Bee Tree Farm

My sister’s an amazing cook, although “cook” is a limited description of her skill.  She started baking when we were very young, back when the family held an annual garage sale each summer before taking a road trip up to New Mexico.  Since proceeds from the sale went into our pockets for spending money on the vacation, she learned to maximize the opportunity and always baked a batch of cookies the night before, selling cookies alongside the old house things we displayed on tables in the front yard.  Her specialty then was snickerdoodles which I still remember being the tastiest snickerdoodles in the world.  Since then she’s expanded her repertoire a bit and actually attended pastry school in San Francisco.  This means she’s mastered the sort of breads and pastries you expect to find displayed in bins and racks at French bakeries, and we’re all fairly spoiled by her talent.  So it’s a rare (and exciting) opportunity when she passes something along so easy that even I can’t destroy it.  This is the most decadent frozen treat you can whip up with only three ingredients (the salt hardly counts and the porch isn’t essential).

It’s important to note here that I’m extremely biased when it comes to citrus desserts.  I’ll grab a lemon bar over a brownie and key lime pie over chocolate cake at every chance, so this might not be for everyone.  But if it’s hot where you are, I guarantee this light little treat will air condition your insides in the most pleasant way.  Drop a few spoonfuls in a spare mason jar and eat it slowly on the front porch.

Front Porch Sorbet

Sorbet is usually made with egg whites but this recipe calls for plain old milk so it’s a little icy, a little creamy, a little tart, a little sweet.  Can you handle it?

What

– 2 cups milk.  I used raw, whole goat milk for obvious reasons.

– 3/4 cup sugar

– 1/2 cup key lime juice – or lemon juice – or regular lime juice!  Grapefruit juice?  Ok, now you’re just getting crazy.

-small pinch of salt

-Your front porch (not required but highly recommended)

How

Combine the sugar, pinch of salt, and citrus juice in a small pot and heat on the stove.  Stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved and starts to become syrupy.  Let it cool slightly so it’s warm to the touch but not scorching.  Add the milk and stir so all of the syrup is incorporated.  The milk will curdle slightly because of the acid in the citrus – that’s ok!  Keep going!  The cold milk should cool things down enough that it can go immediately into an ice cream maker.  If it’s still warm, put the pot into the fridge until cool to the touch.   Once cool, add to the ice cream maker and turn it on, following your ice cream maker’s instructions.  I let mine run for about 35 minutes until it firmed up.  Once it becomes slightly thick, pour into a container and pop it into the freezer.  Or just pour it straight into a mason jar, grab a spoon, and eat it on the front porch.  If you don’t have a front porch, then it’s worth inviting yourself to the home of someone who does.  Bring enough of this to share, and they won’t even notice you’re there.