Homemade Frozen Yogurt with Blackberry Sauce

Happy National Ice Cream Day! Just who designates these fun 'holidays', who knows, but the good news is, making frozen yogurt at home is so easy, so tasty, no holiday or special occasion is required to churn up a fast batch.

It takes all of two ingredients - Greek yogurt and sugar - plus a little vanilla for anyone who's inspired that way but there's a special tang to yogurt that deserves its day (a holiday?!) in the sunshine.

The recipe for blackberry sauce, too, is extraordinarily simple, only three ingredients, coaxing the flavor out of the perfect berries showing up now at the farmers market.

ALANNA's TIPS No access to Greek yogurt? No problem though a little more time will be needed. Greek yogurt is especially thick and tangy but a close approximation can be achieved just by straining regular yogurt. For three cups of strained yogurt, start with six cups of regular yogurt. Line a colander with a couple layers of cheesecloth, then scoop in the yogurt. Draw up the cheesecloth to gently squeeze and also cover the yogurt. Place the colander over a large container and refrigerate until all the liquid has leeched out. In my experience, this takes several hours, usually overnight. Especially during the summer, my Cuisinart ice cream maker gets a regular workout. I'm testing variations of other simple ice cream and sorbet recipes, so if anyone's tempted to invest in an ice cream processor, now's a good time! The first berries turn soft and sweet after macerating so long. Adding the second berries just before serving lets them sweeten slightly but hold their shape. I like this technique because it mixes both soft and whole berries.