Lavender Pom-Berry Sorbet

2 cups fresh or frozen/defrosted blackberries, coarsely chopped

1½ cups water

1¼ cups pure bottled pomegranate-blueberry juice, plus more as needed

6 tablespoons sugar

½ cup clover honey, plus more as needed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh culinary lavender spikes (bloom heads) or 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender buds

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

Thoroughly stir together the blackberries, water, pomegranate-blueberry juice, sugar and honey in a medium nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring. Adjust the heat so the mixture boils gently, and cook until the berries are soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the lavender and lime juice, then remove from the heat.

Taste, and thoroughly stir in a little more honey, as needed. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour (fresh lavender will infuse much more quickly than dried buds). Taste; if the lavender flavor is pronounced enough, strain the mixture through a sieve into a 4-cup measure. Press down with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. For more intense lavender flavor, refrigerate, tasting occasionally, for up to 3 hours before straining. Stir enough additional pomegranate-blueberry juice into the measure to yield a generous 3¾ cups.

Refrigerate, covered, until well chilled. Pre-chill a storage container to hold the finished sorbet. Process the mixture in an ice cream maker following the manufacturer's directions. Immediately put the sorbet in the chilled freezer container and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour, before serving. Freeze for up to 2 weeks.

Make 8 servings (1 quart)

Nutrition | Per ½-cup serving: 140 calories, 0 g protein, 37 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 34 g sugar

From cookbook author Nancy Baggett