Sweet Saturday

The funny thing about living in the Pacific Northwest is one day it could be 40 degrees and you need to turn your heat on in the middle of June and the next it's 80 degrees and you are sweating your eyeliner off.Can you guess what kind of day it was today? Let's just say I'm looking like a raccoon that got ditched at the prom.  That being said, I needed to make something sweet to appease my sugar tooth and cool off at the same time.

I've always wanted to make granita but it seemed like a lot of work and very intimidating. Nothing could be further than the truth. It is so easy and so tasty that OMP may be lucky to get any when he gets home tonight. You can use all sorts of fruits but since my raspberries were ripe for the picking, I decided to use them.

Raspberry Granita
Ingredients
3 cups fresh raspberry
1 cup water
3/4 cups and 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to  slight boil. Remove from heat. Chill syrup until cold. (I chilled it in the fridge cause I hate waiting)

Mash 3 cups raspberries in medium bowl. Stir in lemon juice. 

Mix sugar syrup and raspberry mixture.

Pour mixture through strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. 

Pour mixture into shallow baking dish.

Freeze until almost firm,stirring every 15 minutes for 2 hours. This may seem like a lot of work but it is really easy. I cleaned the house and pulled weeds then went back and took a break and stirred the granita. This is a must! It will really make the difference.

After 2 hours, continue freezing granita until firm (do not stir), at least 3 hours or overnight. 

Scrape out the granita with an ice cream scooper. The consistency should be like a sorbet-this is why the stirring is so important.

Granita can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and keep frozen.

Granita is the perfect after dinner treat or after pulling weeds treat or just sitting in the sun doing your best Jane Mansfield impersonation treat. Your family and friends will think that you are a gourmet chef with this little number. Only you will know it took nothing at all to create this masterpiece.