Granita breaksOur daily routine in Sicily included a cup of icy granita. I was a fan of the lemon one as the coffee one was a bit too strong; I think there is about 3 shots of espresso in one!

Granita is pretty simple to make although you need to be by your freezer to stir the mixture every twenty minutes to ensure that the mixture does not freeze into a solid block. A good task for young kids!

For coffee or lemon granita
250g/9oz freshly squeezed lemon juice or espresso coffee
120g/4oz sugar
100g/3½oz water

For the granita, place the lemon or espresso, sugar and water into a pan over a medium heat and stir to combine and dissolve the sugar.

Remove from the heat and pass through a sieve into a large deep-sided tray.
Place the tray into the freezer. At 20 minute intervals, stir the mixture with a fork until the granita is set.

Eat on a warm and sunny day! I think these are numbered in the UK :(

Island food needs tasting
Bye bye London Town for a week! I will chat to you soon bloggies, but I must depart this fair city for the Mediterranean ocean for a short while.

I will be eating and drinking on some lovely islands and examining some underwater creatures with my snorkel gear. Ciao, ciao for now! Will have some food adventures to share next week!

In the meantime, try this strawberry and balsamic vinegar recipe from the New York Times, it sounds amazing.

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/06/featured-recipe-strawberries-with-balsamic-vinegar/

Strawberries With Balsamic Vinegar

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Time 15 minutes

Mark Bittman

Caleb Kenna for The New York Times

Summary

Strawberries with balsamic vinegar will not hold for any length of time. You can sugar the berries an hour or two before serving them, but no longer. Sprinkle on the vinegar and pepper, very judiciously, just before serving. Feel free to mix in some blackberries or blueberries for color; their addition is a striking one. The berries, of course, can be served solo, but for an even more elegant presentation, add a few crisp cookies or a slice of pound, sponge or angel food cake.

Ingredients

• 1 quart strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
• 1/2 pint blackberries or blueberries, optional
• 1/4 cup sugar, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon high-quality balsamic vinegar, or more to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped fresh mint leaves for garnish, optional

Method

• 1. Toss strawberries and other berries, if using, with the 1/4 cup sugar, and let sit for 10 minutes or longer. Do not refrigerate.
• 2. Sprinkle with the vinegar; toss gently, then taste and add more sugar or vinegar if necessary. Sprinkle with the pepper, toss again, and serve, garnished with the mint, if you like. Spoon into a glass or bowl, and serve next to cookies or a piece of cake.

Cotton Candy
I love cotton candy or candy floss as they say here in the UK. This one was purchased on the boardwalk in Brighton and was consumed quite quickly with the assistance of the 4 sticky little hands of my cute nephews. I think the allure of cotton candy as a child is not only the taste but watching the man spin the candy from that big machine that magically breathes out hot air and then spits out the wonderful and woolly like creation which is twirled so gracefully around a paper cone. That would've been a fun summer job, non?

I wish they didn’t come in bags like they do now but have someone actually doing it fresh for each customer; just like they used to do at Crystal Beach Park (the fairground near the beach where we grew up). And I prefer the pink candy floss, the blue is not real cotton candy it was probably created for whiney little boys that didn’t want to have the pink color.

It was invented in 1897 in St. Louis by two dudes and am sure someone like Johan can explain in intricate detail how plain sugar can come out in such a wonderful shape, he is the physics geek!

I think I might buy the home machine that I saw at Selfridges but am sure it will not be the same. I wonder if you can return a cotton candy machine if it spits out a crappy product? Stay tuned, I might try. Some random image I found on the net from Disney Land Hong Kong.

CubyataI think that is how you spell it, Cubyata is a lovely Christmas treat of almonds dipped in sugar. So simple yet so tasty. There is an art to not making it stick to your saucepan, body and fingers - but it is easy to make, my Aunty Eleanor is the pro at it.

Recipe: One cup of sugar for every cup of chopped almonds. Roasted almonds also give it more flavour. I think you need a cup of water to dip your hands in frequently when you are transferring the almonds from the pot to the small portions on a serving tray or you can serve them in those cupcake paper liners, not sure what they are properly called. I think I tried this once with a cup of butter by my side to not make my fingers stick to the pot! Also, I always thought these were covered in honey but it is just plain white sugar.

Easy to make and a nice thing to serve alongside fruit or dessert.

Belli's mohitosKids mixing drinks?

Well, what else do you get kids to do in the summer? We put them to work making mohitos for us a few weekends ago at the beach. They are great at picking the fresh mint from the garden, stirring in the sugar and very exact at pouring the lemon & lime juice and mixing in the solda and vodka; it is like being in home economics class! Kids love tasks that are usually left to grownups. They didn't get a chance to taste the drinks but we did make them a virgin version.

Belli is the cutest little angel and a great helper. I wish I was a teacher like her mother and had a little star sticker to give her. Thanks for your help cutie and see you soon!

x

Westwood Mohito Recipe:

*We altered the recipe for what was in the cupboard

- Lots of fresh mint from the garden

- A squirt of lemon and lime juice (as much as we had in the fridge)

- A tbsp of sugar per glass – brown sugar is nice

- We used Havana Club rum – but any rum will do – the flavored Bacardi Limon one would be nice

- Ice

- We didn’t have club soda so we used Perrier water with a hint of lime