Strawberry Sherbet

I am always too enthusiastic when it comes to buying fresh summer strawberries. They just look so dang good in the market, and I pile them into my cart with reckless abandon. But strawberries are fragile little things, and before I have been able to eat my way through the giant strawberry pile they start looking a little peaked. (I love that word, peaked. I just looked it up to make sure I had the definition absolutely correct, and it means "weak and wan." It reminds me of books like The Secret Garden.)

Anyway, this recipe is the answer to peaked strawberries. When they start to get a little weak and wan and sad and dried-looking, it's time to spring into action and make this absolutely mouthwatering silky smooth dessert, and all you need are the berries, a few other assorted ingredients, your food processor and your freezer. No need to haul out the ice cream maker.

Here's all you need to do. Cut the stems and any really suspicious looking areas off your sad strawberries. If you have any really big berries, cut them in half, and then put them all in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and freeze them solid. Once they are frozen, you drop them in the food processor with a little vanilla yogurt, some strawberry jam and a little bit of sugar. I like this brand of jam in the strawberry variety (although I have been known to fudge it if I have something in the red variety of jam that doesn't precisely fit the recipe.)

Press the button. About 60 seconds later, you will have this:

Creamy, sweet and delicious. Bring on those berries!

Strawberry Sherbet

• 1 pint ripe strawberries, tops cut off
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt, any variety
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
• 1 tablespoon sugar

1. Lay berries on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Freeze until solid.

2. Place berries and all remaining ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. You may have to stop the processor and scrape the sides a few times to make sure all the frozen berries are processed.

3. Serve at once. It is amazing with a little fresh grated lemon peel on top, if you have any handy.

Click here for printable recipe