Prickly Pear & Prosecco Sorbet√

Not all prickly pears are created equal. They come in different sizes and colors. The prickly pear plants sold by the Edible Plant Project come from Farmer John. They are small and a deep and fluorescent purple in color. They have a delicate, slightly tart flavor. Their main gift is their color which is rarely found in anything edible. The closest is maybe the beetroot. My plants are only a year old and are still establishing themselves so they haven't fruited yet. I was over the moon to see that Farmer John had a box of prickly pears for sale at the farmer's market last week so I bought a big bagful and made a syrup.

Using my rubberized garden gloves I cut them in half and scooped out the innards into a stainless steel pan with a spoon. I covered them with water and simmered them till soft - for about 30-45 minutes. Then I mashed them gently with a potato masher and sieved and squeezed them carefully to get just the juice i.e. no pulp. I chilled this in the fridge.

I made a simple syrup next: one cup of sugar to one cup of water - simmered till dissolved then chilled in the fridge.

I mixed 2 cups of simple syrup to 2 cups of prickly pear juice and the juice of 2 small lemons.
I put this mixture into my ice cream maker and after 20 minutes came back to find it all finished.

Here's the problem - it didn't taste so good - it was too strong - too sweet, too sharp - it tasted like candy.
For some reason I didn't want to just water it down ...
I trawled through my fridge and the pantry to see if there was anything that I could add that would dilute it - without adding water. That's when I noticed the bottle of prosecco chilling at the back of the fridge - prosecco is a light, crisp, low alcohol, low cost, sparkling wine from the North of Italy. Perfect! I added the whole bottle! That sounds like a lot but it was only just over 4 cups ... actually it is still pretty much 'a lot' but I was on a roll ....

I let the sorbet thaw a little and mixed in the prosecco (i had to use a whisk to incorporate it properly) and froze it again. If I were starting from scratch I would add the prosecco after it had started to freeze to try and preserve a few bubbles!

I served it at the end of a rich meal with Amaretto Biscuits, It was delightfully tasty and refreshing as well as beautiful to look at all at the same time. The alcohol content means that it is soft enough to serve straight out of freezer.


Alternatives to prosecco? Be careful with using a white wine instead - they are not all created equal either. A super light, low alcohol white wine might work - with less wine and a bit more water so the taste doesn't dominate. Or maybe a little sparkling elderflower - I'm not sure if you can buy it easily in the US yet. It has a delightfully floral taste that reminds me of an English hedgerow - something I always miss from my homeland.

Coconut Lime Drizzle Cake√

This weekend Carol and Amy from Tampa came to visit. Carol is a British homeopath turned film maker and we've been friends for about 20 years, following each other first to the West Coast of the US and then the East without even knowing what the other was up to! It was delightful to catch up and hang out for a few days, and for Ellen and I to get to know Amy.


We went tubing down the Ichetucknee River - a magical, funny, relaxing and beautiful hour and a half with a long walk at either end so we were hungry by the time we got home in spite of a yummy picnic.


All that fresh air and clouds gathering and having a true Brit in our midst as we drove home gave me a craving for tea and cake. I remembered the divine Coconut and Lime Drizzle cake Marie had offered one afternoon at the Travelling Homeopaths Camp and I decided to whip one up before we went to the movies.

This is a foolproof cake recipe - I never have to look it up. It is a hybrid of my mother's chocolate cake recipe and Hannah's Austrian Fruit Kuchen ...

Carol can't eat gluten so I substituted the wheat with rice flour. I happened to have some super fine rice flour I bought from the Indian Supermarket. It was light and divine.

6 oz. each of the following: flour, sugar, butter, coconut (shredded/unsweetened)
6 small eggs (or 4 extra large ones)
zest of 2-3 limes
2 tsp. baking powder
half a cup of milk

Throw the butter and sugar into the food process and mix till soft and pale.
Add the eggs one at a time - mixing each one in well.
Add half a cup of milk (or more ... it should be fairly 'gloppy' at this point).
Throw the flour, coconut, zest and baking powder into the processor and pulse till mixed.
Pour into a buttered and floured 8" cake tin and bake for 45 mins - 1 hour at 350 degrees - until it has risen nicely, is golden brown on top and a knife or skewer comes out clean.

Turn it out and let it cool completely - it's good to go for a long walk at this point so you don't get impatient and pour icing on the cake while it's still warm - it will inconveniently slip right off and pool all over the plate.

Once the cake is cold make the icing: mix the juice of 1-2 limes with more confectioner's sugar than seems reasonable - keep adding sugar until it stops falling off the spoon i.e. until it is really thick!
Spread the icing on top of the cake - a little drizzling down the sides is fine.

It was absolutely delicious. We devoured two pieces a piece before heading off to the movies and then had another piece with our morning coffees. Which is why the photo of the cake looks like this ...


Afterwards I wondered whether coconut flakes might have been better - or maybe a mixture of finely shredded coconut AND flakes to give taste AND texture.

And then I wondered whether I should have cut it in half and spread a thin layer of icing so that it could percolate its sweet tartness from the inside out as well as from the top down!

I shall try both of these one of these days and let you know (once I get my weight back under control!)