I know, I know. Why am I wasting time talking about a garnish. Come summer, when the deck is sunny and people are milling about and the water in the bay is sparkling like a freshly cut diamond, you are going to add one of these frozen blood orange slices to a glass of lemonade, a vodka lemonade or simply a glass of water. People are going to go, “ohhhh, ahhhh, this looks amazing”. The flavor of the blood orange isn’t that different, but it does have a berry like tang and the color is simply ravishing. I also love the color variation from orange to orange.
Blood oranges are only available mid-January to mid-March. I know you aren’t thinking of summertime entertaining right now, but maybe that’s when we should be. I start freezing slices the minute I see them in the stores. I found these the other night at Trader Joe’s (love me my Trader Joe’s). I line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay the slices down in a single layer. A quick visit to the freezer and then I store them in Ziploc bags. They last beautifully. If you love a Negroni, picture a blood orange slice in that rosy potion.
I used to make them into ice cubes immediately, but that took so much storage space. I now wait for the weather to improve a bit and I’ll just pop a few slices into the glass with, dare I say, naked ice cubes. This works equally well with Washington Bing cherries. They also have such a short season. Use the same parchment paper technique with pitted cherries. Your Old Fashioned will bless you for frozen cherries. Come summer, I will make up a couple of ice cube trays of both cherries and orange slices, just to be ready for an impromptu party. Ah, look at that color! Enjoy.
and remember: Every night I look up at the freckled sky and fall in love with the Universe all over again. I will be counting the stars for the rest of my life. Big kiss, Lynn (God, but I love words!)
From the Recipe Box 