Nirvana. In a bowl.

Sometimes, here in the South, it gets hot.  And sometimes, a girl wants to feel lovely and domestic and accomplished.  To address both these issues, on Saturday we made homemade sorbet.  

Strawberry-Studded Mango Sorbet, to be precise.  Oh my.  Seriously?  It was better than anything I've ever tasted.  

Which is not the say the experience wasn't full of mishaps and hilarity--oh, it was.  Let's just say that we do not own an ice-cream maker, and had to resort to ziploc bags filled with ice and salt, wrapped in dish towels, that required much shaking and kneading and resulted in several giggle breakdowns.  But it was worth it.  

This

topped with this

equals the most amazing dish of sorbet.  Ever.  Hence the name: Nirvana in a bowl.

Strawberry-Studded Mango Sorbet

1. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 pint chopped strawberries in a bowl.  Toss well and refrigerate until ready to use.
   
2. In small saucepan, combine 1 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar.  Bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute.  Remove from heat and cool 30 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and chill in refrigerator for 2 hours.
3. Place 2 chopped peeled mangoes in a food processor and puree.  Add in sugar water mixture (above) and 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice.
4. Transfer mix to freezer can of ice cream maker and freeze according to directions.  OR be like us (and without an ice cream maker): place 1-2 cups of mango puree mix into a sandwich sized ziploc baggie.  Place inside a second ziploc baggie.  Fill a larger ziploc with ice and salt and place the mango baggie inside.  Wrap in a towel (so your hands don't freeze).  Shake, knead, jiggle, whatever, for approx. 15-20 minutes, until you can tell the mix is starting to freeze.  You can either eat the sorbet now in it's deliciously soft-textured state or place in a tupperware to continue to harden.  Either way, don't forget to spoon your cut strawberries and sugar syrup on the top!

I know it seems like a lot of work and very lengthy, but I am telling you: NIRVANA.  Who wants to pass that up?