Strarberry Lime Basil Sorbet

I got a bunch of strawberries, limes, and basil in my Trader Joe's pickup this week (I pickup food for a local food pantry and they let me keep some for myself). It's been pretty hot here in Boston lately, and I've got book group coming up on sunday, so I figured I'd bust out the ice cream maker and whip up some sorbet.

1 1/2 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1 bunch basil divided

4 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped

1/2 cup lime juice

zest of 1 lime

combine water, sugar and half of the basil in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. let it sit until the liquid cools

once the liquid cools, put the strawberries, lime juice, lime zest, and the other half of the basil cut into small strips (aka chiffonade) into a blender and puree. Cool the mixture and then follow your ice cream maker's directions.

Roasted Tomato Pesto

Roasted Tomato Pesto
Originally uploaded by kel h

I had some tomatoes in my CSA share that were going to go bad, so I thought I would make this. It came out pretty tasty. It's a combo of two recipes. Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce from Earthbound Farms and Tomato Basil Pesto from Smitten Kitchen


Ingredients:
4 large tomatoes cut into quarters
1 large sweet onions cut into wedges
8 cloves garlic
1 bunch basil
1/2-1 cup toasted almond slivers
1 tbsp tomato paste
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 475
pour tomatoes, onions and garlic into roasting pan and coat with olive oil
season with salt and pepper
Roast in oven for 10 min
reduce temp to 425 and continue roasting for 40-50 min
let cool and remove tomato skins

toast almond slivers in pan
grind in food processor for a few pulses
add tomatoes, onions and garlic along with leaves from 1 bunch basil and tomato paste. Run until it becomes a paste and drizzle olive oil to desired consistency. Season to taste.

Simple Pasta a la Caprese

made my favorite pasta dish for lunch, and it is SUPER easy.

Boil two cups pasta of your choice (I like shells or twirly bits because they hold the sauce better)
heat up some olive oil in a pan with two cloves minced garlic and a pint of cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half and sprinkle a pinch of salt over it all.
When the tomatoes start to get wrinkly on the outside, squish them down with a spoon or fork.
Take four to five large basil leaves and slice them into thin strips.
Cube up a few slices of fresh mozzarella.
toss in the pasta, cheese and basil and stir until the cheese just starts to get melty.
drizzle a little more olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Yum!

My new obsession.....sorbet!

I got an ice cream maker, and I've been all about making sorbet. It's super easy.

I just made straberry-basil sorbet, starting with Jamie Oliver's recipe

2/3 cup (160 ml) water
2/3 cup (135 grams) granulated white sugar
5 cups or 2 pounds (1 kg) fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice

You make a simple syrup out of the water and sugar over the stove. I added a bunch of basil when cooking it down. You puree the strawberries, add the lemon juice, then throw it all in the ice cream maker.

I also made a blackberry mint sorbet. Swap out the strawberries for blackberries, add mint to the simple syrup instead of basil, and follow the rest of the instructions.

I tried making a honey ice cream, but I need to get better at making the custard base.