Sorbets are basically a frozen purée of fruit [...]]]>
My husband—a native New Englander—insists that the time to eat ice cream is winter, not summer. So, now that there’s a chill in the air, he’s craving frozen treats. Since this is an excuse to pull out yet another gadget from the pantry, I am happy to oblige.

Sorbets are basically a frozen purée of fruit in simple syrup, with optional flavors added. The catch is that, since they’re fat free, they tend to freeze into a solid mass of fruit ice. Commerical sorbets contain stabilizers and emulsifiers to solve this problem, but the home cook has a simpler solution: booze. Adding just a single tablespoon of alcohol to a quart of sorbet before you freeze it will keep the texture scoopable by lowering the freezing point. If alcohol is a problem for you, I encourage you to experiment with adding egg whites instead—I’ve never tried it myself, but I’ve seen the technique described in Italian cookbooks.

This recipe is basically the one in David Lebovitz’s The Perfect Scoop, only re-written in a way that makes sense to me. It’s a great book for flavors, but for reasons that aren’t clear to me, I find his directions confusing (too much information, I think). Here’s a streamlined version:

Raspberry Plum Sorbet

1 pound plums
1 c. water
2/3 c. sugar (more or less, to taste)
3/4 c. raspberries (fresh or frozen; if frozen in sugar, add less sugar)
1 T agreeable alcohol (he recommends 1 t. kirsch; I used rum. Something flavorless, like vodka, will always work.)

1) Pit the plums, cut them in large pieces, and cook them in the water until tender. Add the sugar and raspberries; stir to dissolve the sugar.

2) Purée, then strain if the raspberry seeds or plum skims bother you.

3) Chill thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker.

I have a lot of apples. Every week since September, our CSA has given us at least 3 pounds. Then we stick them in the crisper and promptly forget about them. Eventually, I remember, and then I make applesauce. The beauty of applesauce is that it both cans and freezes well, keeps for at least [...]]]>

I have a lot of apples. Every week since September, our CSA has given us at least 3 pounds. Then we stick them in the crisper and promptly forget about them. Eventually, I remember, and then I make applesauce. The beauty of applesauce is that it both cans and freezes well, keeps for at least a week once it’s opened, and can double as breakfast OR dessert.

My version’s really easy. You take that giant pile of apples, cut them into quarters (don’t bother peeling or coring), through them into the crockpot with some water and a cinnamon stick, and walk away. It doesn’t seem to matter how long you cook it: 5 hours on high, 8 hours on low, 8 on high, whatever—just cook them until they’re all soft and brown, like the picture on the right.

Then you put it all through a food mill, like so:

I usually process it directly into a big saucepan so I can heat it up if I’m going to can it. But, since I’m out of new canning lids, I just put them in cars instead. Really and truly, I promise we’ll post all about how you do that another time. But tonight, with room in the freezer, I took the easy way out. Just put them in freezer-safe containers, let them cool, and carry them down the basement. And remember to eat them. Delicious on its own or with latkes!

My massive collection of winter squash has been looking a bit soggy of late. Combined with the dreary weather, this seemed as good an excuse as any to make a warm winter stew. And since squash takes so long to cook, and since I couldn’t be bothered to plan ahead, this seemed like a good [...]]]>

My massive collection of winter squash has been looking a bit soggy of late. Combined with the dreary weather, this seemed as good an excuse as any to make a warm winter stew. And since squash takes so long to cook, and since I couldn’t be bothered to plan ahead, this seemed like a good job for the pressure cooker. And since I was going to be using the pressure cooker anyway, why not add some dried hominy, better known as posole?

Next time I’ll take pictures of my sad, limp squash and the interesting grains for a better before and after. Today after will have to suffice. I based this on a recipe very loosely adapted from Annie Sommerville’s Fields of Greens. Her version includes mushrooms, summer squash, and canned hominy or fresh corn. Mine does not, but it’s dirt cheap and will get you through the winter.

The Goods:

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 pint jar tomatoes (if using commercial, use 28 oz can)
2 cups posole, soaked in water for at least 4 hours
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1 T cumin
dash of paprika
dried pepper (your choice)
salt
handful of cilantro, chopped

The Action:

Start heating up a medium-sized pressure cooker on a large burner. Add the oil and sauté the onion for a few minutes. Add the salt, cumin, paprika, and the garlic and cook about a minute more. Add the squash, posole, tomatoes with their juice, pepper, and about 4 cups of water. Stir to mix, cover, and secure the pressure cooker lid. Cook at 15 pounds of pressure for 18 minutes. Let the pressure fall naturally.

When I took off the lid, this is what I saw:

Notice how the lovely and tender morsels of squash hold their shape? See the pretty kernals of corn? Beautiful, no?

Ah, but then I added the cilantro and stirred. Soon it looked like this:

Mmmm. Squash porridge. Gelatinous, but delicious.

Ok, Jilly (or are you Doris?), your turn!