Strawberry sorbet to celebrate summer

Last week my daughter and I bought an ice cream maker. At home, she has the kind that uses ice and salt -- the semi old fashioned kind -- it does run on electricity. While she was visiting, we bought a freezer with a gel bowl. When it's not in use, it can be stored in the deep freezer so we can pull it out and make soft serve ice cream or sorbet at a moments' notice.

In our desire to make a desert that tastes good but is high in nutrients and lower in fat, we decided not to use milk, but frozen fruit, nuts and dates, instead. The pomegranate juice is a healthy alternative and the nuts add creaminess. The frozen strawberries are really good in this tasty treat and I like seeing the flecks of fruit in the mixture. The xanthan gum (we used Bob's Red Mill) makes the mixture very creamy. It is expensive but will last for quite a while.

It takes between twenty and forty minutes to make the sorbet and it gets hard enough. We certainly liked it and the texture was wonderful.

We like the convenience of the gel ice cream maker. It is easier than the ice and salt machines. The only drawback is that it doesn't make as much as I am used to making. The truth is that we really need to east less and if you don't have so much ice cream, you won't eat so much. I think we can turn that in to a positive.

Creamy Strawberry Sorbet

2 cups pomegranate juice or other high-antioxidant juice
1/2 to 1 cup walnuts (high in omega 3)
8 medjool dates or 1/2 cup packed dates
2 cups frozen strawberries
1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum or guar gum (optional)

Blend first three ingredients in a high-powered blender until very smooth. Add xanthum gum. Add 1 cup strawberries, one at a time, blending until smooth. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to your model's instruction booklet. Freeze the leftovers in a small air-tight container. Let soften or soften in microwave 10 to 30 seconds before serving.