Watermelon Communion

Summer is here.

I’m sure you know by now that summer is definitely my least favorite time of the year. I really don’t do well in hot weather and it’s one of the main reasons I’ve remained far north of my home state of Texas.

However, the “Texan” in me still adores one thing that summer brings:

Watermelon

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve gone nuts over watermelon. To me, there are fewer things as exciting as hearing that big, heavy fruit split open. . . crraaack!. . . and seeing it’s juicy, coral-red flesh laid before you in twin ovals.

My grandmother, “Budgie”, probably had a lot to do with my love of the Southern delicacy. She would let out a squeal of delight every time a watermelon was laid open. Also, Budgie and I could polish off an amazing amount of our favorite fruit. We would hack open a 30 pound melon, laugh, and ask the rest of the family, “Now, what are y’all going to have?”

Eating a watermelon with my Budgie became a sacrament in which we’d partake for over forty years.

We shared our last earthly watermelon together in 2001 when she was 91 years old. Since then, she’s always with me whenever I crack one open.

I’ve recently discovered the most incredible way of eating watermelon and that is to make watermelon sorbet.

Last week, I bought my first melon of the season. Now, with the marvels of genetic engineering, seedless watermelons are about the best way to go. The watermelon scientists have figured out how to make them incredibly sweet now.

Every time I cut one up, I think, “If only Budgie could see this now.” I even got a little misty-eyed over it the other night.

Anyway, I know Budgie would love my watermelon sorbet (She loved sherbet and I can still remember her having a big bowl of it while we all watched Mary Tyler Moore.)

Here’s how you make watermelon sorbet:

Dice up a seedless watermelon into 1-inch chunks and freeze them.

Fill the bowl of a food processor about one-third full of frozen watermelon (any more than that and it’ll have a difficult time of it).

Squeeze in the juice of one lime

Add three packets of Equal

And let ‘er rip.

Warning: Frozen headaches are easy to come by. And this stuff is addictive.

I cannot think of a better way to beat the heat of summer.

And to commune with my Budgie.