Rhubarb, Strawberry and Anise Sorbet

When I think of British summertime strawberries are the first thing that pop into my head; I just love them. Growing up, our next door neighbour grew his own strawberries every year and always brought big bowls of them in for me; ' the strawberry queen ' as he called me. I always try to buy food in season, which means I try to avoid imported strawberries and gorge on British strawberries throughout summer. Another fruity favourite of mine is rhubarb, again this was grown in both our garden and our next door neighbours garden so crumble was often on the menu growing up. During a recent drive, I stopped off at the lovely Church view farm and picked up a gorgeous bunch of rhubarb and a big punnet of strawberries, my summer heaven despite the rain. When I got home, rather than making an obligatory crumble I decided that a sorbet was in order, as the ice cream maker has not been out of the cupboard for a few weeks an there was a little ( short-lived) hint of sunshine on the way.

I love how easy it is to make great ice-cream and it is a great way of using up fruit. I bought an ice-cream maker as a present for Mr Giannasi and it is honestly one of the most used presents I have ever bought, not one of those gadgets that get used once then collect inches of dust in the back of the cupboard. We take turns in making ice-cream and sorbets, each time trying to out do each other and declare that we have made the best yet. Well , with this recipe, we have both agreed that my rhubarb, strawberry and anise is the best so far, it really does taste so good and I haven't been able to resist dipping my spoon in over the last couple of days. I decided to add the anise in for an extra flavour that is light and fragrant without being too over powering and I am really happy with the results.  As this recipe is a very fruity affair , I am entering this in to the  Kavey Eats June bloggers scream for ice cream challenge

Ingredients ( makes 1 litre tub)

2 large stalks of rhubarb, roughly chopped
1/2 punnet of strawberries
Juice from 1/2 lemon
150 ml water
4 star anise
100g golden caster sugar

Method

1.  Simply add all of the ingredients to a pan, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes.
2.  Drain the the mixture, keeping the juice in a separate pan. Remove the anise from the fruit mixture and and blend the fruit into a fine pulp.
3. Add the blended fruit into the drained juice and stir. I gave the mixture an extra sieve once I had mixed with the juice, to get a smoother finish but you could leave the sieving out if you don't mind a sorbet with some ' bits' .
4. Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least 2 hours but I always leave overnight to ensure a smoother ice cream/sorbet, as the cooler the mixture the quicker it comes together in the ice cream maker; meaning less ice crystals forming.
5. Follow instructions for your ice cream maker and there you have a lovely juicy sorbet. If you don't have an ice cream maker simply freeze in a pot and take out to stir every few hours to avoid large ice crystals.

Go Local

Everywhere you look these days there is organic this that and the other, but is organic food really better for us? Don't worry I'm not going to get into that debate here as quite frankly I cannot decide which side of the line I sit. Part of me buys into the fact that organic food can offer good quality, chemical free products that often taste better and are kinder to the environment. The other half, however, cannot help but feel that organic food is something of a foodie trend that can be over hyped, over priced and not always as eco friendly as we think. Ultimately I think it is great that we do have ever increasing options to buy organic food, if the quality and ethos of the product warrant the extra strain on the purse. For me, the fact that we have a greater awareness of what we are putting into our bodies and, on the whole, are eating more fruit and vegetables is something that I think is more important than whether or not the product is organic. I do want to buy products that do not have lots of salt, sugar and preservatives, which both organic and non organic are often guilty of. Personally I am passionate about supporting producers and suppliers that offer food that is both independent and local. I am proud that I have not been in a certain supermarket chain, that is slowly taking over the world, for over 2 years now as I would rather support local shops where every little bit does actually help. That is not to say that I do not shop in supermarkets at all, unfortunately that is too hard for me, but I do try to make smarter choices to where I do buy.

One place that I really do love to shop is Windmill Wholefoods, a small independent based on Aigburth road in Liverpool. Windmill is run by Liverpool Green Cooperative and delivers fresh, organic whole food to Liverpool, stocking fair trade, vegan, organic, vegetarian and ethical products. As well as a great variety of interesting products in store, Windmill provide a local ' veg box ' delivery service, which is great value for money. I have had veg boxes from other companies in the past but found that they could often consist of more style over substance, so I feel better supporting a local business that focus on quality produce rather than great branding. I love picking up my bag from the doorstep and rummaging inside to see what I have for the week and thinking of what I can cook rather than buying the same veg week in week out from a supermarket.

Another great source for local food is the brilliant Big Barn. Big Barn have a great website full of information on where you can buy from your local suppliers and there are some products that can be bought online. As well as being able to search for  great food, Big Barn provide lots of news, thoughts and ideas on how we can all do our little bit to keep it local. It easy to get caught up in the world of the supermarkets, processed food and ready made marvels but it really is easy to make small changes and support our independents. In some areas it is hard to find a good butcher, fishmonger etc but they are about and maybe if we all shopped in them a little bit more then there would be more of them. It is also nice to go for a drive to visit some great farms such as Claremont Farm on the Wirall and Church View Farm in Lydiate plus there are lots of farmers markets popping up all over merseyside, so why not get out and about and give local a go!