Sure-bet Sherbet

A friend gave me a gorgeous cantaloupe and I thought about all the things I wanted to do with it. Usually I would make 2 or 3 different things, including fruit salad, maybe a smoothie, maybe wrap slices in wedges with a little prosciutto… mixed it into a summer salad.

However, we are kicking off a stunning heatwave in Minnesota, so I regrouped under the circumstances and made a frozen version of one of my favorite combinations of fruits – Cantaloupe, Blueberries (both of which are Superfoods) and fresh mint.  This is light on the dairy, but it does use a little heavy cream.

It’s nice to be back food-blogging again after being away for a good part of the past 2 months on travel: I’ve been to Chicago, North Dakota, Washington DC, Idaho, Denver, South America, and I think I’m forgetting one or two places. Michigan at the end of the month. I gathered cattail pollen this year, so if the pollen survived the trip back from the northern plains, that might very well be my next recipe. Here’s how I made the sherbet:

Cantaloupe Sherbet
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch salt
1 cantaloupe (about 2 1/2 pounds), seeds and rind discarded and the flesh chopped (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup frozen blueberries, wild if you have them
1 Tbsp fresh mint, minced or chiffonade

In a blender or food processor purée the first 4 ingredients, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, until it is smooth.  Pour the mixture into an ice-cream freezer and process according to manufacturer instructions, adding now the cream and mint. When the sherbet has frozen, remove to your serving or storage container & scatter and fold-in the blueberries, not over mixing.
Freeze to temper further, or serve at once.