Strawberry-Buttermilk Gelato

I bought an ice cream maker for my KitchenAid mixer some years ago, but I haven't gotten much use out of it. Back when I was in college I made mint chocolate chip ice cream, and vanilla ice cream, and one time I even made jalapeno ice cream. Since my jalapeno attempt (which was a joke, by the way, for a friend's birthday) the ice cream attachment to my KitchenAid has just been chilling (quite literally) in my freezer.

I watched Letters to Juliet recently, starring Amanda Seyfried. The movie was a romantic chick flick, based in Italy. Amanda played the role of Sophie, a woman on a pre-wedding trip to Italy with her fiancee. While in Italy she learns about a wall where women write letters to Juliet, from the ever-loved story of Romeo and Juliet. Sophie finds a group of women known as Juliet's secretaries and finds herself swept up in the romance of it all.

Watch it for yourself to see what I mean.

Sophie enjoys gelato in the movie and I can't deny how jealous I was when watching. I'm not only jealous of the gelato, but I want to go to Italy so bad and enjoy all the food.

I brought a little bit of it into my house when I made this gelato. It definitely could have been creamier, but the flavor is amazing and so refreshing for this 95 degree weather I've been experiencing as of late.

Letters to Juliet was the movie chosen for July's choice for Food 'n Flix. This month's movie and round-up is hosted by Stirring the Pot.

Strawberry-Buttermilk Gelato

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 pints quartered strawberries

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

Directions

1. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour into a large bowl and place in the refrigerator, until cooled completely.

2. Place the strawberries in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add strawberry puree to the simple syrup. Add the buttermilk as well and stir to combine.

3. Pour the strawberry mixture into an ice cream mixer and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.