A Heat Wave, A Watermelon and Some Time on my Hands

This weekend was bloody hot with temperatures hovering around 100 degrees. Lucky for me,  I had a watermelon sitting on the counter looking for something to do.  I could, of course, just cut it open and eaten it.  That would have been too practical and healthy.  Instead, a business colleague of mine was in town, visiting his sister who was celebrating her 50^th year as a Salesian Nun (Wow!) so I decided to break out the Cuisinart Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker (a ‘red’ beauty snagged by my husband Irv for $2 last year at a Catholic School Rummage Sale – I just realized the Catholic connection here as I am writing this – karma) and make sorbet.  Perhaps I gilded the lily too much, but instead of simple Watermelon Sorbet (last year’s attempt ended up all over the ceiling after I opened the blender lid while it was running – I think I still see the pink dots up there), but…

Watermelon-Jersey Strawberries with Sea Salt and Pepper Sorbet

1 ¼ cup sugar

1 ½ cup water

3 cups fresh watermelon puree

3 cups strawberry puree

Juice of one lime

Sea Salt and Coarse Ground Pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the sugar is dissolved completely.  Set aside to cool.

Put watermelon chunks in a blender or food processor (keep the lid on!).  Pulse to chop the watermelon and process until it is completely pureed.  Press the watermelon through a strainer to remove the seeds and extra pulp.  Aim for three cups of strained watermelon puree.  Put strawberries (fresh or frozen, I had some local strawberries that I had frozen) in a blender or food processor.  Pulse to puree the strawberries and process until completely pureed.  Aim for three cups.   Combine the purees with the juice of one lonely, soon to be happily married lime and cooled sugar syrup.  Chill in refrigerator for one hour or many more.  Pour into the freezer bowl of your hopefully bought-at-a-yard-sale ice cream maker and whirr away.  Add sea salt and coarsely ground pepper as it is whirring and making all kinds of noise.  Eat right out of the freezer compartment or put the sorbet directly into a container (better yet, a snagged - unused please - Whole Foods take out soup container) and freeze.  Serve when the temperature is too hot to sit outside, but you still want to sit outside because it is summer.  Nobody complained about the sorbet (just the weather).   Enjoy!