Strawberry + Mint Sorbet

I don't know about you all, but my lil ol' container garden is doing quite well. So well, in fact, that i have mint for days. Seriously. This is why you keep mint contained. It's taking off in this summer heat. I'm completely fine with this; however, I need to use it up!

I recently bought the book "The Ice Creamery Cookbook" by Shelly Kaldunski. You guys! It's amazing! I cannot say enough about this book. If you love making ice cream- go get it. Now.

This is not a sponsored post, by the way. Shelly, amazon, none of them know me. All this is just me telling you about a book I like.

Shelly was kind enough to write in a recipe that would use up a lot of my mint. Thanks, Shelly!

I altered the recipe slightly based on the ingredients I had available... but this turned out delicious. Here's how I made the sorbet, based on the recipe in the book linked above:

Hull and half or quarter 3 cups of strawberries. In a large bowl, combine the strawberries with 2/3 cup of sugar and 2 Tbs chopped, fresh mint. Stir and let this mixture sit for 30 minutes.

Once the strawberries have released their juices and all of the sugar is dissolved, use a blender or food processor to puree the mixture until smooth. I still had flecks of mint leaves in mine. But I think it looks pretty so...

Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and mix according to the manufacturers directions. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for at least 2 hours.

Use some mint leaves for a garnish (because surely you've got a few sprigs to spare) and enjoy!

Friday Favorite: Fizzy Refresher

Summer is coming to an end. My oldest goes back to school next week. Next. Week. Whaaaa?

That means that it's time to get back into our school routine (read: wake up early, go to bed at a decent hour, etc). It's also time to cram everything we haven't gotten around to doing this summer into the next 7 days.

With all the schedule changes and running around added to our normal activities, I need a pick me up in the afternoon. I confess I have reached for a Pepsi once or twice... buuuut I've also discovered this little treat I'm going to share with you today.

This post is not sponsored in any way. All opinions are my own. Starbucks and Soda Stream have no idea who I am.

You all know I'm all about the Soda Stream now, well I've also mentioned that I love Starbucks Refreshers. Now I'm combining my two obsessions! A fizzy refresher hits the spot and gives me a subtle caffeine boost in the afternoon. It's very satisfying.

All you do is make a liter of soda water in the Soda Stream. Then add in one packet of your favorite refresher flavor. I only do one packet even though the mixing instructions call for 2 packets per liter. It's less sugar my way and I like the flavor.

This isn't a super sweet drink, but it really hits the spot! I highly recommend giving it a try.

Friday Favorite: Fruit Infuser Water Bottle

Woo! Happy August everyone!

We are back on the blog and ready to share some fun stuff with you all!

Since today's Friday, I have a "favorite" to share with you. I discovered this wonderful infuser water bottle last month!

I posted back in June that I was trying to drink more water. I have also been experimenting with soda water + fruit. This handy water bottle is great for this purpose! There are a lot of infuser water bottles but I picked this one because I liked the straw and I could pick my fav color- orange!

Btw, this post isn't sponsored by anyone- just my humble opinion.

So I've been trying all sorts of fruit combos. When I was taking these pics I was using peaches + blueberries + mint leaves. It was delish.

I love the infuser. It keeps all the fruit together so the straw doesn't mush it around. I can use the same fruit for 2 days (I keep it refrigerated or on ice at all times) and there's no pulp or gross stringy stuff at the bottom of the bottle.

So far, my fav combo is strawberry + raspberry + mint. It is soooo good.

 It's so refreshing to have fruity water on hand. And it makes using soda water for a different flavor easy peasy too!

Let me know if you have a fav fruit + water combo- I'd love to try it!!