Sorbet- perfect summer treat

One thing that's not synonymous with Germany is air conditioning. It's believed most homes do not have A/C because the summers here are generally not really hot; or at least it doesn't stay hot for long. I've been here for 6 summers, and yes, it gets hot, but then there are periods where it's cloudy and not very hot- which is perfectly fine with me! Our 4 story row house has no A/C and it's been incredibly hot and humid for nearly 2 weeks now. I remember this winter everyone hoping for heat and sun, and all I have to say is: I hope you all are happy!!! Haha. I like summer, but it's miserable in my house, and I do not want the kiddos out too long in this blistering heat, but shit it's bad enough in our house, so we're screwed :)

But there is a great dish that keeps ya cool while cleansing the palate- Sorbet. Growing up, we didn't eat it. I never heard of it until I got older. We did go to the local sno-cone shops and I always looked forward to that! Here in Germany, there are not sno-cone shops, but there are incredibly awesome Eis (ice cream) shops that are satisfying. But when it's hot, eating dairy ice cream will only make you feel groggy, heavy and sick. So, I have the perfect solution! While reading through some cookbooks, I came across a recipe for Watermelon Sorbet. I love watermelon so I gave it a shot. It was very tasty, so for the hubby's birthday, I made a lemon version. AWESOME. And sooooo easy. You can use any fruit and you can even use wine or beer if that's how ya roll. And it makes you feel sooooooo cool and happy. Much lighter than eating ice cream. Give it a shot!!

You can add liqueurs or juice from other fruits. The variations are endless. Have fun experimenting!!!

Watermelon Sorbet (adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients

3 cups of watermelon; seeds removed

3/4 cup of water

3/4 cup of sugar

Directions

1. Place sugar and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When sugar has dissolved, remove pan from heat, and stir in creme de menthe, if using. Chill the syrup.
2. Remove seeds from watermelon flesh. Place flesh in the bowl of a food processor; process until liquefied, about 2 minutes. Add puree to chilled syrup; stir to combine.
3. Freeze sorbet in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Store, frozen, in an airtight container.

Lemon Sorbet

Ingredients

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 cups of water

zest of one lemon

Heat zest, water, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down and allow to simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat, then allow to cool. 

Once cooled, add lemon juice then chill in the fridge. Once chilled, add to ice cream maker. Store, frozen, in an airtight container.

Note: if you do not have an ice cream maker, store in a freezer safe container, then stir every hour with a fork. once frozen, stir once again, then you're done. Hope you give this a shot. And ice cream makers are generally inexpensive!

Main: Coriander and Cumin Crusted Salmon with Avocado Relish; Dessert: Rum Roasted Pineapples with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

While on Twitter, I tweeted about menu planning for my husband's birthday. As I ramble on about food constantly, which  I expect may bore many I didn't expect much feedback. But my friend, who is a great cook suggested I make Coriander and Cumin Crusted Salmon and Roasted Pineapples served with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. 
As I already had a main dish in mind for the husband's day, I decided this light meal will be perfect for the day prior. Even better it's quick and easy and we family cooks favorite phrase when it comes to weekday meals or hot summer days!


Coriander and Cumin Crusted  Salmon
Adapted from  Allrecipes.
Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons  Coriander Seed, coarsely crushed
1 tablespoon Cumin Seed, coarsely crushed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon Cracked Black Pepper
4 (4 ounce) salmon steaks, about 1-inch thick


Relish:
1 small avocado, finely chopped
1/2 tomato, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt


Directions:
In a small bowl, combine seasonings. Rub over salmon. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium. Cook swordfish 5-7 minutes per side, until fish is opaque in center and flakes easily with a fork.


In a medium bowl, combine relish ingredients. Serve salmon steaks atop relish.

Rum Roasted Pineapples with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream


Ingredients:

1 fresh pineapple
1/4 cup rum
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions
Peel the pineapple and, leaving it whole, cut out the center core. Slice into 8 rings, and place them in a shallow glass dish or resealable plastic bag. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Pour over the pineapple, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour, or overnight. Preheat oven on 450F/220C.
In a roasting pan with shallow sides, add parchment paper so pineapples will not stick to pan! Roast pineapple rings 15 minutes, turning once, or until outside is dry and char marked. Serve with remaining marinade.
I served with store bought ice cream, but you can easily make your own! I have a recipe for the best Vanilla Ice Cream here.

Garden Envy

Garden Envy, originally uploaded by YummySommer.

While walking with the little ones, we come across some absolutely amazing gardens in our neighborhood. Some disorganized, some absolutely perfect and some right in the middle. We love walking and smelling the flowers and oooh'ing and aaaah'ing.

For the longest our yard was either barren or a weed convention. Last week, a "Botanical Artiste" and now wonderful pal helped tame our weeds and planted a couple plants for us! No photos yet, but until then, here's a lovely flower we came across yesterday. I know zip about flowers, so maybe one of you can help me identify this beauty?

1 Blog + 3 children under 4=

0 updated blog entries

The only way I am able to keep up a blog is if I totally neglect something. That something is usually cleaning and living in a house with four floors is no easy task to keep up with little ones running around! Things are sort of going back to normal; the kids are seemingly sleeping, eating, and engaging in play activity regularly, but that leaves me little time to focus on a blog. I have so many ideas running through my head, but I am too tired by the end of the day to put it all down. Here's a glimpse at a normal day for me.

Wake-up

Interweb check facebook/twitter

Shower

pick out kiddies clothes

Pack son's lunch

Put away last night's dishes

Wash floors and sweep the carpets (Will not vacuum and wake-up 15 month-old ninja baby!)

Get kids dressed

Serve breakfast

Brush kids teeth

Walk son to Kindergarten 

Go shopping with the 2 and 1 year-old

Go for a walk with the kids

Go home 

Clean 

Play with kiddos

Pick son up from Kindergarten

Take kids to the playground and pick-up lunch via tram

Go home

Bath time for all 3

Clean

Cook Dinner

Feed Kiddos

Brain too scrambled to blog, tweet instead

Sex/me time 

Sleep

Perhaps I should stick to a weekly theme. I love to read blogs, but am too tired to pay attention to my own. Here's a photo collage of what I've been up to since June 25. How do you bloggers and especially mommy bloggers do it??

It took me over an hour to type this, but this is the life of a mommy blogger with 3 small children. More recipes and fun coming soon!