by Megan Winfrey

Fall has officially arrived, in our CSA boxes as well as in the cool breezes we've enjoyed this week. Hasn't it been amazing? My recipe for this week spans the seasonal gap and will give you one last taste of summer. So simple and refreshing, this will surely become one of your favorite ways to use your melon bounty until the actual end of the season (which we know can take awhile in Texas). There are tons of different combinations to experiment with such as cantaloupe and honey, watermelon and lime, honeydew and jasmine, the list goes on and on! So have fun with this one, and know you're not getting the added sugar of the store bought stuff.

Honeydew Mint Sorbet

• 1 honeydew melon
• 1 cup mint simple syrup
• 1/4 cup packed fresh mint leaves
• Juice of 1 lemon

For simple syrup:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cup packed fresh mint (stems ok)

 

Cut the melon in half, scoop out the seeds, and cut away the rind. Dice the flesh into 1" pieces and lay out evenly on a sheet pan. Freeze for 1 hour and up to 6.

Prepare the mint simple syrup by adding the water and sugar to a sauce pan. Roughly chop the mint, add to the saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let cook for 2 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, then strain into a clean bowl using a fine mesh strainer. Press down on the mint to release as much liquid as possible. Leftovers of this simple syrup will stay fresh for 2 weeks in the fridge, in a sealed container.

In a high powered blender or ice cream machine, combine the frozen melon, mint syrup, fresh mint leaves, and lemon juice. Blend on high until completely smooth. Pour into an airtight glass container and freeze until solid. Eat within the week for best results!



** I added about 1/4 cup of water to the blender in order to get everything smooth, and I shouldn't have. My final product was a bit ice-y and the flavor became somewhat muted. It was also difficult to scoop and I couldn't get pretty round scoops like I'd wanted. It is still DELICIOUS and I've mostly been sharing it with my toddler and making fizzy cocktails with it. Next time instead of water, I'll add more simple syrup, more lemon juice, or another fresh fruit juice.

**BONUS RECIPE**

That's a lot of green on those plates! Photo by Kate Tynan.

After Heydon's super informative blog post on Asian greens last week, I feel compelled to share the simplest, most delicious salad with y'all. It's a real crowd pleaser and literally has 5 ingredients - lemon, olive oil, salt, fresh grated parmesan, and greens. My friend made a GIANT bowl of this salad at her recent birthday celebration. Not one leaf went uneaten and I heard nearly every single person mention how utterly delicious it was. I know right, how can such a simple salad be so good? It's because it allows the flavor of the greens to really shine through. I wouldn't make this salad with iceberg, but pick any of the Asian greens JBG is offering and you'll be good to go.

I like to mix a bag of arugula with a bag of the braising mix - which consists of red mustard, green mustard, tatsoi, and Chinese cabbage - in a huge bowl, add the other ingredients to taste, and consume the entire thing in one sitting. Now that's getting your greens!