Prickly Pear Granita

I have prickles, spikes and burny things on my mind today. Last night, my son discovered a large scorpion skulking (with intent, I imagined) in my dog's food bowl. I thought we might see the odd critter in our new garden - which is tucked up against a mountain - but I hadn't figured on scorpions, and am going to think twice now about walking barefoot in the garden at night. Then, this morning, I was alarmed when my husband complained that he was burning and itching all over: had - shudder - a scorpion burrowed into the bedclothes? Then I remembered that yesterday my daughter had - in the interests of science, you understand - 'tested' my canister of pepper spray . I'd laughed it off, and told her to wipe up any residue. 'What did you clean up the mess with?' I asked her now, the penny slowly dropping. 'With dad's bath towel!' she yelled.

Finally, scratching in the fridge for breakfast, I found a big bag of prickly pears I'd bought a few days ago and forgotten about. They were the last thing I wanted to touch, feeling as creepy and crawly as I did, but I am just smitten by this most beautiful and refreshing fruit (see my earlier post) so I put on a pair of gloves and turned them into a granita. This is a delicate ice with an ethereal flavour: so easy to make and perfect for a hot day.