Honeydew Sorbet

File this one under the "Perfect Dissertation Desserts" heading. My current dissertation-writing diet consists of foods that take minimal amounts of time to prepare but are maximally flavorful--and healthy and seasonal enough to make me feel virtuous for actually not eating horribly while thesising!

This honeydew melon sorbet was first inspired by my craving for nostalgic, childhood summer treats that I had while spending sticky, hot summer months in tropical Asia as a kid. For some reason, I don't see honeydew-flavored desserts in the States very often, but it's quite a popular dessert flavor in Taiwan (and elsewhere around that area, I suppose). So I set off to create my own. The trick to a really good melon sorbet is to start with a really fantastic melon--look for ones that feel heavy for their size and that smell quite fragrant. (It helps to have a good nose. :)) Then, the little surprise ingredient in this particular sorbet that adds that extra oomph is two spoonfuls of condensed milk, which provides just a soupçon of creaminess to the sorbet so that it doesn't feel like you're just eating fruit ice. (My apologies for the French. Dissertating has a way of bringing out the most obnoxious sesquipedalian inclinations in all of us.)

When I had my music trio over for rehearsal recently, I ended up serving the honeydew sorbet in a Taiwan-summertime-dessert-inspired trio with almond jelly and a Yakult granita (you know, because trios have to have dessert trios.... #metadessertcommentary), but the sorbet makes for a perfectly satisfying end to a quick summer dinner on its own, too.

Okay, crawling back into my cave of thesis-ing now....


(P.S. A quick reminder, for those of you who follow this blog via rss feed on Google Reader, Google Reader is going away come July, so please do make sure you transfer your feeds to another reader. So far, I've been trying out Feedly: find dfb on Feedly here.)

Read on for recipe....

Ambrosia Mojito Popsicles + Pomegranate Hibiscus Strawberry Popsicles

My house has been officially hit by the popsicle craze.  I kid you not.  As I type, there are five different flavors/types of popsicles sitting snugly in my freezer.  I just don't know how to stop.  Even though we've had one of the mildest (read: not hot) summers on record here whilst the rest of the country is broiling in summer heat, I've been addicted to popsicles.  Then, when I remembered how ridiculously easy and simple they are to make, I've basically wanted to put all of my foods into frozen-on-a-stick form.  Thankfully, I haven't yet gotten to the savory foods, but I think my trusty roommate may put her foot down before I reach that level of pop-driven insanity.

Today I have for you two types of those five flavors of popsicles currently inhabiting my freezer: ambrosia mojito popsicles and pomegranate hibiscus strawberry popsicles.  Both of these are basically the purest incarnation of the popsicle form: fruit or fruit juice blended with a tiny bit of sugar and water.  So simple and yet so refreshingly good.  And none of that ice cream-making, egg yolk churning fuss--just freeze and forget!  (My kind of dessert/meal when I'm terribly busy with non-food stuff, as has been the case for the past few weeks.)

You know that it's melon season when you can't escape a grocery store or farmers' market without catching a strong whiff of the sickly sweet juices from all the melons that are piling up.  More so than in past years, I've been noticing this season an upswing in all of the different types of melons in the markets--it's as if the heirloom craze in tomatoes has caught on in melons!  For instance, as I was stumbling about the local farmers' market searching for cantaloupes for this popsicle, I came across ambrosia, which the seller informed me are just like cantaloupe in their orange flesh and spider-webby rinds but are actually slightly sweeter.  Hence, ambrosia mojito popsicles!  (though if you can't find ambrosia, cantaloupes should do just fine.)

I really liked how these popsicles turned out, with layers of pure ambrosia puree and lime and mint juice.  I didn't add anything to the ambrosia flesh at all, choosing instead to let the unchanged flavor of the fruit shine through.  For sweetness, the middle lime and mint layer provides all of the sugar you might need in a dessert, and it's so satisfying to lick both layers at once, getting the balance of fruity flavors, tart lime, and minty sweetness.

The pomegranate, hibiscus, and strawberry popsicles came about when the lovely people at POM Wonderful sent me a case of pomegranate juice to play around with!  (the grad student in me was very excited about free food. ;-P)  Of course, given my current ice-pop state of mind (can Alicia Keys please write a song about that for me?), the first thing I had to do was freeze pomegranate juice.

As a contrast to the ambrosia mojito popsicles, I really wanted to emphasize the darkness of the pomegranate juice in these pops, so they are spiked with earthy and robust hibiscus juice, made from dried hibiscus blossoms, giving them an even richer and darker flavor.  Then, buried inside are small pieces of fresh strawberries, just to give the popsicle a bit of textural surprise and to take full advantage of the fast-disappearing summer berries.  Don't you just love how these popsicles are this luscious deep red?  I can assure you that they taste as juicy as they look!

Anyways, this has been sort of a long post, so I think I'll stop here and go see if I can't make a dent in those popsicles sitting in my fridge...  (So I can make more, duh. ;-P)

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[full disclosure: POM Wonderful did send me a case of POM juice for free, but I wouldn't post about it here unless I actually love the stuff, which I totally do. In fact, their teas make up most of my study brain food.  I guzzle the stuff whenever I have papers to write (which, given my profession, is basically all the time), and all of my glassware at home is old POM tea glasses from when their teas first came out and came in these awesome reusable glasses.

Make sure to check out some of my other pomegranate recipes!]


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