EAT DRINK LIVE

AND THE WINNER IS....

It couldn't have been much closer but the winner of HHDD#13 is the very deserving Lynn @ Cafe Lynnylu with her jewel bright Blackberry-Lemon Verbena Sorbet. Lynn should be receiving a perfect scoop of David Lebovitz in the not too distant future and will be hosting the next round of Hay Hay Donna Day, it's up to 14 now, so keep an eye on her blog for her choice of theme. I will be waiting with breath that is bated.

I've had a great time hosting this round and again thanks to everyone who contributed, I've found a host of new blogs to become addicted to!   

HAY HAY IT'S DONNA'S SUMMER ROUND-UP!

Just over a month ago I asked you to send me sorbets and in return I offered you David Lebovitz, not the man himself (unfortunately) but his highly desirable book The Perfect Scoop. I had a feeling that some of you may have already succumbed to his charms and judging by the amount of entries that originated from the book I was right! Entries have come from the US, UK, Canada, Singapore, Estonia, Philippines, Sweden, Turkey, Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia, and so many fruits, alcohol and chocolate have been put to inspiring use. So, let's see if we can do this thing before I catch cold.

                                                          

First one out of the gate was Brooke at Bear Necessities with her beautiful Milk & honey lavender sorbet she even threw in Lavender and Almond biscotti to tempt us even further.

                                                          

Edward over at Wino-Sapien takes that relaxing glass of wine in the garden to a whole other level with his sophisticated White wine sorbet.

                                                          

Arfi @ Homemades is heading for winter at home in New Zealand but she still came up with this tropical Pineapple Sorbet that just oozes summer.

                                                          

Sabrina @ Yumsugar stopped drooling over David long enough to make us a Strawberry Sorbet, it's up to us if we want to add the basil!

                                                          

Ulrike @Kuchenlatein is used the event as an excuse to buy an ice-cream machine but we'll take the blame this once as she sent us this beautiful Lime-Mint Sorbet complete with ice-bowl.

                                                          

Founder of this whole event Barbara @ Winos & Foodies remains on top HHDD form and graces us with her elegant Persimmon Sorbet

                                                         

Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy enters this Watermelon Sorbetto from David Lebovitz's Perfect Scoop. It's perfect for this event, but as she already has David in her kitchen I guess she will be looking for a baking book!

                                                       

Monica the Pastry Princess made a Vanilla Yogurt Sorbet with a gorgeous Peach & Blueberry crumble to (ahem) accompany it.

Sandi @ Whistlestopcooking didn't let the lack of an ice-cream machine stop her from answering the call and her Raspberry Sorbet is certainly up for the challenge.

Jenny @ All Things Edible wasn't entirely happy with her Dorie Chocolate Sorbet (though her children devoured it!) but as it's going to inspire her to experiment some more I don't think we should be too worried. I know I want to dive in.

                                                       

Anita @ Dessert First just about managed to get her beautiful creation of a Nectarine Sherbet into these cones to take this beautiful picture for us. She was tempted to just eat it straight out of the ice-cream machine!

                                                       

Chef Kevin Weeks loves this Buttermilk Sherbet so much that he dug it out of his archives to share with us. While the recipe was originally posted last year, he makes it on a regular basis and felt it would get us drooling for HHDD.

                                                       

Pam @ Backyard Pizzeria actually went to the same school as my (perhaps unlikely) hero Nick Cave. Already keeping me happy with some insight as to what he was like as a rebellious school-kid she keeps all of us grown-ups happy with her incredibly refreshing Gin & Tonic Sorbet.

                                                       

Deborah @ Taste and Tell is now an even bigger fan of David after making his Chocolate-Coconut Sorbet. I'm not sure I could really blame her, I myself have been known to enjoy chocolate occasionally.

                                                       

Brilynn @ Jumbo Empanadas sacrified her precious ripe fruit, all in an attempt to get a hold of Mr. Lebovitz with her Strawberry-Mango-Ginger Sorbet.

Cenk of Cafe Fernando is based in Istanbul and along with his other delectable experiments he gives us this vibrant  Campari & Orange Sorbet to keep us cool on hot summer nights (should we be lucky enough to have one!)

                                                       

Anita @ Married with Dinner is getting very busy with her Perfect Scoop making not one but two recipes from it... in one post! The one especially for our pleasure is this Peach Sorbet a variation on an apricot sorbet.

                                                       

Melody @ Fruit Tart is going for a layered look with her Mango Nutmeg Strawberry Key Lime Sorbet. Phew, served on a pineapple slice that's three of our five-a-day!

                                                         

Former HHDD queen and purveyor of all things sweet Helene @ Tartlette couldn't decide which of her three sorbets to choose so she picked all of them and smushed them all together in her Lemon Apricot Raspberry Sorbet! 

                                                         

Lynne @ Cafe Lynnlu has me pining for the blackberries on my blackberry bush. They're not ripe yet but as soon as they are this is one of the first things I'll be making - Blackberry Lemon-Verbena Sorbet

                                                         

Jef @ My Food Geek may not know who Donna Hay is but that doesn't stop him getting into the swing of things with his Pineapple Sorbet made a little more grown-up by a good dash of rum.

                                                         

Pille on her appropriately titled blog Nami-Nami continues her experiments in hibiscus and, taking part in her first ever HHDD, brings us her glorious red  Hibiscus Strawberry Sorbet.

                                                         

I don't know if Myriam @ Once Upon a Tart has had better luck with the weather in Switzerland than we've had in Ireland but her entry of two sorbets - this delicious Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet and a mascarpone sorbet - make the rain that little bit easier to bear.

Kelly @ Sass & Veracity is another girl who doesn't like to choose, and why should she when she can send us this beautiful Trio of Tropical Sorbets. And yes you are seeing stars!

                                                       

Kristen @ Dine and Dish gives us five reasons why she felt the need to make this Pear & Apple Sorbet, she had me at "who needs an excuse?"

                                                       

Decision time again but this time Eunice @ Lemon Almond cheekily left it up to me to choose between her inspiring Mangosteen Sorbet and refreshing Malibu Orange Sorbet. As she had gotten her homework in on time all the way from Singapore I'll give you the photo of one and you can peruse them both at your leisure.

Alison from Melbourne Food Tales is on her second HHDD and urges us to lick the bowl when trying her Banana Brown sugar and Sour-Cream Ice. No problem there. Not quite a sorbet, not quite an ice-cream, it's a good compromise when some twit in the northern hemisphere demands frozen desserts in the middle of your winter.

Canadian blogger Dayna @ Vegan Visitor on the other hand has the perfect weather for sorbet and was more than happy to send us this so pretty Ginger-Rose Sorbet.

                                                       

Inne @ Vanille & Chocolat spotted Donna Hays sorbet and ice-cream recipes in this months Living Etc.. I was thrilled when I got my own copy as it was as if the inpiration for this event was taking part. Inne was inspired by the article to create her beautifully presented  Passionfruit Slush.

                                                       

Preferring her indulgence witha side of decadence KJ @ A Cracking Good Egg was converted to sorbets when she discovered a recipe for this vibrant  Raspberry & Banana Sorbet.

Smita @ Smitaservesyouright  put herself in the hands of her fridge, fortunately for us she was inspired to create this picture perfect Pineapple Chardonnay Sorbet.

                                                       

Nigel Slater has Devra @ Puucooks heart (as well as my own) and he just got a stronger hold on it with this recipe for Orange Yogurt Ice,  making Devra's enviable summer Sunday taste  that little bit sweeter.

                                                       

Another first-timer Anne @ Annes Food  squeezes in under the wire with an impossibly red Strawberry-Vanilla Sorbet with Lime, looking forward to her future entries.

                                                       

Virtual Frolic seems to have a bit of a strawberry fetish going on over on her blog, but we'll join in with her if she will just leave us a little taste of her Passionfruit Strawberry Sorbet.

                                                         

Joey @ 80 Breakfasts is determined to give us a deafening wake up call this morning with her stunning Donna Hay Espresso Granita.

Julie @ Persnickity Palate has been on a churning mission since the weather warmed up in her neck of the woods, her offerings for us include a deep magenta sour cherry sorbet and this Pina-Colada Sorbet which won her husband over to the joys of this tropical drink.

                                                         

And last, but she could never possibly be least Lisa @ La Mia Cucina rounds-up our round-up with her rose adorned Gingered Pear Sorbet. A classic marriage of flavours I'm sending her the bill for a replacement laptop, as mine didn't survive my Homeresque drooling!

                                                         

That's it, thank you to everyone who contributed, I was afraid I would be left crying into my sorbet all alone! If anyones links aren't working let me know and I'll fix it. Pick your favourite (rather you than me!) and send your votes to me at eatdrinklive[AT]gmail[DOT]com and I'll post the winner next Sunday July 22nd.

 

FIGURE EIGHT.

I've been tagged for the "8 random thoughts" meme that has been bouncing back and forth across blogsville recently and although this is not something I would normally be comfortable taking part in, the person who tagged me is Katie @ Other Peoples Food. As she had just sent me my beautifully wrapped HHDD#12 prize above, in the post, I felt it would be churlish to refuse. A lot of people have included their cars amongst their random thoughts, so I figure thats as good a place to start as any.

1. My first car was a red 1973 Volkswagen Beetle which I loved dearly until some twit in a VW Golf ran a red light and rear-ended me, shunting me into the VW Golf in front of me. The gardai found the bug sandwiched between two Golfs highly amusing. Me, not so much.

2. My second car was a petrol-blue 1966 Volkswagen Beetle, sometimes known as Uzi due to the random arrangement of registration letters rather than it's ability to discharge live ammunition at high speed (or drive at high speed for that matter). I also loved this car dearly despite it's engine going on fire in the depths of the Kerry Gaeltacht two weeks after I bought it. Both the car and I survived.

3. I'm a dog person, of the big shaggy variety but I've been won over by a terrier or two in my time.

4. I'm also a book person. I just finished Let Me Eat Cake by Paul Arnott , I'm in the middle of reading Julius Winsome by Gerard Donovan  as slowly as possible because it's 224 pages I never want to end, and I'm dipping in and out of The Spice Route by John Keay. As only two out of three of these books are food related you can see I am a well rounded person.

5. I've seen Nick Cave live about 14 times, the highlight being him playing beside a lake in the beautiful grounds of an old house in West Cork.

6. I would like to be more well travelled but whenever I have a few days off I somehow always end up sitting either in Dingle eating ice-cream, or in the Place des Vosges eating macarons.

7. I would also like to be more aware of whats happening in the world but I tend to rely on the Sunday Times and The Daily Show to educate me.

8. My favourite quote is by Groucho Marx "Outside of a dog a book is a mans best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read" That pretty much sums me up (see thoughts 3 and 4 above).

There you go, 8 random things you never knew you didn't want to know about me.

HAY HAY WHERE'S MY SORBET?!

There's one week left to go before the HHDD#13 round-up so I need your sorbet recipes asap! Whether you're basking in the summer sun, heading for a northern-hemisphere winter, or in need of something to remind you that yes, it is supposed to be summer- get churning, get beating, get freezing - whatever you need to do, just make sure I know about it!

Here's a recap on the details you need to enter:

You need to make and post your recipes by the 8th July remembering to send me an e-mail at eatdrinklive[AT]gmail[DOT]com with the following details:

1. Your name
2. What country you live in
3. Your blog name and URL
4. The name of your post and a permalink to the post

On the 15th July I will (attempt) to post the round-up and voting can begin. Voting closes on the 22nd July and I will announce the winner and the new host!

I'm waiting!

HAY HAY IT'S DONNA'S SUMMER DAY!

                         

You may have noticed a brief return to my tooting my own horn at the beginning of my last post when I was too impatient to wait to tell you that I had won Hay Hay Donna Day #12 as hosted by the lovely Katie at Other Peoples Food. A brief history as to what this is all about first - HHDD is a chinese whisper style event started by Barbara back in October 2005. Barbara whispered Self-frosting Cupcakes out into the ether and it has since travelled around the world being heard as fritters, cheesecakes and mousse to name a few. Katie heard Caesar Salad and I answered with these. Now, it is up to me to figure out what comes next and thanks to our beautiful weather, the only thing I seem to be able to hear is sorbet. So, there you have it, that's the theme for HHDD #13.

Those who know me well no doubt expected me to choose something baked... and drowned in chocolate. But I'm hoping that sorbet will appeal to those of us in the northern hemisphere who don't feel like turning on their ovens and to our southern hemisphere friends, (Donna Hay is Australian after all) it can be a fond farewell to summer as you head for winter.

You don't have to have an ice-cream maker, you can choose whatever flavour (or combination of flavours) you like, sweet, savoury, dairy-free, fat-free, it's up to you. Below is a basic sorbet recipe from Donna Hays Modern Classics 2 to get you started (I chose mango flavour). Your incentive, if you REALLY need one, is David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop which I thought might be appropriate. I know that half the blogosphere have been posting recipes from this book so if you already have it don't be put off taking part as there is an alternative in the The Bakers Dozen Cookbook. Don't want that one either? Just come and raid my cookbook shelves why don't you?!

The nitty gritty is that you need to make and post your recipes by the 8th July remembering to send me an e-mail at eatdrinklive[AT]gmail[DOT]com with the following details:

1. Your name
2. What country you live in
3. Your blog name and URL
4. The name of your post and a permalink to the post

On the 15th July I will (attempt) to post the round-up and voting can begin. Voting closes on the 22nd July and I will announce the winner and the new host!

Thanks again to Barbara and Katie for their help so far and I hope you are inspired to get freezing!

DONNA HAY'S BASIC SORBET with variations

• 3/4 cup 150g caster (superfine) sugar
• 1 cup 240ml water
• fruit puree of your choice (see below)

1. To make the basic syrup, place the sugar and water in a saucepan over a low heat and stir without boiling until sugar is dissolved.
2. Increase the heat and bring to the boil for one minute. Set aside to cool. While the syrup is cooling, prepare one of the fruit variations below.
3. Combine the fruit puree and sugar syrup, place in an ice-cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions or the instructions below for a thick and scoopable sorbet. If you don't have an ice-cream maker, place the fruit and syrup mixture in a metal bowl or cake tin, cover and freeze for an hour or until just beginning to set at the edge. Beat with an electric hand whisk and return to the freezer. Repeat three times at hourly intervals or until the sorbet is thick and smooth.

Variations:

1. For a Raspberry Sorbet, add 1 3/4 cup strained raspberry puree (700g fresh or frozen raspberries) and 1/4 cup (60 ml) lime juice to the cooled basic sorbet syrup and continue with step 3.
2. For a Peach Sorbet, combine 2 1/2 cups strained peach puree (6 peaches or 900g chopped peach flesh) and 1/3 cup (80ml) lemon juice to the cooled basic sorbet syrup and continue with step 3.
3. For a Mango Sorbet, combine 2 1/2 cups mango puree (4 x 400g mangoes or 950g chopped mango flesh) and 1/2 cup (120ml) lime juice to the cooled basic sorbet syrup and continue with step 3.
4. For a Strawberry Sorbet, add 2 1/2 cups strained strawberry puree (850g fresh strawberries) and 1/2 cup (120ml) lime juice to the cooled basic sorbet syrup and continue with step 3.

Serves 4-6