Meyer Lemon Granita

Posted August 2, 2014

Filed under dessert, ice-cream. sorbet, Recipe with Demarle Cookware, stainless steel cookware, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Meyer lemon is my top favorite fruit. It is hard to explain what a Meyer lemon is, other that it has an exceptional taste. If I can describe it, it smells and tastes a bit like a mix of lemon and mandarin: tangy, subtle …yummy!!!

I am not fan of lemon, but love, love, love Meyer lemon. The problem is that they are very very seasonal and it can be difficult to find them. In fact, in our little town, only one grocery store carry them.

So no need to say that when they arrive on the stand, I purchase them … sometimes not even knowing what I am going to do with them.

Well, this time around I bought a few dozens and decided to make a lemon granita. I could have made sorbets but was too lazy to take out my ice cream machine.

For some of you who do no know what is the difference between a sorbet and a granita.

Here is the explanation:

A granita is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings – no dairy is involved. Basic granita begins with a boiled sugar syrup which is added into a fruit juice. The granita is then placed in the freezer in a shallow pan and scraped occasionally with a fork which produces a course texture.

A sorbet, on the other hand, is a frozen dessert made from sugar, water and fruit juice or fruit puree, sometimes chocolate, and sometimes wine, and/or liqueur.* Sorbet also has no dairy ingredients, but is frozen in an ice cream freezer for a smoother texture .

So depending which freezing process you will be using,, you will end up with a granita or a sorbet. Whichever, it is delicious.

Ingredients for 4 cups of Meyer Lemon Sorbet or Granita.

2 cups of Meyer Lemon Juice ( which comes from about 11 lemons)
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp of Meyer Lemon zest

In a small saucepan, cook the water and the sugar to make a syrup.
Meanwhile zest about 2 lemons to get the zest that you need. Set aside.
Also juice all the lemons so that you will have about 2 cups of fresh juice.
Add the lemon juice and the zest to the syrup and mix well.
Either use an ice-cream maker to make the sorbet according to the machine , or fill a container with the mixture and place the container into the freezer so that it will freeze.
If you are making a granita, place the container in the freezer for several hours ( 5 hours at least).
With the spoon, scrape the frozen mixture. You will be making the granita.
Serve as a dessert, or in between meals to help with cleansing, and digestion.
Easy, Yummy and delicious:-)

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Meyer Lemon Granita

Servings: 2-4
Time: 12 hours
Difficulty: Super Easy
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Ingredients for 4 cups of Meyer Lemon Granita.

2 cups of Meyer Lemon Juice ( which comes from about 11 lemons)
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp of Meyer Lemon zest

In a small saucepan, cook the water and the sugar to make a syrup.
Meanwhile zest about 2 lemons to get the zest that you need. Set aside.
Also juice all the lemons so that you will have about 2 cups of fresh juice.
Add the lemon juice and the zest to the syrup and mix well.
Either use an ice-cream maker to make the sorbet according to the machine , or fill a container with the mixture and place the container into the freezer so that it will freeze.
If you are making a granita, place the container in the freezer for several hours ( 5 hours at least).
With the spoon, scrape the frozen mixture. You will be making the granita.
Serve as a dessert, or in between meals to help with cleansing, and digestion. Eh voila, Easy, Yummy and delicious!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Gluten and Dairy Free Almond Waffles

Posted July 21, 2014

Filed under breakfast, pancake/ soufle/ waffle, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

My nephew spent the week here with us, so that it would be too far for him to get to the church where my son and him were to do an in-town mission trip. I hardly saw them. They would leave at 7 with my husband and would come back at 8 pm.

This morning though, since they were not going to church they decided to stay home and enjoy the company of themselves playing video games and playing in the pool.

But this morning, as they woke up I realize that there was nothing left in the fridge for breakfast. No milk, No baguette in the freezer, No more cereals, so i decided to make waffles.

And since I too wanted to eat waffles but did not want to eat wheat, I decided to make almond ones.

Ingredients for about 14 waffles:

3 1/2 cup of almond flour
1 1/2 cup of milk ( i used coconut milk since i had nothing else on hand)
4 tbsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 box of fresh strawberry of about 16 oz.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients.
Turn the waffle iron on, and when the light turns off, open the waffle iron, spray a bit of olive oil, or brush a bit coconut oil on the waffle iron.
Pour in about 1/4 cup of the batter and close the lid.
Cook the waffle until the light turns off.
Repeat the same process until you have used all the batter.
While the waffles are cooking, slice the strawberries in cubes, mix in a bit of sugar and set aside until it is time to eat.
When serving the waffles, spoon a bit of the fruit on top of the waffle, drizzle some honey and Breakfast is Ready. Easy and Healthy!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Coconut Ice-Cream

Posted June 11, 2013

Filed under dessert, ice-cream. sorbet, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Yesterday, out of curiosity and out of nostalgia, I bought a fresh coconut. Though I was not certain what to do with it, I searched the net and found out that you can make coconut milk and coconut flakes. I made both and was so proud of myself. I never knew that I would have been able to make such fancy things;-))))

So I was left with a cup or so of coconut milk and decided to make ice-cream with it, or sorbet. Of course that cup of coconut milk was not going to make a lot so I added more coconut milk from a can.

Ice-cream has usually a cream and a custard base, but this ice-cream really has nothing besides coconut milk and sugar.

Ingredients for 4:

2 1/2 cup of coconut milk
3/4 cup of sugar, honey or agave ( I used agave syrup).

In a large bowl, mix the coconut milk and the sugar.
if you have an ice-cream churn, turn it on and pour the mixture in it. Let the ice-cream churn do its magic and within 20 minutes you will have some yummy ice-cream.
It will be still very soft so place this soft ice-cream into a container and freeze for 1 hour.

If you do not have an ice-cream churn, simply pour the mixture into a container and place this container in the freezer.
Every 30 minutes, take the container out and with a fork mix the mixture to fluff it up. Repeat this step until the ice-cream is getting thick and the consistency of your liking.
C’est tout!!!

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!