Blood Orange Sorbet (without an icecream maker!)

Blood Orange SorbetWhen it gets too hot for turning on the oven, you have to resort to your Pinterest board dedicated to frozen treats.

For me, this lemon sorbet looked tantalizing.  It was just what I needed to cool down.  I could even maybe pour some bubbly over it and make myself a refreshing little cocktail!

But then I realized that, in the heat, my lemons had become fuzzy with mold.

Gross.

Never to fear!  There was other citrus that would be equally as delicious when frozen and covered with champagne!  Blood oranges!

squeeze juice squeeze juice squeeze juice squeeze juicePlus, that color! squeeze juice squeeze juice

I loved the juicy flavor that was barely tart and simply sweet.

homemade by thekeyofkels! DSC_0040 homemade by thekeyofkels! homemade by thekeyofkels!

I have an ice-cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid, but this was way easier.

homemade by thekeyofkels! DSC_0055 homemade by thekeyofkels!

And it looks so cute in those tiny bowls… I might have eaten the whole bowl before thinking about how I wanted to pour champagne on it…

homemade by thekeyofkels!

Don’t make the same mistake.  Put yours in a coupe glass and have it for happy hour.  The heat makes me do crazy things – like forget about champagne.

It’s unacceptable, really.

xoxo

Blood Orange Sorbet

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice
1 tbsp grated blood orange zest

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and water and simmer until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Once cooled, stir in the juice and zest.  Pour the mixture into a metal baking pan and freeze until firm (2-3 hours), stirring with a fork every hour.  Transfer to an airtight container to store.

Blood Orange Gin and Tonics

Blood Orange Gin and Tonics @thekeyofkels

My March has been a little bit insane.

As of the beginning of February, I wasn’t going to be on the east coast even once this month.  We were watching what we spent.  We had family coming in town and birthdays coming up, so we were being responsible.

And now, as I’m unpacking my suitcase from my second trip east in 3 weeks, I am realizing I should really stock my body up on Vitamins before I get super, super sick from all of the traveling.

So Emergen-C it is!

Speaking of Vitamin C, it is coming up on the end of citrus season here in California, so I brought some blood oranges from the market all the way to Maryland with me this weekend.  I figured, along with the strawberries, raisins, and trail mix I smuggled from coast to coast, the blood oranges would be something fun and different to play around with.

blood orange gin and tonicsAnd the juice is just so pretty!

So on Friday night, after we had finished most of the preparations for everyone to come over to my parents’ house after the services for my grandfather on Saturday, we decided it was time to relax and catch up.

My mom’s favorite Friday night happy hour cocktail is the classic Gin & Tonic, so I decided to dress it up a little bit.

blood orange gin and tonics blood orange gin and tonicsBy just adding a little bit of that fiery blood orange juice, the classic G&T took on a whole new persona.

And also left the place looking like a bit of a crime scene when not poured just so…

blood orange gin and tonics blood orange gin and tonics
The citrus added just a little bit of bright red cheer to a somber occasion, a little bit of sweet citrus to a classic cocktail, and a little bit of Cali sunshine to a chilly, rainy (super jet lagged) day.

blood orange gin and tonics

 

I wish this counted as enough Vitamin C to keep me healthy until the weather really warms up, but for now, I’m drinking tea and stocking up on Emergen-C packets.

Cheers to another busy, busy week!

xoxo

Blood Orange Gin (or Vodka) & Tonics

1 part Gin (we used Bombay Sapphire, but it was also delicious with vodka!)

1 part fresh squeezed blood orange juice

1 part tonic water

Fill glass with ice.  Add equal parts gin(or vodka), blood orange juice and tonic water.  Stir and serve.  Cheers!

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