When my father went through chemo he lost weight as if it were falling off him. The chemo dulled his appetite to the point that he didn't want to eat anything. I'd imagine George is experiencing something like this: He probably just can't bring himself to eat right now. It has nothing to do with what his priorities "ought" to be. If I were Leone (hi, Leone!) I'd be "into" anything that helps George put the weight back on. Those sorbet and ice cream experiments sound fab to me. Wouldn't mind having a sample of all of them right now! Karen

I had some of the ice cream with my lunch today, and the ice cream was quite hard, and so perhaps I did not add enough rum or Grand Marnier. Tastewise, I don't think it needed more rum, and in fact the flavors were very balanced - not too sweet and not too tart. Because I used the strawberry juice, it came out like strawberry ice cream with tiny pineapple chunks, and it does look pretty - pink with yellow polka dots. I wish I had made a pure pineapple flavor, but as a combination flavor it is still very good, but I would prefer to taste the pineapple more intensely. I might make a similar recipe and use pineapple juice/syrup instead of strawberry juice, but if I use the juice, I think I would have to cook it a bit with some sugar, and I would have to do that by taste. I might just break down and use canned pineapple - that would save much of the work, and I think it tastes okay - especially in ice cream. The fresh pineapple does bring back memories of Mexico, however. Lars

Tishtosh, I may try the Saveur pistachio recipe, although to me it seems to have a bit too much sugar, and so I might cut back by 1/8 cup to start. I will NOT be discarding the pistachios after I strain them out - they make a very nice snack by themselves, and they are expensive anyway. They still have more flavor than blanched hazelnuts. I have no problem with hard hazelnuts - after they are toasted they are a bit softer than when raw anyway. I like the crunch, and I chop them fairly small in a nut grinder (which I've had for a while) before adding them to my ice cream. I have considered omitting them in my ice cream, but I like it a lot better with them. When I make strawberry ice cream, I use no eggs, but otherwise I do prefer eggs in ice cream. However, I will try the pistachio gelato with no cream and no eggs, but I probably will not try the recipe that requires pistachio paste, unless I decide to make the paste myself. I do not want all the extra ingredients in the paste, and it is not easy to find anyway. If I happen to see it, I will buy it anyway, but I have not seen any on line that I would want to order. Butter is one ingredient that I will never use in ice cream, and butter pecan is one flavor that I simply cannot swallow. I could sauté nuts in walnut oil instead, and that may help. I love pecans but generally do not put them in ice cream, although I do occasionally use almonds, and I toast those as well, although I do buy them already blanched. I use pecan in a lot of other desserts, but not ice cream. My sister loves butter pecan, but she has very different taste from me. I will also make the ginger ice cream, although I have never tasted any. I also have never tasted rhubarb, and so I do not know what that is like! I think ginger ice cream would be very refreshing - I might try to find some to try before I make it.

Interesting, Sooz, about the frozen berries and color. I can imagine how that would do it. Writersblock, you've inspired me! I would want it to taste like dark brown sugar to be worth giving up pretty pink for, and I've worked enough with organic raw sugar to know it will go beige and not have enough of a punch. ... But! White sugar and just enough black molasses to give it that brown sugar taste might work. That's as a ribbon. If it stays as a ribbon, the ice cream would still be pretty pink. It might need to be reduced first. This is sounding interesting. :) Thanks, again, Sooz!