Winter Madness.

[allana]

In case you ever have cause to suspect that I've been replaced by a Pod Person--reasonable grounds for this would be me saying, "Wow, I am way too hot"--please consider the following:

Only the Real Ang would think that making rhubarb sorbet in the Depths of Winter is a truly fabulous idea.

---

It's about -2C outside, and the ground is covered in some spectacular frost. Indoors, interested viewers can watch the crazy woman ladling tiny spoonfuls of rhubarb puree through the incredibly small aperture of an ice-cream maker. Yes, that's right. We've been living here for three months and I still haven't managed to unearth my measuring jugs. (I've been relying solely on US measures.)

Ten minutes later, and my insanity is rewarded by delicately scented, rose-pink sorbet with an intense rhubarb flavour fading to a warming ginger at the end. Now, if only the weather would warm up a little--it's too damn cold for ice-cream!

Comments

[sophia-lde.livejournal.com]

it's too damn cold for ice-cream

You could serve it with hot strawberry-sauce. Never tried hot strawberries, but as hot cherries and hot raspberries are delicious, why not?

[glam-ang.livejournal.com]

Oooh! That's a great idea, Sophia! I put some of my home-made strawberry liqueur in the sorbet so the flavours would really work. Now to find strawberries....

[sophia-lde.livejournal.com]

You could take frozen ones. It's no problem with frozen raspberries at least. And you could add something like Campari, tastes great.

[screwthedaisies.livejournal.com]

I'm dying here, girls. This is not fair!

~puts rhubarb on the grocery list, though if the store does have it, it will probably just be stewed with sugar and dumped over vanilla ice cream~

[glam-ang.livejournal.com]

Have you tried oven-poaching it? It's only really worthwhile when you have the most beautiful bright pink stalks, though.

Just chop your rhubarb into 5cm long pieces, put into a glass or ceramic oven-proof dish and toss with some sugar. Cover with foil and cook in a 180C/350F oven until the pieces are tender. The rhubarb pieces stay intact and you lose very little of the colour.

[stonefinder.livejournal.com]

I don't care if it is freezing. That sounds really good.

[glam-ang.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Rhi :D I'm pretty pleased with it.

[kraftpistole.livejournal.com]

Tsk. Cabin fever. It always gets the best of them.

And now I wish I could try the sorbet. I've never had rhubarb in my life.

[glam-ang.livejournal.com]

Never had rhubarb? If only you lived closer....

There isn't another fruit or vegetable to compare it to flavour-wise--it's very sour but at the same time more-ish. I eat it until my teeth squeak :D

[kraftpistole.livejournal.com]

I'll have to try out rhubarbs. How much you wanna bet my local supermarket has none?

[sophia-lde.livejournal.com]

Hey, don't complain. You get all those lovely, delicious types of fruit ripe and not harvested hard and green, then shipped for an eternity and completely tasteless when they arrive in our local supermarkets. ;)

[kraftpistole.livejournal.com]

That's horrible. Those poor fruits.

[glam-ang.livejournal.com]

I don't think it would grow well in a hot climate, and it's really not the sort of fruit that would be imported.... So, yeah.

How about you make some soursop punch or ice-cream instead? And think of me, in dreary old England, who would kill for a ripe soursop!!

[kraftpistole.livejournal.com]

It's too bad they don't let you travel with fruits/vegetables, or I'd bring some over to Rockfic 2006.

What's a soursop, by the by? I pro'lly know it by another name.

[glam-ang.livejournal.com]

Here you go, picture and alternative names:

http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/soursop.htm

[kraftpistole.livejournal.com]

Guanabana! :D We used to have a guanabana tree in our backyard. I loved guanabana juice [haven't had it in years].

And as utterly random trivia: Guanabana is an often mispronounced word here in Puerto Rico. People keep saying guababana, so evil teachers loved to spring it on kids during spelling bees.

[glam-ang.livejournal.com]

I thought you'd know it :D I took great pleasure in introducing it to Dave when we honeymooned in Grenada. Happily, he loved it too, despite finding the whole fruit quite freaky.

(The hotel we were staying at made me a huge pitcher of soursop punch, just because I said I was sad that they didn't have it on the menu. I was very happy about that.)

You can very occasionally find cartons of guanabana juice in the shops here.

[kraftpistole.livejournal.com]

It is a freaky looking fruit, although the "thorns" don't really sting [they're kinda soft and wimpy]. Pulling them off the tree was interesting, 'cause your palm would come away with little white indentations from the "thorns" [and when you dropped one it made a great big, gooey white splatter].

Man, now I should buy some and make some juice. I'll drink it in your honour.

[dreammonkey.livejournal.com]

No better a time for ice cream!

I really want a mr whippy but all the ice cream stalls down at the beach are closed and I refuse to go into McDonalds on the principle that their clown is creepy.

[glam-ang.livejournal.com]

Plus, their ice-cream isn't very nice. Nothing is, after having gelato beside the Trevi Fountain ;)

[bella-cheval.livejournal.com]

It's NEVER too cold for ice cream!!!

[feelforfaith.livejournal.com]

my insanity is rewarded by delicately scented, rose-pink sorbet with an intense rhubarb flavour fading to a warming ginger at the end

Gulp!

I love rhubarb cakes. I have never had rhubarb sorbet, but your descriptions are, as usual, making me salivate :D.

[glam-ang.livejournal.com]

The sorbet is surprisingly creamy--I just sneaked a spoonful. I'd pair it with a rhubarb cake, but I think that I would swooon if I got to eat cake :)