My cookbook “I Love You” began as a box of recipe cards: a housewarming gift for my sons, inspired by our homegrown traditions and world travel.
Since I don't have a strong sweet tooth, dessert for me is more about being social and having something to share over cards, tea and coffee. A treat for the kids and their friends.
This Watermelon Granita is something beautiful to pull out at a barbecue — either in paper cups or in crystal glasses on a long picnic table outside… the dessert itself is pretty enough.
Not all my dinners end in dessert, but I like to make sure all senses are firing, and a cool treat outside on a hot day is always appreciated.
Serves 4 to 6
6 cups diced seeded watermelon
Juice of 1 lemon
⅓ cup granulated sugar
Combine the watermelon, lemon juice and sugar in a blender and puree on high speed for 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours.
Use a fork to scrape the frozen mixture to create tiny ice crystals. Return to the freezer and continue checking and scraping every 30 minutes or so until the granita is completely frozen as beautiful flaky crystals. Serve in little bowls.
Pamela Anderson, author of “I Love You,” is an actress, activist, and lifelong cook and homemaker. Above all else, she says, being a mother to sons Brandon Thomas Lee and Dylan Jagger Lee has been her greatest source of pride.
Excerpted from “I Love You” by Pamela Anderson. Copyright (copyright) 2024 by Anderson Media Company, LLC. Used with permission of Voracious, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. New York, NY. All rights reserved.
This image released by Voracious shows the cookbook "I Love You" by Pamela Anderson. (Voracious via AP)
This image released by Voracious shows a recipe for watermelon granita from the cookbook "I Love You" by Pamela Anderson. (Ditte Isager/Voracious via AP)
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Here’s the latest:
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States meets its conditions.
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Madison Steigerwald, canvas lead for Michigan United Action, rings a voter's doorbell while canvassing for candidates including Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Darci McConnell, communications director, right, talks to a voter as Madison Steigerwald, canvas lead, left, Kenneth Brooks, canvasser, second from right, watch, while canvassing with Michigan United Action for candidates including Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - National Guard members gather near a large portrait of President Donald Trump on the Labor Department headquarters before the body of Metropolitan Police Department officer Terry Bennett is driven past the Capitol, Jan. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
