Lemon-less Brazilian Lemonade

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A few years ago hubs and I took a vacation to Barbados. During one particularly hot day of sightseeing, we came across a street vendor selling shaved ice type drinks. I ordered a lemon ice and was shocked when he pulled out a can of sweetened condensed milk and poured it all over the top of the ice along with the lemon syrup. This was not at all what I expected when I ordered the shaved ice. I was pretty sure that there was no way this shaved ice was going to be refreshing and probably not taste very good either. Happily, I was wrong and the shaved ice was both tasty and refreshing. I'd thought about trying to recreate it when we got home from Barbados, but since shaved ice isn't something that can really be done at home, I never did. Recently I found this recipe  for Brazilian lemonade. It was made up of the same basic components as the shaved iced so I knew it would be similar to what we'd had in Barbados and I couldn't wait to try it. I think it's even better than the shaved ice. Tart and creamy, kind of like a liquid key lime pie. The perfect party drink for a Labor Day cookout. 

As you can see from the recipe and may have gathered from the title of this post, there are no lemons in this lemonade. You may find that as shocking as the addition of the condensed milk. I guess in Portuguese lemons and limes have the same name? I'm not sure about the origins of the name but who cares what it's called when it tastes this good!

 

Brazilian Lemonade

Source: Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:
2 limes
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
3 cups water
ice
DIRECTIONS:
Be sure to buy limes that are very ripe and have thin skins. Limes with thick skins will make the drink very bitter. Wash limes thoroughly. Cut off the ends and slice into eight wedges. Place limes in a blender with the sugar, sweetened condensed milk, water, and ice. I used a couple of glasses full of ice.
Blend in an electric blender, pulsing several times. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove rinds. Serve over ice.

Call it lemonade or limeade...I call it delicious!

Watermelon Lemonade Slushy

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Do you know what day today is?? Yes it's Martha Stewart's birthday, but do you know what else today is? National Watermelon Day! What perfect timing, 110+ degree heat advisories this week have left me with little desire to cook or eat much of anything. A watermelon lemonade slushy on the other hand, sounds like just the thing to beat the summer heatwave. So pull out your blenders and whip up a batch of slushies!

Watermelon Lemonade Slushy
Serves about 6
Ingredients:
4 cups watermelon, pureed and strained
4 cups  ice cubes
 2/3cup frozen lemonade concentrate
1 cup cold water

For an adult version: leave out the water and add 4oz. each of vodka and limoncello.  
 
Method:
Puree watermelon in a blender. Strain through a mesh strainer. (You can skip this step if you want, but it will be harder to sip through a straw if it's not strained.)
In blender on medium speed, blend together watermelon, ice, lemonade concentrate, and water until ice breaks down. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Cheers Martha, but I'm celebrating watermelon today!