooked though, but not over cooked. Set aside to drain on a plate covered in paper towels or brown bags. Sprinkle with a small amount of lime juice – do not use much or they will get soggy.

Warm tortillas in microwave oven by placing them on a plate and covering with a damp towel and microwaving for 20 – 25 seconds.

Mix mayonnaise, additional cumin, additional chili powder, lime juice, taco sauce and Tabasco sauce to make a zesty mayonnaise. This is all to taste so add sparingly and taste often.

Lay tortillas flat, spread with a little mayonnaise mixture, add about 3 shrimp, vegan cheese, GFCF “sour cream” and cilantro. Fold tortilla and eat!

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