{Thirsty Friday} Muskmelon Frozen Lemonade

It's Friday and that means that we are about to enjoy another delectable installment of Thirsty Friday.  This particular Friday is extra special because its July 3rd, and that means we are only 24 hours away from a very special holiday that promises some extra special eating.  Whether you're the fried chicken and sweet tea type, barbecue and lemonade crowd, or the burgers and cola people, I'm sure you have a favorite 4th of July jam.  I am a huge proponent of traditions, however, I would suggest that you change things up a bit to make room in your life for this muskmelon frozen lemonade. 

Lets get right into this.  I'm sure you are just as eager to begin your weekend as I am. 

Melon.  Freeze it.

Lemons. Squeeze them.

Are you sensing the simplicity if this endeavor?  It's great, right?!

It's probably a good thing that I only recently realized the simplicity of making slushies at home. Once you know it's like having a super power, you just want to use it ALL THE TIME! 

My mind keeps trying to tell me to make some kind of frozen cucumber concoction and I'm trying to get it to just chill.  Ha! Haha. Yeah… 

There is something about an overflowing glass that just thrills my heart.  It's like a race to get to the straw before the delicious, sticky liquid covers the countertop.  

Also, I'm sorry about all the cliche paper straws, but I have an over abundant collection and they are just so darn cute!  

Happy Weekend!  Now get out there and celebrate!  

Sincerely, 

   Pedantic Foodie 

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Muskmelon Frozen Lemonade 

serves 2

- 3 cups muskmelon or cantaloupe, cubed 

- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 

- 1 cup filtered water 

- 1/4 cup granulated sugar 

- 1/2 cup ice cubes

- mint and lemon slices for garnish, optional 

Spread cubed melon out unto a baking sheet lined with parchment and freeze for 1-2 hours or until solid. 

In the pitcher of your blender combine lemon juice, sugar, and water. Pulse several times to combine.  Add frozen melon and ice cubes and pulse on high speed until smooth.   

Pour into glasses and garnish with fresh mint and lemon slices. Serve immediately.  Enjoy! 

{Thirsty Friday} Watermelon & Raspberry Lemon Slushie

Today I am having all four of my wisdom teeth yanked out of my mouth.  I thought that I had escaped.  I thought that my mouth was big enough (it has certainly proved to be over the years) to hold a few extra teeth, but no...  

I'm not happy about the situation, aside from the fact that I can justify eating a whole lot of frozen yogurt, Italian ice, and ooh, slushies… 

I really shouldn't complain.  After all, I have a wonderful friend who has graciously offered to spend the weekend bringing me frozen treats and binging on Netflix.  I also had the premonition to gather some ingredients that will make a really wonderful slushie.  This really doesn't sound so bad.  Though I'll probably resent that statement this afternoon when the whole pain thing kicks in.  For now, lets talk about these slushies.

You know the kind I'm talking about.  The kind of unnaturally colored, corn syrup-packed frozen drinks that you used to get from gas stations, while on the way home from Saturday morning fishing trips with your dad.  This is just like that except our slushie gets its lovely colors honestly and its flavor is a whole lot more…natural.  

P.S.  What the heck does blue raspberry taste like anyways?  I'm still not sure but I know my nine year old self was all over that business.

Our slushies begin as frozen fruit.  I sliced up some watermelon and grabbed a bag of frozen raspberries.  Ideally, you would freeze your own, but if the market is temporally sold out, the prefrozen ones will be just fine.

Watermelon however, you definitely have to freeze yourself.  But it is super easy, I promise.  

Blend, blend, blend, and look at what we've got!  This color came straight from nature and I think that makes it even prettier.

I chose to make the raspberry lemon and watermelon slushies in two separate batches because I wanted to layer the flavors, just like I used to do at the gas stations with Dad.  But you could certainly blend it all together at once if you'd like to save a bit of time.  I however, like mixing it with my straw as I go.

In goes the watermelon!  

Next, we add our bright and zesty raspberry lemon slushie and garnish, because it's Friday and we're feeling fancy.  

Those tiny slices of watermelon - I mean, so cute! 

The watermelon is sweet and Summery and the raspberry lemon is bright and tangy.  All in all, it's the best dang Slushie I've ever had and the perfect medicine for my soon-to-be-swollen mouth.

Wishing you all a happy weekend! 

Sincerely, 

   Pedantic Foodie

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Watermelon & Raspberry Lemon Slushie 

serves 6 

for the watermelon slushie 

• 5 cups cubed watermelon
• 1 cup ice 
• 2/3 cup sparkling water 
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar 

Lay the pieces of watermelon out on a baking sheet lined with parchment and place in the freezer until frozen solid; about 2 hours.

In the base of your blender combine frozen watermelon, ice, sparkling water, and granulated sugar.  Blend on high for 2-3 minutes, until the slushie is smooth.  Transfer to a pitcher and keep cool while you prepare the raspberry lemon slushie.  

for the raspberry lemon slushie 

• 1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries 
• 1 cup ice 
• 1 cup sparkling water 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• juice of 2 lemons, about 4 tablespoons 

In the base of your blender combine frozen raspberries, ice, sparkling water, granulated sugar, and fresh lemon juice.    Blend on high for 2-3 minutes, until the slushie is smooth.  Layer the watermelon and raspberry lemon slushies in glasses and garnish with lemon and watermelon slices.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy!  

{Thirsty Friday} Orange & Rosemary Italian Cream Soda

Today marks three years of blogging for this butter-loving lady.  Yay!!  If you are feeling like celebrating practically anything, here is the cake you should be making. 

It's Friday and that means it's time for another installment of Thirsty Friday.  I kicked off this Summer series last week with my blackberry mint limeade which was as refreshing as it was pretty.  Now it's time for something fizzy!

Real talk, I've been sick with a really icky cold all week.  It's ironic, considering that this has been the hottest week of this year so far for my area of the world. Anyways, I completely exhausted my supply of vitamin C tablets so I went straight to the source itself.

Hey there oranges!  I owe you a bit of an apology.  I know you're still bitter about me always giving the orange lollipops back to the bank teller and asking for cherry instead.  And I'm sure it didn't help when I turned my nose up to every orange flavored popsicle and soft drink.  But since then I've learned that you, the unartifiical you, is truly amazing.  Especially when you're candied and dipped in dark chocolate.  What I'm trying to say is that, when you are yourself, you really are appealing.  Hah, haha, heh... Sorry...

P.S. Best part of having colds is being able to successfully imitate Thor.  Pro tip!

If you are already perplexed by the weirdness of this post, I would like to say that at this moment I'm heavily under the influence of allergy medicine.  Again, I'm sorry.

Let's just talk about the recipe.

Oh Italy, you do everything right.  Gelato, pasta, accents, and soda. I mean, you really are a fabulous culture. 

An Italian cream soda is very simplistic.  Sweet, fruity syrup is combined with sparkling water and a shot of heavy cream - that's all!  They are fizzy, creamy, and they really feel like a special treat.  The best part about them is the fact that, if you make your syrups ahead of time, they can be whipped up in a matter of minutes! 

This syrup is a rosemary syrup and it really benefits from a night in the refrigerator.  Though this drink could be made at the last minute, the rosemary flavor really develops as it sits.  

That beautiful, herbaceous, rosemary flavor is captured by pressing the leaves into granulated sugar which will later go into our syrup.  This process releases all those fragrant oils and draws out this lovely herb's unique flavor.

This may sound very familiar if you were around last summer for my rosemary lemonade.

We combine fresh orange juice with our simple rosemary syrup and sparkling water.

Slice some oranges and set aside a bit of extra rosemary for garnishing. 

Paper straws because, well, we are all under the influence of Pinterest.

Pretty beverages are going on my list of "things I love most about Summer."

At the very last minute pour in a dash of heavy cream and it's ready to serve!

And just like that we are ready to enjoy summer through a straw!  

Happy Friday friends! 

Sincerely,

   Pedantic Foodie

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Orange & Rosemary Italian Cream Soda 

serves 4

• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, leaves stripped from stems
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup water
• 2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice*, about 2 large oranges
• 2 cups sparkling water 
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• rosemary stems and orange slices for garnish, optional

In a small bowl combine rosemary leaves and sugar.  Use the tines of a fork to press the rosemary into the sugar, thus releasing the essential oils.  

Combine rosemary sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring often.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and a light syrup has formed.  Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature, or place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.  After the syrup has cooled, strain to remove the rosemary leaves.  

Squeeze and strain orange juice and pour into a small pitcher.  Add rosemary syrup and stir to combine.  Stir in sparkling water and cream just before serving.  Pour over ice and garnish with a stem of fresh rosemary and a slice or two of orange.  Enjoy!  

*Yes, it really is essential that you squeeze your own orange juice.  It’s not labor intensive and it will really make a world of difference in the final product.