Making sorbet mountains out of strawberry molehills (now with basil)

Outside of Quebec City in Canada lies a mysteriously beautiful little island that poops out the best strawberries this side of the planet that are not genetically engineered; it is called l'Île d'Orléans (Island of Orleans).

My cousin, RayRay, and my brother, Subordinate Chow along with Minimai picked a mounded box of fresh strawberries from l'Île Orléans and only ate five from the box cause they had gorged on them at the U-pick and refused to eat any more.

And of course, the garden is once again overrun with basil.

Pair these two annoying harvests together and you've got music, or at least this strawberry and basil sorbet.

Strawberry basil sorbet, always dairy-free. The ice cream scoop (a lovely gift from La Popoteuse) looks like it was involved in a murder. Because it was. 

In trying to figure out what to do with the strawberries, I learned that the main difference between sherbet and sorbet is not just a couple of letters! They both use pretty much the same ingredients (sometimes including alcohol, used to lower the freezing temperature) but the key difference is as follows:

• Sherbet: Contains milk, gelatin, or egg whites, usually butterfat content between 1% and 2%. 
• Sorbet: No dairy, egg or gelatin. Good for the lactose intolerant. 

So here's to getting rid of an excess of strawberries, especially overripe ones.

Strawberry basil sorbet
(makes about 1 litre)
Inspired by Alton Brown and A Cook and a Geek

• 2.5 litres of whole strawberries
• 1/2 cup (125ml) granulated sugar 
• 1/3 cup (75ml) light corn syrup (** corn syrup is less likely subject to crystallize than simple sugar syrup **)
• Handful of basil leaves
• 3 Tbs (45ml) lemon or lime juice
• 1 to 2 tsp (5 to 10ml) lemon or lime zest (use a Microplane grater to get finer zests (not an endorsement... just saying))
• 2 Tbs (30 ml) vodka (** makes it easier to scoop but is optional **)

1. Blend the bollocks out of the strawberries in a blender or food processor.
2. Add to the blender the sugar and syrup, vodka, lemon juice and zest.
3. Roll up the basil leaves into cigars to slice them thinly without crushing them (chiffonade), then put them in the blender and pulse until evenly combined. 
4. Freeze in ice cream/frozen yogurt, as per the instructions for your contraption.

Russian vodka is an excellent solute for freezing-point depression and post-exam depression. 

(And for those who hate basil, such as Frawley, you can refrain from using basil and instead use something like mint (using about the same amount) or experiment with lavender or pepper (though frankly, picking strawberry seeds from your teeth is enough of a pain in the arse that probably does not complement picking ground pepper out at the same time...)).

Bonus photo: [Left] My cousin RayRay and brother Subordinate Chow at Montmorency Falls circa 1989 and [right] circa 2013.  

When life gives you basil, make lemonade

Lemon and basil are two flavours that, like Oscar and Felix, Balki and Larry, Harold and Kumar, stick to each other's craw, but complement each other despite their differences.

After all, lemon (c. limon) and basil (Ocimum basilicum) sing together on pasta, quinoa, chicken, vinaigrette, AND one can even grow lemon basil – even Mother Nature knew that the felicitous pair of flavours would be awesome.

[Basil lemonade. The floaties are edible: it is just basil and eyeballs. Or ice cubes.]

Gourmet magazine's basil lemonade recipe on Epicurious.com, however, had me wondering whether or not this might be a palatable potable. I was (as I ever am) skeptical.

I had just pruned the unruly basil plants in my yard, and needed to do something with them. or they would be relegated to pesto again.
The result, ladies and gentlegerms, is one of the best lemonades this side of Canada. And it's only "one" of the best because I didn't put any vodka in it.

[Lemon, lemon, lemon, lemon, lime.]

Basil makes the lemonade fragrant and because it's infused rather than cooked, the herb's volatile oils are not destroyed.

(Few things I would edit in the recipe though: use slightly less sugar, and trying Thai basil for more punch in the teeth. Sweet basil still works amazors. Winner!)

[Lemon rind strips and basil, post-flavour seepage.]

fresh harvest: basil

garden season was pretty crappy this year, but still managed to get a few yields of sweet basil. last harvest turned into a batch of pesto (which kind of looks like a bowl full of discombobulated peas, but tastes nothing like it).


pesto alla genovese is usually made with genovese basil, but the sweet basil variety is similar in flavour so an adequate substitute. adequate, i say, because i don't think i've had genovese basil before.

pesto alla genovese

makes about 2 cups

6 cups loosely packed basil
2/3 cup pine nuts (toast them lightly and let them cool, if you like)
8 garlic cloves
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup olive oil

process everything except the olive oil until the mixture is well ground together.



note: if you want to freeze this, you might want to omit the cheese until you thaw it out, but it should freeze fine with the cheese.


mangiamo!