Granita al Limone (Italian lemon Ice)

Lylli's class did a banquet of foods around the world. So, we found this and made it! It's from Italy! Lots of fun and real easy! She did all of it. Although, she didn't want lemon, so we made apricot. I'll put my recipe at the end.

Ingredients:•Water -- 3 cups
•Sugar -- 1 1/2 cups
•Fresh lemon juice -- 1 cup

Directions:

1.Bring 1 cup of the water and the sugar to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Continue boiling for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let to cool.
2.Stir in the remaining water and lemon juice. Pour the mixture into a glass baking dish and set in the freezer for one or two hours until it starts to get slushy.
3.Stir well with a fork, breaking up any large chunks of ice or ice crystals. Repeat this process every 20 minutes or so until the granita is frozen solid.
4.Place scoops in small glasses or dessert bowls and serve.

Variations:

Let your imagination run free. There are so many options. Here are a couple of the more common variations:

•Granita alla Arancia (Orange Granita): 1/4 cup water; 1/2 cup sugar; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 3 cups of orange juice. Boil the water and sugar only long enough to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the orange lemon juice. Freeze as for lemon granita. Add a couple tablespoons of orange-flavored liqueur for a luxurious twist.
•Granita di Fragole (Strawberry Granita): 1 cup of water; 3/4 cup sugar; 1 pound strawberries, hulled and pureed; 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Boil the water and sugar as for the lemon granita. Stir in the strawberry puree and lemon juice. Freeze as for lemon granita.

Here's my apricot recipe. It's smooth like a sorbet but needs served immediately after you take it out of the freezer. If you want it more icy, I think you'd just have to add more water.

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

3 cups apricot nectar

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 - 1 tsp. almond flavoring

Heat water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Add apricot nectar, lemon juice, almond flavor, and freeze like above.

Carmel Dip . . .

. . . for apples.

My friend (the chef) made this for our book club tonight and I had to post it so I wouldn't lose it. :) It is SO good!!

Ingredients:
1 cup Carmels, unwrapped
10 big marshmallows
1 Tblsp. Butter
3 tblsp. cream

Directions:
Melt Carmels in a microwave safe bowl until soft. Mix until smooth. Mix in marshmallows, butter, and cream. Reheat as needed. Serve with sliced apples! HEAVENLY! :)

Fresh Asparagus, Tomato and Feta Salad

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 pound asparagus - cut into 1-inch pieces, cooked and drained

1 (4 ounce) container crumbled feta

1 container grape tomatoes, halved

2 green onion, diced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Whisk together the cider vinegar, white sugar, salt, and olive oil in the bottom of a salad bowl. Add the asparagus, feta, tomato, green onion, and parsley to the bowl with the dressing; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Fresh Strawberry Pie

This is Dad's grandma's recipe that Grandma Lorimer always made us. This is certainly one of my favorites.

1 pie crust (already prepared)
sliced fresh strawberries (enough to fill your pie crust most of the way)

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups cold water
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon butter
red food coloring

Stir sugar and cornstarch into water until they dissolve. Add cinnamon, butter, and food coloring. Heat mixture until it becomes transparent, stirring sometimes. Once it is transparent, let the mixture cool. Once cool, add sliced strawberries. Put strawberry mixture into pie shell and refridgerate. (Do not let sit for too long. Pie crust gets soggy.) Serve with whipped cream.