Icing it down

My son sent me a link about "awesomeness"...thought it was right up my alley. It is. I love it and love finding it in the world.

I love stories about personal "empowerment"...how one person took her/his passion, added a lot of persistence and pluck and got the "dream" out of the clouds and into real life. That is one of the reasons I promote the personal care line I do here, aside from the fact it is luscious and without harmful chemicals, it is also the story of one young woman, one dream...awesomeness. Love it.

Now, imagine this...it is 103 in the shade and here comes a story about one woman, one dream and ice cream!!! And, this particular gal is from Ohio, too...my birthplace! Why...sheer delight! How could there be a more fitting story for this sultry Friday? While I lived in Cleveland, there was an "old-fashioned" ice cream store, The Penguin. Oh my...the flavors...simple but robust...no nonsense coffee, butter pecan, mint chocolate chip, lemon, blackberry...all custard-based and hand-cranked. Just delicious. Can still taste them.

Here is the cookbook that caught my eye and once I read the story about Jeni...I was hooked. I guess she has been on several daytime shows recently. I have only watched Rachel Ray once, when one of my son's partners was on, and so I had never heard of her. What a story!!!!!! And, as legendary as her tale is, her ice creams are legends of their own. So fun. So awesome. Icing on the cake for this Friday. 

Here is a great sounding recipe...perfect for July...that mixes up watermelon and lemonade! For more on Jeni, check out her fun website ice cream and OMG...you can even order online!!!

Watermelon and Lemonade Sorbet (Jeni Britton Bauer)

1 small to medium watermelon
1/2 cup lemon juice (from 2-3 lemons)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Prep: Cut enough watermelon flesh into 2-inch cubes to make about 4 cups. Puree melon in a food processor. Measure out 2 1/2 cups of puree and transfer to a medium bowl. Reserve the rest of the watermelon for another use (Penny's note: how about tossing in a shake or freezing into ice cubes?) Measure out the remaining ingredients. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Cook: Combine the lemon juice, sugar and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.

Chill: Whisk the lemon syrup into pureed watermelon. Pour mixture into a 1 gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Freeze:  Pour the sorbet base into the frozen canister of an ice cream maker and spin just until it is the consistency of very softly whipped cream. Pack into a storage container, adding a few watermelon seeds if you wish. Press a sheet of parchment paper directly onto the surface of the sorbet and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze until firm in your freezer, about 4 hours. Makes 1 quart.