Strawberry Fields, er Sorbet Forever

Now, I'm definitely blaming my good friend Rosie Hawthorne for this one. After reading her blog post about making home made ice cream, I just had to dig out my ice cream maker and run to the store for the fixin's for strawberry sorbet. Well, first of all, I had to find a new recipe for strawberry sorbet, because we had decided that the recipe I had made last year to be entirely too sweet for our tastes. Finally I found this one and decide to try it. Now I could run off to the grocery store.

First I make the simple syrup: 1 cup sugar in 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and heat for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside.

These are the rest of the ingredients: lemons, an orange and 1 quart fresh strawberries.

Juice the lemons and the orange so that you have 1/3 cup each of lemon and orange juice.

Clean and cut the strawberries.

In a food processor or blender, puree the strawberries until smooth.

I chose to do this extra step in order to remove many of the seeds from the strawberries. Use a rounded spoon, such as a serving ladle to press the puree through a sieve. Remember to wipe the outside of the sieve with a spatula to get all the fruity goodness.

This is a step that takes a bit of patience and muscle, but the results will be worth it.

Back to the simple syrup: add the lemon and orange juices.

Then add the strained strawberry puree.

Mix and place in the refrigerator to cool for 2 hours.

Meanwhile, the ice cream maker's freezer bowl has been in the freezer for the past 24 hours.

Now, despite what some Food Network hosts may tell you, do not pour anything into the freezer bowl until after you have turned the machine on. Doing otherwise may damage the machine.

After about 1/2 hour, the sorbet is finished.

It is at a soft-serve consistency right now. If you prefer your sorbet to be firmer, cover and place in the freezer for an hour or so.

Dessert is served! And this recipe is a keeper. The sweetness of the strawberries is nicely tempered by the addition of the citrus juices, rounding out the flavors of the sorbet. I win!