Watermelon Slush

I have two favourite things to eat when I'm sitting beside a pool in a hot climate (which is rare, sadly) and those are: watermelon and slush. A few weeks ago we got a heatwave in Glasgow - which was excellent when I wasn't in work. All I cold think about was watermelon and slush and so I decided to combine them to make a delicious summer drink. The best part is that you're eating fruit and also having a sweet treat (good news all round).

I'd actually forgotten I'd made it until I came across a photo on my phone, and so I thought I'd post it here. In this version I didn't add mint, but I have before and it was pretty nice, so if that's what you want to do I'd add 1-2 leaves per serving. Using my small smoothie blender I make this recipe one serving at a time, but if you have a bigger, more powerful blender then you'll probably be able to make a few at once.

(Serves 2)

INGREDIENTS
1 small watermelon, cut into chunks
1-2 cups of ice
juice of 1 lime

DIRECTIONS
1. Add watermelon and a splash of water to blender and blend until it has formed a thick juice.
2. Add the lime juice - I add 1 lime but this really is to taste.
3. Gradually put the ice into the blender until you have a thick and slushy consistency - again this is to taste as I like mine quite slushy but this is really up to you.

Serve in a glass with a straw, and pretend that you're on holiday and you don't have to do the dishes.

Hope you enjoy!
Zoe

Green Tea, Lime, & Mint Cooler

(Ok - so this isn't exactly baking as such but its too good not to mention.)

This summer I have found, and become obsessed with quite possibly the best high-street coffee shop cold drink ever. Every year I look forward to summer menus (partly just for inspiration) and this year, Costa wins it for me. Not only do they still have iced tea but they also have ginger beer and this beauty: the Green Tea, Lime and Mint cooler. Never have I enjoyed a so called 'blended' drink more. This cold almost slush like drink is the perfect balance of lime and mint with a little green tea in there too. But, much to my disappointment, moving home for the summer means moving out of the city and back into a costa-free town. This means that these drinks are a very rare occurrence. (And to add insult to injury, my boyfriend works there and likes to send me photos of them when he has them on his break - usually captioned with something along the lines of "u jel?". Yes, very, actually.) But if growing up in the countryside (and therefore miles away from civilisation) has taught me anything - it's that you just have to make your own versions. (Be it iced tea, pasta sauce, ugg boots...). And so here is my version, of the costa Green Tea, Lime & Mint Cooler.

This recipe has been a bit trial and error on my part, but hopefully it should work...

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup of cooled green tea
3/4 cup of cooled green tea with lemon
Juice of 1 lime
1-2 tablespoons caster sugar
A few ripped mint leaves (choose based on your own taste)
2 cups of ice

(I make this in a small smoothie maker, so I do it in small steps but if you have a good blender you could probably just put it all together at once.)

DIRECTIONS:

STEP 1: Place 1 cup of tea, mint, half the lime juice and sugar in a blender and mix together briefly. Then add 1 cup of ice and blend until there is a slush like consistency.

STEP 2: Taste, and add more lime juice if it is needed (the same goes for the sugar). Then add the rest of the tea and ice and blend until a thick slush is formed.

STEP 3: Put in a glass, add a straw and garnish with a sprig of mint (if you want, I do because it looks nice so there we go.) And then drink before it melts.

This is one of those things that really depends on your own taste. I really love mint, I buy too many mint plants and eat it with pretty much everything – it’s just so very good. But if you don’t like it that much, don’t add as much (and also some leaves are stronger than others.) But however you make it, it should definitely be refreshing (even in Scotland – who knew?)