Watermelon Sorbet

Our friends welcomed twins into the world this past spring. It goes without saying, but I’ll say it–those kids are adorable. From the beginning, our friends dove into parenting with the sense of responsibility and wonder that strikes committed moms and dads. Stockton and I can only imagine what it feels like to care for babies that are breastfed every three hours with burping, diaper changes, and playtime in between. Sleep takes a backseat.

They took us up on our offer to visit Mayberry last weekend. We cleaned up the house, went grocery shopping and prepared the guest room, anything we could think of to make the time here more relaxing for them. I menu planned, mindful of a diabetic diet and a dairy allergy. I wanted to offer a dessert, so I searched and found a good choice: watermelon sorbet.

In the morning before our friends arrived with the twins and dogs in tow, I prepared a simple syrup on the stove top. While it cooled, I commandeered a watermelon into small chunks, the juice spreading over my cutting board in pink waves. I tossed the fruit into my food processor along with freshly squeezed lime juice and blended it into a smooth mixture. I pressed it through a sieve and added the simple syrup to create the sorbet base. A sugary scent filled the air.

Now, the recipe called for the base to be poured into a shallow baking pan and placed in the freezer. I know myself well. I was not going to be moving and lowering any pan of sloshing stickiness into my freezer drawer, especially not with my low vision. I strategized. Bolstering it by a layer of paper towels, I placed an empty baking pan in my freezer drawer. I poured the base into the pan where it sat, less of a mess. The liquid shined like rubies in the sun as I eased the drawer closed. Every thirty minutes, I returned to stir up the formed ice crystals, hearing crackles as my knife swirled.

Later, I transferred the frozen delight into a bowl with a cookie scoop and placed it back into the freezer. After we finished eating dinner, I set chilled dishes onto the table and offered the dessert. We tasted the bright sorbet. We munched along and things got quiet around the table. We inhaled most of it, a crowd pleaser, a symbol of how refreshing it was to spend time with friends.

Have you made any desserts lately? Tell me about it. I’m always looking for more cooking and baking ideas.

I used this watermelon sorbet recipe.

 

 

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