I've been having some of those days where it feels like I am moving in slow motion while the world spins around me at full speed. Thoughts are more jumbled and reflexes are in vacation mode and my general person is just…slow moving.

To be perfectly honest, these sorts of days irritate me, but perhaps it is my body's way of reminding me to just chill for a little bit.

Coffee Granita with Almond Milk {Pedantic Foodie}

I'm going to try listening and see what happens. I relax with slushie iced coffees, salted caramels, and magazines, but you should find your own happy place and sit there for a bit. It's a good exercise in not letting life pass you by, and one that I definitely need to put into practice.

This recipe is barely a recipe. Mostly you just make coffee, freeze it, and pour some wonderfully earthy almond milk over it. This is definitely a Friday kind of treat.

This is granita. She's your new best friend. She's strong, bold, and icy, and she is the secret to making the very best iced coffee and your new Summer morning poison.

She begins as most good things do, with coffee. Pick your poison, it's entirely up to your personal taste. I prefer a bold, dark roast.

After you have brewed your coffee, sweeten it with a bit of sugar and let the freezer take over.

You'll have to go check on it every so often and scrape the ice crystals down from the sides of the pan.

In a couple of hours you'll be ready to make your drink.

Fill your glass halfway with granita and top with a slash of almond milk before giving it a good stir.

If you'd prefer to eat this like shaved ice you could go light on the milk but I wanted to drink mine.

The granita melts quickly and flavors the almond milk while leaving behind tiny frozen shavings of bold, icy coffee. It's too good.

I think I would be more than happy to have this as a dessert.

Happy Friday friends!

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

Coffee Granita with Almond Milk

serves 4

4 cups boiling water
6 tablespoons ground coffee
1/3 cup granulated sugar
unsweetened almond milk, about 2 cups

Place the coffee ground in the bottom of your french press* and top with boiling water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before plunging.

Pour brewed coffee into a 9x11 freezer safe pan. Place in the freezer and allow to sit for one hour, then use a fork to scrape the ice crystals down from the sides of the pan and into the center. This will prevent the coffee from freezing into one giant ice cube! Do this every hour until all the coffee is icy, about 4-6 hours depending on your freezer.

When you are ready to serve, fill your glass half-way with granita and then top with almond milk. Enjoy!

*You can brew your coffee anyway you please, the french press is my personal favorite because I like my coffee to be really bold in this application, but whatever you normally use for your brew will be just fine.

You can certainly keep this granita in the freezer for several days, just cover with a piece of parchment paper. The granita will freeze completely so make sure you allow it to sit out for 15-20 minutes and then use a fork to shave the ice. It will break up fairly easily.

You know that friend that eats ALL of your black jelly beans? But, you don’t really mind, as long as he steers clear of all your buttered-popcorn ones. Everyone stands around the bowl of corn syrup-based confections and turns over their unwanted black beans to the guy in the corner who’s having the best day of his life.

I’m not that guy. I’m not even that girl. I’m not a huge advocate of licorice flavor. So, when I took my first taste of the thai basil that was growing in my herb garden, I was deeply disappointed.

“This does not taste like summer. This does not belong in my pesto. This does not make me happy.” Thus, I resolved to avoid the herb-disguised leaves of anise flavor.

Thai basil is very unlike the traditional basil you would normally use to make pesto, as it closely matches the flavor of anise. Very strong, herby, anise. It wasn’t the taste that I minded, it was more the disappointment of my Italian basil expectations. After some thought I considered that, perhaps, I hadn’t given this herb a fair shot. I had used it as I would have used normal basil and it could by no means compare. But in fact, it wasn’t supposed to. Thai basil has its job and Italian basil has its - I was judging based on expectations. Forgive me herbs, it won’t happen again.

My final resolve was to mingle these green leaves with sugar and sweet berries - what could go wrong. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I saw this precious herb for what it really was. And, what it really was happened to be pretty fantastic.

If you cannot find this herb at your local mega mart, check around the plant nurseries. This version of basil is becoming almost as popular as its cousin.

The anise-like flavor is a perfect complement to blackberries and a super refreshing summer treat.

Don’t judge your herbs.

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

Blackberry and Thai Basil Granita

serves 6

-12 ounces fresh blackberries

-1/2 cup thai basil (roughly chopped)

-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

-1 1/2 cups water

In a small saucepan combine water and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium high heat until sugar has completely dissolved.

In the work bowl of your food processor combine berries and basil; pulse until smooth. Add sugar syrup and pulse to combine.

Pour the granita base into a 8x8 glass pan and move into the freezer. Freeze for 1 hour then use a fork to brush ice crystals from the sides of the pan. Return to freezer for 20 minutes before *raking with a fork again. Continue this process for 1 1/2 hours, fully frozen into crystals. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

* the “raking”method gives the granita an icy texture and prevents it from turning into a solid block.