Casaba Melon Granita

For the sake of consistency I am still posting recipes months behind. Now that we've had our first snow I think this cool summer treat will be perfect. You can make granita with any squishable fruit, really anything sweet that liquefies. Okay, the recipe is sweet + water + flavor = granita, got it? Good.

I made my granita at the end of melon season after a new summer romance with hami and casaba melons. This particular melon had a great flavor but the texture was too soft for my taste (perfect for squishing!). I used a little bit of local honey for the sweet, but the melon really was sweet enough. My true love casaba also provided the liquid and the flavor. So easy. May I suggest using pomegranate or cranberry juice for a holiday granita? Yay! This recipe isn't out of date I swear.

Did I mention why I like granita? It is kind of creamy, kind of crunchy, a little sweet, a little icy. I've tasted tomato and basil granitas that made me weep tears of joy.

Scoop out the seeds and toss, scoop out the melon and place in a freezer safe dish (with a lid if possible), mash up the melon - a fork worked for me, stir in enough honey for your tastes, cover and freeze. The hard part is taking it out of the freezer every hour and scraping into fluffy ice pillows. You don't want a solid block of ice. I forgot one hour and it was tough! I pulled through.

 

ps. Make sure the container fits in your freezer before you put your mix in it. Mine just fit as you can see.

Recipe Time: Casaba Melon Granita
adapted from the many blogs I was reading at the time (probably Smitten Kitchen and Pioneer Woman)
serves 6

1 Casaba melon
1 Tbs honey

1. Cut the melon in half.
2. Scoop out and toss the seeds.
3. Scoop out the melon and place in a freezer safe dish (one with a lid if possible) .
4. Mash up the melon - a fork worked for me .
5. Stir in enough honey for your tastes.
6. Cover and freeze.
7. Every hour take the granita out of the freezer and scrape it with a fork, make sure to mix the sides and middle together. You don't want a solid block of ice.
8. When it's reached snow cone consistancy it's ready to eat!

Homemade Apple Pie Oatmeal

Last week I said the Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal was very customizable, but had I really customized it yet? No. I'd adapted it to make it slightly healthier, but that's not the same, and deep in my heart I knew it. So here for you today is a totally customized version of Pie Oatmeal, this time of the Apple persuasion. Yum!

 

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3. Apples chop themselves into tiny pieces, then jump into a bowl of dry ingredients saying "howdy" to the wet folks on the way, and finally out of the oven pops warm chewy apple goodness. Really, just like that.

Recipe Time: Apple Pie Oatmeal
serves 5

1 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
2 cups apple pieces
1  tsp ground cinnamon
¼  tsp ground allspice
2 ½ Tbsp packed brown sugar
½  tsp lemon zest or lemon juice (I used the juice to keep the apple pieces from browning)
¼  tsp table salt

½  tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp Butter
¾  cup(s) no sugar added applesauce
¾  cup(s) fat-free skim milk

¼  cup(s) golden raisins
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar

   1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 5 ramekins.
   2. Combine the first 7 ingredients (oats through salt) in a medium sized bowl. Stir well.
   3. In a separate bowl, combine the vanilla, butter, applesauce, and milk. Whisk thoroughly.
   4. Pour the milk mixture into the oats. Stir until combined.
   5. Divide mixture evenly between 5 individual sized ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet (this makes it easier to move in and out of the oven.). Bake for 12 minutes.
   6. Combine the ingredients for the topping: raisins and brown sugar. After the oatmeal has baked for 12 minutes, remove and divide topping mixture evenly between the ramekins. Bake an additional 8 minutes.
   7. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.