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| Melon Drinks Watermelon seems to be everywhere this time of year. It's so juicy and delicious, you can't help but bring one home! Honeydews and cantaloupes are just as inviting. But what do you do with so much melon? Here are some adult beverages as well as some kid-friendly coolers using these popular melons! Watermelon Margaritas, serves 4, adapted from Cooking Light
3 cups diced seeded watermelon, 1/2 cup tequila 1/4 cup triple sec (orange-flavored liqueur) 1 tablespoon sugar 2 tablespoons lime juice 2 cups crushed ice
Place watermelon, tequila, triple sec, sugar, and lime juice in a blender; process until smooth. Add ice; process until smooth. Serve in glasses rimmed with sugar, and garnish with lime and orange slices, if desired.
Slushy Watermelon Mojitos, serves 8, from Cooking Light
5 cups cubed seeded watermelon 1 cup sparkling water, chilled 3/4 cup white rum 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint 1 (6-ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate, undiluted Mint sprigs (optional) Lime slices (optional)
Arrange watermelon in a single layer on a baking sheet; freeze 2 hours or until completely frozen. Combine frozen watermelon, sparkling water, rum, mint, and limeade in a blender; process until smooth. Garnish with mint sprigs and lime slices, if desired. Serve immediately.
Watermelon Daiquiri Slush, serves 6, from Coastal Living
9 cups seeded, cubed watermelon 1 cup light rum 1/4 cup fresh lime juice 1/4 cup sugar 1 (10-ounce) can nonalcoholic frozen strawberry daiquiri mix, thawed
Freeze half the watermelon. Blend remaining watermelon with remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour half into a pitcher; add frozen melon to blender. Blend; stir into pitcher.
Watermelon-Cucumber Margarita, serves 2, from Bon Appétit
1 1/2 cups watermelon balls, 1 inch each 6 slices cucumber, 1/8 inch each 15 large fresh mint leaves 1/2 cup blue agave silver tequila, 1/4" dice 1/4 cup lime juice 3 tablespoons simple Sugar Syrup 1 tablespoon orange liqueur 2 cups ice cubes, diced 2 small watermelon slices, for garnish 2 slices cucumber, for garnish 2 fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
Place first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Press firmly on solids with muddler or back of wooden spoon until mashed. Mix in tequila, lime juice, Simple Syrup, and Cointreau, then 1 cup ice. Stir to blend well. Strain into large glass measuring cup. Divide remaining ice between 2 tall glasses. Pour Margarita mixture over. Garnish with watermelon skewers and mint sprigs.
Watermelon-Mint Margaritas, makes 5 cups, from Southern Living
4 cups seeded and chopped watermelon Fresh lime juice Sugar 1/2 cup tequila* 1/4 cup sugar 1 tablespoon grated lime rind 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves Garnish: fresh mint sprig
Place watermelon in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze 4 hours or until firm. Coat rims of cocktail glasses with lime juice; dip in sugar. Process frozen watermelon, tequila, and next 4 ingredients in a blender until slushy. Pour into glasses. Garnish, if desired. *1/2 cup orange or apple juice may be substituted for tequila.
Watermelon and Cucumber Tonic, makes 8 small servings, from Cooking Light
6 cups cubed seeded watermelon, divided 1/4 cup mint leaves, divided 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided 1 English cucumber, peeled, sliced, and divided (about 3 cups) 2 1/2 cups tonic water, chilled 1 1/4 cups gin
Combine half each of watermelon, mint, juice, and cucumber in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Line a fine sieve with 4 layers of cheesecloth, allowing cheesecloth to extend over edges; strain watermelon mixture through prepared sieve over a bowl, reserving juice mixture. Gather the edges of the cheesecloth together. Holding cheesecloth over sieve, squeeze to release the remaining juice mixture. Discard solids. Repeat the procedure with the remaining watermelon, mint, juice, and cucumber. Combine 2 1/2 cups juice mixture, tonic water, and gin, stirring well to combine. (Reserve any remaining juice mixture for another use.) Serve over ice. Honeydew Mimosas, makes 6 servings, from Coastal Living
1/2 medium honeydew melon (about 4 cups), cubed 1 cup crushed ice 1 tablespoon sugar 1 (750 ml) bottle sparkling wine, chilled Garnishes: lime wedges
Combine first 3 ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Pour mixture into a large pitcher; add sparkling wine. Pour into glasses. Garnish, if desired. Watermelon Cooler, makes 8 servings, from Southern Living
8 cups (1/2-inch) watermelon cubes 1 1/2 cups ginger ale 1/3 cup water 1 (6-oz.) can frozen limeade concentrate
Place watermelon cubes in a single layer in an extra-large zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze 8 hours. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Process half each of watermelon, ginger ale, water, and limeade concentrate in a blender until smooth; pour mixture into a pitcher. Repeat procedure with remaining half of ingredients; stir into pitcher, and serve immediately.
Honeydew Cooler,makes 8 servings, from Southern Living
8 cups (1/2-inch) Honeydew cubes 1 1/2 cups ginger ale 1/3 cup water 1 (6-oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate
Place honeydew cubes in a single layer in an extra-large zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze 8 hours. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Process half each of honeydew, ginger ale, water, and lemonade concentrate in a blender until smooth; pour mixture into a pitcher. Repeat procedure with remaining half of ingredients; stir into pitcher, and serve immediately. Cantaloupe Cooler, makes 8 servings, from Southern Living
8 cups (1/2-inch) cantaloupe cubes 1 1/2 cups ginger ale 1/3 cup water 1 (6-oz.) can frozen lemonade concentrate 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
Place cantaloupe cubes in a single layer in an extra-large zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze 8 hours. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Process half each of cantaloupe, ginger ale, water, ginger and lemonade concentrate in a blender until smooth; pour mixture into a pitcher. Repeat procedure with remaining half of ingredients; stir into pitcher, and serve immediately.
Watermelon-Lemonade Cooler, makes 14 cups, from Southern Living
15 cups seeded and cubed watermelon 2 (12-ounce) cans frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed 2 mint sprigs Ice Garnishes: watermelon wedges, mint springs
Process watermelon, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth. Combine concentrate and 2 mint sprigs, and cook in a saucepan over medium-high heat 10 minutes. Stir together watermelon puree and lemonade mixture; cover and chill 8 hours. Remove and discard mint. Stir and serve over ice. Garnish, if desired. Cool Melon Sipper, makes 3 servings, from Cooking Light
2 cups cubed peeled cantaloupe, divided 2 cups cubed peeled honeydew melon, divided 1 cup vanilla low-fat frozen yogurt 1/2 cup water 6 fresh mint leaves
Arrange 1 cup cantaloupe and 1 cup honeydew in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze 2 hours. Place frozen cantaloupe, frozen honeydew, remaining 1 cup cantaloupe, 1 cup honeydew, frozen yogurt, water, and mint leaves in a blender, and process until smooth.
Berry-Melon Agua Fresca, makes 4 servings, from Sunset Magazine
2 cups peeled honeydew melon chunks (can also use watermelon or cantaloupe instead) 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries 1 cup fresh raspberries About 1/3 cup sugar About 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
In a blender, combine fruit and 2 cups cold water. Whirl until puréed and add sugar and lime juice to taste. Pour mixture through a strainer into a serving pitcher. Serve cold. | |
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