I love living in Los Angeles. I really do. I am also a born and raised Pacific Northwesterner. I was born outside Seattle, Washington, and I plan to move to Portland, Oregon next summer when I leave L.A. But. I am deeply in love with both halves of the West Coast. This is high treason to a lot of folks at home, and I realize that. But I do not apologize. What I CAN do, however, is offer a recipe to gain back my favor with the NW. Right now, Washington and Oregon are having a record-breaking heat wave. It feels sort of terrible to be away from home during a record-breaking summer, you know? I don't WANT to be in 104 degree heat, because that's really hot and it would be hard for my brain to wrap around that much heat at home. In China, Phoenix, or the San Fernando Valley, yes. In Kirkland or Portland? No. But, it's where I grew up and I want to be able to say I was there that summer.
SO. While I am basking in "always 75 with no mountain snow," (name that tune!) I offer up a delicious, uber-refreshing sorbet for beating the heat.
WATERMELON! Trivia about watermelon: they are 92% water by weight.
I'm really into trivia.
For the recipe I decided on, I first offer BIG UPS to Laura, who is a burgeoning locavore and my bestest bestie. She is living proof L.A. is not the barren awful desert everyone thinks it is. The basil used in this recipe was grown and harvested in her beautiful home herb garden. Note: be best friends with people who grow food. That is all. Anyway, check out her site and be inspired to grow your own food. She's just a 20something grad student, and SHE can find time to do it. You can do it, too!
On to the recipe for Laura and Katie's Watermelon Basil Sorbet.
-9 cups watermelon (this was not even half of the watermelon we had, so you'll probably at LEAST double the recipe.)
-2 cups sugar
-2 cups water
-1 tbsp basil (I would recommend a little more than this. maybe 1.5)
--Make a syrup by putting the sugar and water together in a pan on the stove. Bring to a boil, set aside.
--Puree the watermelon and basil (for which I used my OTHER birthday present, my new food processor!) Here is a picture of how exciting that was to me.
Here's a silly picture that I don't know where else to put:
--Add the syrup to the watermelon puree. Like so.
It occurs to me that it looks like Hunter is adding his BEER to the puree, not the syrup. I would not recommend doing this, although Ben and Jerry's does have a beer ice cream. You think I'm kidding? You just wait. One week I will do nothing but alcoholic recipes, (oh yes, there are multiple.) and then we'll see who's laughing. Drunkenly. In the kitchen. While handling sharp food processor parts. Hm. Where were we?
--Add the puree/syrup mixer to the ice cream maker.
--Run for 35 minutes, or until the consistency you want is reached.
--EAT.
What's cooler than being cool?
Ice cold.
Last weekend I decided to take the ice cream maker on a test drive, with classic French Vanilla ice cream. Now, I am friends with all manner of inspiring hippie types that make their own ice cream with a hand-cranked barrel, or by rolling a barrel with ice and cream back and forth until the ice cream is made. This means that I am already starting this project feeling preeeetty lazy. BUT. I am energetic and cute. Forgiven? Great. Let's move forward. (N.B: did you know Clint Eastwood does not say "Action" when he is directing? He says "And....moving forward....") 
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