Watermelon Slushies: A Frozen Cocktail & Simple Saturday Sipper for Adults

Trying to use up extra watermelon? Try freezing it and using the frozen chunks in these pretty in pink Watermelon Slushies from the Vegetarian Times: Farmers' Market Cookbook magazine edition. They are made with vodka, so they are a Simple Saturday Sipper for adults only, and are refreshing on a warm, humid afternoon or evening. It's also nice to have a cocktail that gets you a couple of servings of fruit in a glass. ;-) Plus watermelon is full of vitamins A & C, and antioxidants like lycopene which is thought to prevent inflammation that contributes to conditions like asthma, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and arthritis. So drink up! (Responsibly of course!)

Vegetarian Times says, "The next time you buy a big watermelon. cut half into chunks and freeze so you can whip up these cocktails on demand."

Watermelon Slushies

Vegetarian Times

(Serves 4)

1 small seedless watermelon, cubed (4 cups)

1/2 cup vodka

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Place watermelon cubes in a shallow baking dish. Freeze 4 hours, or until solid. Transfer frozen cubes to a resealable plastic bag if making ahead.

Blend frozen watermelon cubes, vodka, lime juice, and sugar in blender until smooth. Pour into 4 glasses, and serve immediately.

Per 1/2-cup serving: 143 calories, 1g protein, -1g total fat, (0g sat. fat), 20g carb, 0mg chol, 2mg sod, 1g fiber, 17g sugars.

Notes/Results: Refreshing, lightly sweet, a little tangy and pretty darn delicious. The watermelon and lime are a nice combination, and freezing the watermelon makes this "adult" slushy very thick while keeping the flavor. Since my watermelon was pretty sweet, and I am trying to limit my processed sugar, I used about 2 Tbsp of honey in place of the powdered sugar called for in the recipe. The key to using honey or agave in an iced drink like this is to blend it up along with the lime juice and vodka in the blender before adding the frozen watermelon chunks so it doesn't clump up. Works just fine, but of course the powdered sugar or a simple syrup would work well too.

With local watermelon, limes and honey, I thought it would be fun to try Island 808 Vodka, which is distilled from pineapple. Although it comes in different flavors like Mango, Lychee, Coconut, Pineapple and POG (passion-orange-guava), I bought the unflavored Pure Vodka which is triple distilled, and tastes crisp and smooth. I think it is actually bottled in California rather than Hawaii even though it says "Hawaii Product" on the label, but it was fun to try regardless. The garnish is a bit of chocolate mint from my container herb garden--so all-in-all, a pretty local drink and one I will make again.

Just a few more days to enter my giveaway. I am giving away 2 autographed copies of the fun Hawaii foodie mystery: "Captain Cooked"--along with a few local ingredients to help you cook some of the fabulous recipes in the book. Get the details on how to enter here.

Happy Saturday!