Hawai‘i Farmers Market Adventures: Make This Watermelon-Strawberry Slushy Recipe At Home

Editor’s Note: This blog is the part of a series of mom-and-child pieces from Michele Aucello and her kids, Isabella, 12, and Luca, 10, as they try new ways to cook with produce found in their weekly farmers market trips. 

Photo: Isabella Aucello

Isabella: We were at the Kapi‘olani Community College Farmers Market at Diamond Head one morning and I saw watermelon for sale. I’ve always wanted to make a watermelon slushy. After looking around the market and comparing prices, we bought a Thai watermelon. We looked up the recipe and realized we needed a lemon so we bought one of those, too. We already had strawberries at home.

Photo: Michele Aucello

Mom: I was curious if this was one of those recipes you could add a veggie to with affecting the taste. Last summer Isabella bought strawberries and beets at the local Farmers Market in Michigan and made smoothies that were brilliant pink and tasted great. So we picked up a beet as well.

Isabella: We found a recipe on tasteofhome.com but did change it a little. We made just half of it because we did not need 5 cups of the drink. But we ended up still using the full amount of ice. It was perfect!

Everything except for taking the seeds out of the watermelon was easy. That part was hard. The watermelon said “seedless” when we bought it but maybe they meant fewer seeds instead of seed-free.

Mom: We added one small beet to half of Isabella’s mixture and keep the other half beet free so we could taste the slushy both with and without the beet.

Isabella: Mom had me taste both. I could not tell the difference. So it turns out you could add a vegetable in and make it even healthier.

I would recommend this recipe to other kids because it was easy to make and tasted wonderful!

SEE ALSO: Farmers Market Finds: Mochi and Sourdough Belgian-Style Waffles in Kailua and Kaka‘ako

Photos: Michele Aucello

Watermelon, Strawberry (and Beet) Slushy

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of cubed watermelon
• 1 pint strawberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 cups ice cubes
• 1 beet, grated

INSTRUCTIONS

Blend together in a blender or Vitamix.

Mom Tips:

• Roast the beet for a sweeter taste. Cover it with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.
• Costco and some supermarkets sell peeled, roasted beets which will work as well.

The Kapi‘olani Farmers Market is held Saturday, 7:30 to 11 a.m. and Tuesday, 4 to 7 p.m. at Kapi‘olani Community College, 4303 Diamond Head Road in Parking Lot C.