Minty Orange Granita

I've accumulated a backlog of oranges, and have noticed they've been a bit more tart than I like lately, so I decided to turn them into a sweet dessert. Granita is super easy to make, you just need to be a little bit patient and babysit it for a few hours. There's not all that much to do, you just need to stir it every 2o minutes, so if you're doing homework or reading, this is a perfect side project to go along with that.

The days are getting warmer, so this is a good recipe to have in your repertoire, although at the moment it's pretty cold. The crunchy, icy crystals can be as sweet or as tart as you like, simply increase or decrease the amount of sugar that you use, or even leave it out altogether. You can also adjust how much water you use. Any kind of fruit juice will work for this, and you can flavor the granita with different things, like vanilla or cinnamon, or as I did in this recipe with mint. You could even add a little wine or rum to make an adult version of this dish. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

2 cups water

1/2 cup sugar

1 peppermint tea bag

1 cup orange juice

In a small pot over high heat, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Once the water is boiling, stir it to dissolve the sugar, and then turn off the heat.

Add the tea bag and let it steep for 10 minutes.

Remove the tea bag and add the orange juice. Stir to combine, and then pour into a 9x9 baking pan, or similar container.

Put the pan into the freezer. Stir the granita with a fork every 20 minutes until it is all frozen, breaking up the larger pieces that may start to form later in this process. This can take up to 2 hours, depending on how cold your freezer is and the type of container you are using.

Bon Apetit!

Honey Punch

I've acquired several citrus fruits via the veggie boxes and a friendly neighborhood lemon tree. Needing a drink to bring to a potluck tomorrow, I decided to concoct an improvised honey punch from 3 lemons, 3 oranges and the big yellow fruit I'm going to assume is a pomelo.

I had actual bottled honey punch a few years ago, but I can't for the life of me remember what it tastes like. The honey punch I came up with is quite tasty though, and I can't wait to serve it to my friends!

You could probably call any light fruity beverage flavored with honey "honey punch" but if this flies in the face of any honey punch purists out there, I apologize in advance.

Honey Punch

Juice of 3 lemons, 3 oranges and 1 pomelo

1 1/4 cup honey

1 tbsp vanilla extract

A dash of nutmeg

1 gallon of water

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and chill. Serve over ice and garnish with mint if desired.

This is not so much a recipe as it is an idea. Pretty much any fruit juice will work, you'll just have to adjust how much water and honey you use depending on how sweet the fruit juice is. Even if you use the exact quantity and type of fruit I have listed here, all fruits are not created equal, so you may have to play with the honey and water measurements anyway. Just keep tasting until it tastes right.

Bon Apetit!