Watermelon-Strawberry Mint Sorbet, or Momo's Frozen Mash-up

In honor of Mother's Day, I decided to try making something that I think my mother would like. So I took a few of her favorite things - watermelons, strawberries, lemons, and mint - and went mush. :)

Here's what I came up with:

Watermelon-Strawberry Mint Sorbet, or Momo's Frozen Mash-up
(Serves many momos)

juice of 1 lemon, about 2 Tbsp
~1/3 cup date sugar (I used a little less, because that was all I had left)
1 cup pureed, frozen strawberries (5 large strawberries, frozen, then pureed)
4 cups pureed, chilled watermelon
2/3 cup water
~1 Tbsp minced mint (I used the awesome mix of mints that my parents grow at home and dried for me - see picture below - but any mint will do.)

In a food processor, puree frozen strawberries, then set aside in a large bowl. Without cleaning out the processor, puree the watermelon and add that to the bowl with the strawberries. Add lemon juice. Stir until all mixed up. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to chill.

Pour water, sugar, and mint into a small saucepan and set over low heat. The date sugar takes longer to break down than normal sugar - one of the good and bad things about it. It took me about 20 minutes before it finally melted completely, which worked out quite nicely as the mint had really saturated the sugar with its oils by then and smelled heavenly!

(Looks a bit like soup, doesn't it? But nope - it's date sugar water and mint!)

Set to medium heat and let boil for 1 minute. Then pour through a wire-mesh sieve into a heat-safe bowl and mash with the round side of a spoon until nothing else will go through. Save the remaining non-liquid date/mint mixture for later. Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge. Set a timer for ~1 hour. It can stay in longer if you want. I don't think an hour or two will make much difference at this stage.

When you come back after at least an hour, pour the liquid sugar/mint mixture into the strawberry/watermelon mush and stir until well combined.

Pour this into a metal pan (about 8x8 should do), cover with plastic wrap, and place in the freezer for 4-8 hours. Scoop all the frozen fruit and sugar out, run it through your food processor until it's chopped up, and pour it back in the metal pan again. Freeze again. In 2-4 hours, it should be crisp, cold, and delicious. Although you may need to let it thaw a bit before serving.

Now if you want to make it extra delicious - take the leftover mint and date sugar mash and stir it thoroughly with ~1 tbsp of fine balsamic vinegar. I used FINI, which if you haven't heard of it is one of the yummiest balsamics around. [I thought of it because it's awesome when drizzled over fresh strawberries.]

The slight sour builds on the sweet and makes it a savory delight on the tongue. Just a little goes a long way. With or without the balsamic, this treat makes a delightful light dessert or a refreshing palate cleanser. Enjoy! And Happy Mother's Day, Momo! Go on, have a peace. :)