Watermelon Cucumber Cooler
So I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds themselves staring into the fridge the day after making a new recipe wondering what the heck am I going to do with the rest of “X”. I can’t say I’ve ever bought a watermelon until yesterday. Yes, I grew up eating watermelon for an after dinner treat where my dad would salt it up or have seed spitting contests with friends but I’ve never bought one myself. Sort of makes you wonder why since it is so sweet and delicious. But here I am the day after making Watermelon Berry Mojitos and I’m staring at half a watermelon that is taking up precious room in my tiny fridge.
Well, I could simply eat it or make a fruit salad but then I wouldn’t get to use my blender and where is the fun in that? Since we have another warm, sunny day here in Toronto I’m going to whip up a cool drink using ingredients I have on hand: watermelon, cucumber, mint, simply syrup, ice, and maybe some vodka or tequila. Its not really a margarita so I’m going to call it a Watermelon Cucumber Cooler. I’m getting thirsty just thinking about it and I’m struggling to determine if a before noon cocktail is ok? Anyone going to judge? The watermelon is really nice and ripe so I’m not going to add too much syrup to the mixture as I don’t want to over sweeten.
Based on my learning yesterday, I’m definitely going to blend the cucumber and watermelon first and then strain before adding the other ingredients and blending for the final result. While I’m making with alcohol today, I’m pretty certain that the non-alcoholic version will be slurped back by my daughter in minutes. I don’t know why but seems like all I have to do to get her to try something is to blend it and serve it with a straw.
Another great idea for using up that watermelon – try adding Watermelon to a Smoothie. GreenBlender has a great one to try with similar starting ingredients: watermelon, cucumber and mint. Check it out here.
Watermelon Cucumber Cooler
A simple and delicious summer drink combining the flavours of watermelon, cucumber and mint.
Ingredients
- 1/4 English Cucumber peeled and roughly chopped
- Approximately 2 cups of watermelon
- 10 mint leaves
- 1-2 tbsp simple syrup, depending on sweetness/ripeness of watermelon
- 2 ounces of Vodka, can also try tequila or white rum
- 2 cups of ice
Instructions
- Blend cucumber and watermelon and puree.
- Strain the mixture and add back to the blender.
- Add mint, simple syrup, vodka and ice and blend until smooth consistency.
- Pour into two glasses (rim the glasses in sugar if desired).
