An icy summer dessert ready in 2-3 hours of freezing time. Great as a light end to a meal, or a pre-dessert dessert. And it’s Japanese schoolgirl pink!!

1 can lychees in syrup (mine were light syrup, but if you like it sweet then use the heavy syrup ones)

4 raspberries

1 Tbsp ginger juice (grate ginger, squeeze out the juice)

But all the above (including the syrup) in a blender and purée. Place in a tupperware or something flat that goes in the freezer. Let freeze, scraping every 1/2 hr or so with a fork.

I’ve found that things freeze more quickly if your freezer is not loaded down with 6 month old pasta sauce, passed date ground beef that you’ll definitely use some day, freezer burned curry leaves, and bacon scraps that you got from the butcher last year … I took this opportunity to do a bit of cool cleaning on a hot day… might your freezer enjoy a makeover too?

Lychee Raspberry Granita – It’s a pink pre-dessert!! is a post from: Sour Grapes

6 egg whites + 300 g sugar. cook in a bain marie whisking till sugar dissolves. beat medium high. parchment paper oven 200˚F. 1.5 hrs. oven low 1 hr. oven off.

Meringue 1 is a post from: Sour Grapes

After a day of recipe development and testing (so many lentil burgers!!) the last thing I wanted was a BIG dinner. Plus, eating this for dinner last night I can rationalize having a Tim Hortons Sausage Breakfast Sandwich for a snack this morning at 10:00am. How much salt is in that sandwich, a cup? Two? Anyway, it’s not as good as the Starbucks rendition, but Starbucks doesn’t make double double’s.

For 2 as a side, 1 as a main course.

1/2 head raddichio, cored and sliced

1/2 bunch arugula, washed and torn

1 small bulb fennel, cored and thinly sliced

salt (a good pinch)

vinegar or lemon juice (2 to 3 tsp)

olive oil or some lovely nut oil (a drizzle per plate)

Mix all ingredients. Enjoy.

Raddichio Fennel Salad Recipe is a post from: Sour Grapes

This is so simple and satisfying and it contains avocado which I think should be illegal it’s so good. The faro is toothsome and substantial, the avocado is creamy, and the feta is sharp. I added a bit of Vidalia onion as I love onion. Serves 2-4 as part of a multicourse meal.

My thanks to Niloufer King, author of “My Bombay Kitchen, traditional and modern Parsi home cooking”, her writing introduced me to this lovely grain and I’m forever grateful. I’m also grateful for her grandmother’s lamb biryani recipe which is my new favourite Christmas dinner but that’s another story.

1/4 cup dry farro, soaked in water to cover overnight (or for a few hours, or not at all)

1 avocado, pitted and cut into cubes

a few Tbsp of chopped white onion

1/4 cup crumbled feta (I used Persian feta which is quite creamy, but use what you have, use what you like)

1 Tbsp olive oil

a few dashes of good vinegar (I used cidre vinegar as it’s local and I love it)

salt to taste

Begin by simmering the farro in a covered pot in lightly salted water. This will likely take a good hour or more depending on how long you’ve soaked it, add more water as needed. At the end the farro should be toothsome but cooked. You don’t want mush, but you don’t want something that gets stuck in your teeth and you need a gizzard to digest either.

Drain the grain and allow to cool a bit. Mix it with the rest of the ingredients and enjoy.

You could easily use barley, spelt, wheatberries, Israeli couscous in place of the farro.

Farro Avocado and Feta Salad is a post from: Sour Grapes

Don’t these fellas look tasty? I used the recipe from Katie’s Good Things Catered blog and it was winner! I did however use some sour cherry juice instead of the OJ and since I was using 3 1/2 lbs of cherries I had a bit left over, but I cooked them up just like the tart filling and then used them to top off my tarts after they came out of the oven. Food styling strikes again, but it also makes for well filled tart, something everyone can appreciate. If you can get your hands on some sour cherries they really do make a superior tart, but in their absence regular bing cherries (which I used here) make a worthwhile substitute. 3 1/2 lbs of pitted cherries gave me about 25 finished tarts.

Cherry Tarts is a post from: Sour Grapes

My mum used to make us these, without the raspberries, when we were kids; the cookies go all nice and soft and the whole thing is more than the sum of its parts. Seeing all these lovely raspberries I just couldn’t resist fiddling. Makes about 6 3 layer stacks.

1 cup whipping cream, beaten with 1-2 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 cups raspberries

3/4 package Mr Christie’s chocolate wafers

Whip the cream, pipe a bit on a cookie, add 4-5 raspberries, add more cream, cover with a cookie, repeat. Let the stacks sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. I use a piping bag to dispense the whipped cream but I’m sure a spoon would work just as well. The icing sugar in the photo is just because I can’t resist being a food stylist.

Chocolate Raspberry Sandwiches is a post from: Sour Grapes

Listening to Abida Parveen the famous Sufi singer, I was overcome with an urge to put cumin, lamb, and onions together in some spicy combination. A British journalist once said of Parveen that she could sing a grocery list and bring a tear to your eye. In this case she sang and a grocery list came to mind. So I thank her for her inspiration, and hope she would approve of the salad.

1 lb deboned lamb leg, sliced (if you want a less lamby salad use lamb loin, or beef)

1 tsp cumin

1 generous tsp coarse Turkish paprika

good pinch of ground cinnamon

a few dried chilies, crushed

½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper

5-10 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

2-3 thin coins of peeled ginger, shredded

2 tsp salt

2 medium onions, peeled and sliced

3 tsp olive oil

1-2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses

1 small bunch coriander, washed and drained

1 small bunch arugula, washed and drained

1 drizzle extra virgin olive oil

Mix the lamb and all the spices up to and including the ginger. Add ½ tsp of salt and let marinate at least 30 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.

Mix the marinated lamb with 2 tsp of the oil.

Heat a decent sized frying pan on high heat until almost smoking hot. Add the remaining tsp of oil and fry the sliced onions, seasoning generously with salt, until softened and well coloured. Set aside.

Clean the frying pan and heat it again on high heat until it begins to smoke. Add half the lamb and stir fry until it is nicely browned, about 30 seconds. Toss the lamb with the fried onions. Repeat with the remaining lamb.

Drizzle the lamb and onions with the pomegranate molasses and allow to cool a minute. Toss with the coriander and arugula. Check the seasonings and add salt if needed. Drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil and serve warm with some good bread.

Abida’s Spicy Lamb and Arugula Salad is a post from: Sour Grapes

What I wanted to do was make a pita that didn’t come out all leathery. Past pitas had been tasty, but rapidly turned tough and dry and I just knew I could do better. I’d also never played with high hydration doughs (basically very soft wet goop) and I had a pretty good idea that this was the route to the pita I wanted. Makes about 15-20 smallish pizzas or pitas.

I’m only working with a domestic oven and I have no quarry tile / pizza stone for my oven. What I ended up with is, well, not exactly a pita, almost a pizza. It is fantastic, with crunchy edges, soft centre, great for garnishing or wrapping. Oh, and it’s whole wheat but doesn’t taste healthy.

Based roughly on Alford & Duguid’s pita recipe in Flatbreads and Flavours.

In a standup mixer dissolve 2 tsp of instant yeast in 4 cups of tepid water. Add 5 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 Tbsp salt, 1 Tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp dried thyme. Mix, cover and allow to sit for 30 minutes up to 2 hours. Using the kneading attachment on low speed, gradually incorporate 3 ¼ cups of whole wheat flour until you have a very loose dough, almost a batter but a bit thicker. Make sure to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the mixer bowl. Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes on low. I don’t know if I needed to knead it for that long but I did and it worked.

Scrape the dough into a large Tupperware, one large enough so that the dough only takes up 1/3 of the space. If you don’t have then don’t worry just use what you have.

Refrigerate the dough overnight.

The next morning take the Tupperware out of the fridge. If you didn’t have a large enough Tupperware then transfer the dough to a large bowl and put it in a plastic bag or cover with saran wrap. Let the dough sit in a cool place until that evening.  The air temperature was about 15˚C / 60˚F.

When the dough looks bubbly and fermented and has just about doubled in size,  about 8 to 10 hrs, turn your oven to broil and place a doubled up baking sheet on the top rack. Let it heat for at least 15-20 minutes.

To make the pita:

Using a large spoon or cup, scoop about 1/3 – 1/2  of a cup of dough onto a very well floured surface. Flatten and stretch the dough until it is roughly 6 inches across. Remove the trays from the oven, flip the dough onto the pan, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 4 or 5 minutes until it begins brown around the edges.

To make the pizza:

Follow the directions above but remove the pita from the oven after 1 minute.  Garnish the beasts as you wish, I used ajvar (a spread made of roasted peppers), chicken, onion, gruyere, feta, and kind of varied all of those as I went along, then garnished with some arugula and a drizzle of olive oil to serve.

You can refrigerate the dough for a few days, up to a week according to Alford & Duguid, but make sure to bring it back to room temperature before using. No not in the microwave.

High hydration whole wheat pita dough, or is it pizza? is a post from: Sour Grapes

Wish I remember how I made it. Something about tahini, lemon juice, cinnamon poached chicken, sour cucumbers, and salty celery. Tasty though.

Chicken Salad is a post from: Sour Grapes

From breakfast foods to fresh veggies to flowers to unfiltered cidre to sausages to German breads this is just a great market. A few locals kind of scoffed and said things to the effect of “Oh ya, it’s just starting, wait ‘till later in the season.” You spoiled people! Lineup for Pine State Biscuits was unbelievable (but worth it) and don’t try to buy anything except coffee before the 8:30 bell or you’ll get your hand smacked. Do make sure to get a nifty cloth bag at one of the ticket booths where you can also use your credit card to buy market tokens.

Portland Farmer’s Market website for info on this and Sunday / weekday markets.

Portland 6: Saturday Farmer’s Market is a post from: Sour Grapes