Monday, July 11, 2011

Watermelon Lemonade

Last week we purchased our first watermelon of the summer. Lest you mock, consider that summer really only began about 2 weeks ago.

Anyway, how are we going to dispose of ten pounds of watermelon? Uh...

  • Watermelon sorbet (thank you, David Lebovitz)
  • Watermelon popsicles (basically DL's recipe minus the cherry brandy*)
  • Watermelon cocktails (leftover popsicle goop plus cherry brandy!)
  • Watermelon lemonade
That last item originated in my daily browsing of Foodgawker. I've been marking drinks all year, waiting for the right season to experiment with yummy, cold treats. Since we lack air conditioning, and since it's now The Hot Season (when you think, "Oh, only 90! How nice."), it seemed like the right moment.

I altered the recipe to make a regular-sized pitcher (half a gallon? 1.5 Liters? Who knows.):

1 cup of freshly-squeezed lemon and lime juice (about 6 limes plus a lemon)
2 cups of watermelon puree, strained
1 cup of simple syrup
2 cups of water
Sparkling water to fill your pitcher


*Lebovitz calls for vodka in the sorbet, because alcohol helps sorbet stay scoopable. I don't keep vodka in the house, but I bought some kirsch a while ago. Clear, high-octane likker? Good enough!

NB: After I made all this stuff...I broke the blender jar. Oops. Amazon to the rescue, though, as usual. For a mere $35, another is on its way.

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