by

McKenzie

We've recently discovered that both of our children absolutely love watermelon.  I have always been a bit indifferent to it myself, and since I do most of the grocery shopping for our house, we didn't often have it around.  Earlier this summer while enjoying an afternoon at the home of some friends, our kids discovered big slices of juicy ripe watermelon.  Even our daughter who generally only eats from a list of about five things, wanted to have some.  Both of our children indulged that day and ate an almost embarrassing amount of watermelon.

Since then I've been buying the popular melon quite frequently, but we seem to be stuck with a watermelon dilemma.  The small melons disappear so quickly around the house, yet when I buy the full size, we never seem to eat the whole thing before it goes bad.  Recently we bought some to serve to friends we were expecting for lunch.  When they arrived they also had a huge bowl of watermelon.  We were left with a tremendous amount and since I hate to waste food, I thought there must be something creative we could do with our excess.

I've made purees with other fruits in the past and thought that I could do something similar. We experimented with watermelon juice and popsicles.  It all turned our remarkably well.  We made plain watermelon juice and also mixed some with lemonade (my favorite).  We saved some of the juice for drinking and used some to make popsicles.  It took little effort and was a big hit.   Give it a try for yourself.  It is more of a process than a recipe since there a so few things involved.

Watermelon Juice

Watermelon chunks

Lime Juice (approx 1 tsp per 2 cups of watermelon)

Water (if needed)

Simply place the watermelon and lime juice in the blender.  Add water if needed to reach your desired consistency.  If you are using the juice for pops only, a thicker consistency actually yields a better result.  If you want to make Watermelon lemonade, you can exclude the lime juice.   Make your own lemonade or use a frozen concentrate.  Mix equal parts of both juices, the colder the better.  I also imagine this would be great splashed in a margarita when entertaining adults.