When its hot…..make granita!

Training: Run 3km / Bike 5km

I had all good intentions of hitting the pavement for a run before work this morning. Waking up to somewhat heavy rain quickly put a stop to that. And, expecting both temperatures and humidity to soar throughout the day, I packed my gym bag with a view to completing a treadmill run after work.

It is rare that I will schedule a treadmill run. I find them both monotonous and slow, and a lot less enjoyable than a run outside. But, rather than dwell on the negative, I decided to plan an interval session that would hopefully keep me distracted as the kms ticked past.

I prepared a 45 minute run, but only 5 minutes into it I felt terrible! I don't know whether it was the heat, or whether I am coming down with something, but after 3km I gave up the treadmill, hit the bike for another 10 minutes, then called it a day. I will just have to tackle my 45 minute session another time. A short workout is still better than nothing right??

Mystery Box

After a disappointing training session, I stopped off at the shops to pick up the ingredient I selected from the Mystery Box this morning.

What do you get if you cross a Mystery Box ingredient...

With a whole lot of produce...

With 30C+ temperatures outside??

Why you get Watermelon Granita that's what!

Did you know? Watermelon is thought to have originated in Southern Africa, and there are  more than 1200 varieties.  While watermelons have a 92% water content, they are also a good source of Vitamin C.

And, if you are not a fan of regular oval shaped watermelons, you should head to Japan – where farmers have  found a way to grow cubic watermelons, apparently so they will fit into the fridge better?!

Now I have seen it all ;)

I was really stumped when I drew out this ingredient. I am not the hugest fan of melon, so the idea of a something like a watermelon salad was not that appealing to me. Plus, although I headed to the shops to pick up the watermelon, I didn’t bother to pick up many other items.

But then, as I was sitting in our kitchen, feeling quite sweaty due to the somewhat unusual humidity for Canberra, I had a light bulb moment.

Icy, cold, fruit granita.

Of the watermelon variety.

Chopped watermelon, water, agave and sugar.

Processed until smooth.

Then pushed through a sieve.

Into the fridge to set for a few hours, 'grating' with a fork every half hour or so.

The result?

A delightfully light summer dessert.

The granita was melt in your mouth tasty…

And the watermelon flavour shone through without being overpowering.

A perfect use for a whole batch of watermelon…

And the perfect way to beat the heat at the end of a long day!

Low sugar watermelon granita

This watermelon granita is full of flavour, yet low in sugar (unlike most traditional granitas). It is easy to prepare, and a great light dessert to serve in summer.

• 1/4 watermelon, skin removed, cubed
• 1/6 cup  sugar
• 1/6 cup agave nectar
• 1/3 cup water

1. Heat sugar, agave and water in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. In a food processor, process watermelon and sugar mix until smooth.
3. Press watermelon mixture though a sieve, into a shallow glass dish.
4. Place in freezer to set for 3 to 4 hours, using a fork to ‘shred’ the granita every half an hour or so.
5. Scoop into bowls to serve.

What about you? Are you a fan of watermelon?

Happy Baking :)