No Cheat Summer Treat

I've been making sorbet and ice cream for a while so I'm not quite sure why I felt the burning need to post this recipe now. Maybe it's because I've been making it for a while and just found a recipe that I'm over the moon about. It came out so crazy good that I had to post it on all of my social media which was basically a dessert tease so now I'm sharing. I usually like to give credit for things I see on Pinterest or the internet. I saw this one on Facebook but it was shared on my husband's page and I couldn't find it again. If this one belongs to you, send me a message and I'll gladly give you credit.

This is the recipe for Honeydew Sorbet and it's so easy to make it's criminal not to. It also seems silly that I even need to explain how to make it. It's that simple. This will definitely be my go to dessert for the summer since it's guilt free. Although, if you're feeling the need for some sugar in your life (no judgment here, we've all been there) I have been known to throw a little Redi-Whip on top. Don't tell anyone.

The first step is to head to the store and pick out some honeydew melon. I will be the first to admit I stood next to the stack of melons at the grocery store and sheepishly pulled out my iPhone to ask Siri how to tell if a honeydew is ripe. Completely lame, I know, but I didn't care. I wanted my sorbet to be perfect. Fortunately for me, the produce guy happened to walk by just as I was firing up Siri. After shaking his head and laughing at me, he came over and showed me how to do it. Apparently, when you place the tips of your fingers on the melon there is a slight "sticky" consistency to the melon when it's ripe. It's subtle but it's there. The fingers don't slide off easily they ever so slightly "stick." Also, he said you want it a little yellow on the outside (not too green). If there

are any mushy spots on the outside or if you shake the melon and hear the seeds slush around on the inside then it's too ripe and not good. I got one of those and the flavor wasn't as strong. The number of melons you need depends on how many people you're planning to treat. I bought three and it made enough to feed about 15 people. Since I only have a family of five, I would only buy one next time or two since I could have polished off three bowls by myself. Remember...no guilt.

While you're at the store grab a lemon and some honey. I have a lemon tree in my backyard and already had some honey at home so this was a pretty cheap dessert for me. The last ingredient is water. Honeydew melon, lemon, honey and water. The first thing you need to do is cut up the melon into ice cube sized chunks and lay them out on a cookie sheet. They need to go into the freezer for 4-6 hours. I left mine in over night because I'm not the greatest about timing out my recipes and forgot to get it in the freezer in time for dessert that same night.

The next part is debatable. My husband wanted to use the Cuisenart, which is what the recipe we saw online called for, and I wanted to use the VitaMix. I'm obsessed with my VitaMix. Any blender that can serve perfectly chilled ice cream right out of the blender and bubbling hot soup right out of the blender is perfection in my eyes. We couldn't manage to come to an agreement on this part and since we're both mildly competitive, I used the VitaMix and he used the Cuisenart food processor. Either way, the process is the same. Put in a bunch of the melon, squeeze in a little lemon juice and a little honey and then add some water. I don't have exact amounts here as we saw it on Facebook and then couldn't find it again. I will tell you that I didn't use a lot of lemon. I had one slice that lasted to make all the batches since I was just giving each batch a small squeeze. The honey is up to you. I felt like honeydew is already pretty sweet and didn't want to overdo it here so I did maybe a tablespoon in each batch. We had so much melon that it took about 3 batches in the Cuisenart and 2 batches in the blender to use up all of the melon. The water will be up to you as well but since the melon is frozen you will need a decent amount of water to keep the blades from clogging. Don't be afraid to use too much. The consistency of the sorbet is firm but slushy. You will need to put it into a container, or containers depending on how many melons you are using, and then freeze it for an hour before serving.

I'm going to give you a few safety tips based on my experience making sorbet over the past few years and making this sorbet in particular. I know I started this post by saying this is super simple to make and I still stand by that, however, I'm assuming you are a newbie to making sorbet in your blender so I'm going to give you tips based on my being a newbie to this method as well. If you're using your VitaMix blender you need to fill the blender about 3/4 of the way with the frozen melon and then add about 2 cups of water to make sure the blades don't get stuck. Also, use the plastic stamper thing that comes with it to keep pushing the frozen chunks into the blade. Don't be afraid to manhandle it a little, it's a sturdy machine! If you're using the food processor you need to fill about half way with frozen chunks and add enough water to keep the blade going. The food processor took longer because the blade isn't as strong as the VitaMix so my husband had to work with it more to get all of the chunks out. I declared myself the winner of that debate as my VitaMix beat his Cuisenart hands down. Both came out yummy, though, so either method will do the trick. The last tip I will give you goes back to timing which we all know is not my strength. The recipe calls for putting it in the freezer for an hour before serving. I left mine overnight which made it a solid block of ice. Still doable after leaving on the counter to thaw for a while. My safety tip for making any kind of sorbet like this is to make and serve. Don't try to make a lot to have for days. It's better when you follow the directions and just make enough to eat it all. Fine by me, as previously mentioned, I'm okay eating until it's all gone!