Black Tea & Blackberry Sorbet

Down the winding gravel road that leads to my home there’s a large spray of wild blackberry bushes. They are brambly things, completely overgrown, not taken care of by anyone in particular, free for the taking.



Each year we do lots of blackberry picking. Sometimes it’s all of us, a family affair, other times not. This time around it was my sister & I, and two of our sweet dogs. They followed us there and sniffed around a bit before seeing a deer and running off after it. Sarah & I walked to the patch around dusk, as it’s far too hot in the middle of the day, even with the fading light we were sweating up a storm, but despite that and getting all scratched up from the briars, it’s totally worth it! Fresh berries! For free!



I wanted to try something new with them this year, I was originally going to make a plain blackberry sorbet, but then I thought of this. We’re combining two of my favorite things, berries and sweet tea! It’s oh so good, super refreshing and so perfect for summer. I can already see this becoming a staple for these hot months.



The vodka used here is to keep the sorbet from freezing into a solid mass. It keeps is scoopable! Also, sometimes tea gets bitter if it’s steeped too long. taste yours, if it is, add a pinch of baking soda!



Black Tea-Blackberry Sorbet

2 cups water
2 regular tea bags
1 cup sugar
3 cups fresh or frozen blackberries, if frozen, let thaw completely
1 tbs vodka
2 tbs lemon juice

Bring water to a rolling boil. Remove from heat, add tea bags and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Remove tea bags, add sugar and heat until the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool completely.

Puree blackberries in a food processor, then push through mesh sieve to remove seeds. Add vodka and lemon juice. Add to tea, then pour back through sieve.

Process the mixture in an ice cream maker, according to manufacturers instructions.

Cherry Pomegranate Sorbet

Summer. I love you, I do. I spend the last days of winter dreaming about your warmth, every single year. I love your long days, your wonderful light, your abundance of fresh fruit and veggies. You have plenty of things going for you, but there are a few things I’d like to discuss. Namely, your sweltering heat. Your oppressive humidity. What’s with that? Could we at least do something about the humidity? It makes me want to sit in the air conditioning, avoid turning on the oven at all costs and eat nothing but cold things.

Which, actually, isn’t really that bad, now that I think about it. It leads to tasty things like this cherry pomegranate sorbet. So thanks for that, Summer.



A while ago the lovely folks at Pom Wonderful sent me a whole bunch of their yummy pomegranate juice, the moment I opened up the package I knew what I wanted to make - pom sorbet. But then my brother and I drank all the juice. Opps!

I still had the pomegranate sorbet on the mind though, so I purchased some more, this time their cherry pomegranate juice. I had cherries in the fridge and I’ve been loving them so much lately, the idea of cherry pomegranate sorbet sounded too good to pass up.

And oh, honey, it is good. So good. Like I could eat the every day for the rest of my life good. It’s sweet, but the flavors of the cherry and pomegranate just shine through. Please, make this ASAP. Even if it’s winter where you live. This sorbet transcends seasons.



Cherry Pomegranate Sorbet

This recipe makes 1 quart - the vodka is the secret ingredient. It keeps it from freezing into a solid, impenetrable mass. You don’t taste it at all!

1⁄2 cup sugar

3 cups pomegranate juice
1 cup water
2 tablespoons vodka
3/4 cup sweet cherries, chopped

Place sugar, 1 cup water, and pomegranate juice in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well chilled. Add vodka.

Process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. After 10 minutes in ice cream maker, add cherries.