feeling (sub)lime
Recipe: lime sorbet
By the end of last week, I was a broken woman. My neck and right shoulder were inflamed as was my lower back. My good friend Advil and I worked through it as best we could, but when my aunt dropped me off at the Eldorado in Santa Fe Friday afternoon, I was barely able to walk. She urged me to make an appointment with the spa at the Eldorado to see if I could get some relief before the long car ride home.
I’m not a spa girl. Manis, pedis, facials, saunas, massages, waxing – it’s all foofie stuff to me. I had only had one real massage before… for an injury. Luckily, they had an opening and I winced with pleasure as my muscles crunched under the force of a deep tissue massage. The 7-hour car ride home negated that rather expensive massage by the next morning and I was in pain no matter what I did. After an appointment with a massage therapist (there are a lot of those in Boulder), heat, ice, exercise, stretches, and staying off the computer – I am finally feeling good. There is nothing like being sick or broken to make you appreciate how amazing it is to be normal. Just in time for my next road trip too!
it’s green food week
This week is St. Patrick’s Day. I like the color green. Half of my Patagonia jackets and tops are green (it’s the color that’s always on sale)! I also have a fascination with green food. However, I’m neither Irish nor do I drink beer – so you’re stuck with lime sorbet today.
zesty
I didn’t make the sorbet this week. I made it last summer, but my blog queue is like a deep purse that keeps turning up surprises that you had forgotten about. For me, it’s never too cold to enjoy sorbet. For you, chances are the weather is warming up and in the next few weeks a cold, tart, refreshing scoop of lime sorbet might sound like a good idea.
zest before juicing
juiced
Sorbet is easy to make and one of my favorite warm (or any) weather treats. I like fruity sorbets. I like fruity. It’s basically fruit, sugar, and water. But if you want to achieve that smooth texture in your sorbet as opposed to the chunkier grain of say, a granita – you can add a little booze.
simple syrup
and some gin for smoothness
Or you can add a lotta booze, as in after the sorbet has been churned and frozen. Scoop it out and douse with a little more of the happy sauce before serving for an adult version. Everything goes well with lime (well, except Baileys…). It’s perfectly delightful as is and plays nicely with a scoop of strawberry sorbet.
funny thing is, i can imagine skiing down these scoops
Lime Sorbet
[print recipe]
4 limes, zest of
8 limes, juice of
2 cup simple syrup (recipe: heat 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar; stir until dissolved; bring to boil; let cool)
1 cup water
2-4 tbsps gin or vodka
Fine chop the zest. Combine the juice, zest, simple syrup, and water. Add the gin or vodka. Refrigerate until completely cooled. Freeze in ice cream machine. Makes about a quart. (I made half of the recipe in the photos).
March 16th, 2011 at 2:34 am
Looks great, I do agree about a splash of booze. I love a margarita with a scoop of lime sorbet. Hope you are feeling better soon. beautiful photos as always. I love to look at your art works.
March 16th, 2011 at 2:55 am
This looks like a perfect summer treat! Love the citrus flavored sorbet..never tried lemons before, was put off with the sour taste. This one looks refreshing, must try. Good to have found this lovely blog through Twitter :)
March 16th, 2011 at 3:01 am
NOM NOM NOM!
That looks fantastic – I absolutely adore citrus sorbets! I usually go with grapefruit or lemon, but now I wonder why I’ve never tried lime before. I’m glad that the massage helped the sore shoulder – hopefully it stays good!
P.S. How did you make that adorable lime peel curl??
March 16th, 2011 at 3:27 am
sorbet with alcohol. i love the way you think!
March 16th, 2011 at 6:52 am
I love lime! This sounds even better than pink grapefruit sorbet.
March 16th, 2011 at 7:30 am
Ohhh….. A little spring sorbet skiing. Sign me up!
March 16th, 2011 at 8:24 am
After all the heaviness of winter (and the on again/off again thaw), it’s nice to see the vibrancy of that green. Looks totally refreshing!
March 16th, 2011 at 9:18 am
Ahhhh, this looks delightful. I must say I am not a spa girl either, but I had my first professional pedi at age 50, as a gift to myself. OMG, I am hooked! The massage, the shaping, the color, the martini (yes, a high end spa)……I love it.
March 16th, 2011 at 10:16 am
I feel your pain and oh do I mean that. A few years ago I had a similar experience and was desperate, I couldn’t even find a massage therapist and eventually went with an accupuncturist as that was the only help I could find. I really wanted it to work, but I think I was a lost cause at that point. Ended up at the regular old doctors office and took pain meds for the first and only time in my life. Glad to hear you are doing better.
BTW…I always end up with green too! My boyfriend called me “the frog” when we first met.
March 16th, 2011 at 11:13 am
I’m really enjoying browsing through your archives. I do have one question on making ice creams/sorbets; how long do you have to freeze the ice cream after making so that it firms up?
March 16th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm…that does sound delicious!
March 16th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
A nice tribute to the Irish’ day. I love both granita and sorbet but have never tried a lime version.
March 16th, 2011 at 9:12 pm
Take good care, and I so agree, we don’t really appreciate ourselves until something goes haywire. Hope this finds you feeling much better.
Lime, in all forms, is simply so refreshing. I’ve never eaten a lovely granita, but it’s only because I’ve never had the opportunity. My little ice cream machine needs for me to make this, especially since this recipe is now winding itself around my brain like a song I can’t stop singing.
March 16th, 2011 at 11:14 pm
I like lime – but I’m a chilly person and freezing stuff doesn’t really appeal (yes I’m a rare person who doesn’t really like ice-cream!) but my daughter will love this recipe. It sounds so easy to make and fresh to eat.
Hope you are fully recovered.
March 17th, 2011 at 3:48 am
Glad you’re on the mend. Nothing worse than being away from home and in pain. Well — I’m sure there are worse things but it has to be up there on the list. I once had a lower back spasm (had never had one before) on vacation while in Maine. Misery in a hotel room is such fun. Trying to find a store that sells heating pads in the middle of the night in a strange town is also great fun…
I too love lime. Fresh and fruity!
Thanks for the recipe and the list ;)
March 17th, 2011 at 9:34 am
Too bad about your pain! Next time, you should also check out a chiropractor. They can work wonders on pain like that!
March 17th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
The lime sorbet looks fantastic. My boys like popsicles, so I’m going to try them as pops without the alcohol.
March 19th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
i, I love your blog ! Can you please recommend some good and affordable ice cream maker for me? Thank you.
March 21st, 2011 at 7:05 am
Limes!!!!!!!!!! Even more bracing than lemons.
March 21st, 2011 at 8:38 am
Ohh I love this sorbet recipe. It looks so refreshing.
March 25th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Man! All of you are talking about grapefruit sorbet! I never even THOUGHT of that! :)
Ellie – I have a little citrus zester that does one long strand. I peel it off carefully in one little piece then I wrap it around a chopstick and slide it off, keeping it curled.
Jill – ha ha! After all that you’ve been through, the thought of you with a martini during a pedi is just awesome :)
Nicole – thanks, and I totally feel ya. xo
alice – it doesn’t take long – just an hour or so (I guess it depends on your freezer).
Nan – oh yes, we’ve had our fair share of sick and on travel (overseas even better! and in non-english speaking country for more excitement!)
Truclinh – I only have experience with my Cuisinart ice cream maker. It was $40 ten years ago and works like a charm.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:08 pm
I stumbled upon this recipe and it looks absolutely delicious. I’m currently in the process of making it right now, and I cant wait to try it. When I made the simple syrup I actually steeped cilantro in it for an added Latin flare, I am hoping that it comes out just as delicious as your recipe has.
February 21st, 2013 at 11:03 am
what kind of ice cream machine do you have? I tried making a similar sorbet and it didn’t freeze (it just turned into a slushie) and i wondered why….
February 26th, 2013 at 11:29 am
Lauren – I use a Cuisinart ice cream maker. My sorbets only get slushy in the ice cream maker, then you put them in the freezer to firm up.