Watermelon Slushy

I packed my bag this morning. Computer✔ Phone✔  Water✔  Camera✔  Hat✔. I heard there will be no rain today.
Since I don't live near a beach, my swing is my mini vacation spot. I've got a nice gentle breeze going, the sound of water, my dogs, my birds, and my gardens. I imagined this very scenario while Kevin was building my swing. It is all it's cracked up to be. I foresee a nice summer. I actually spent five hours out here, until it got too warm.

One might believe that picnics and summer made this water-laden fruit popular, even though the Chinese knew it's worth years and years ago. In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), watermelon is consumed to ؂clear heat, relieve summer heat, quench thirst, relieve agitation, and as a diuretic. Watermelon is 95% water, high in potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, nickel, Vitamins A and C, as well as sugar and amaroids (which are chemical constituents, nuff said). So it makes sense when we choose watermelon, right?

I bought a watermelon on sale yesterday, and I'm cutting it today. I gave a few wedges to the girls (chickens), and chopped up a slice for the boys (Max and Gus), and now it's my turn. Simple and easy. That's my summer food M.O.. And this watermelon slushy is just that. 

Throw some ice cubes into a blender. Add watermelon. Blend. That's it. Watermelon is so sweet that it doesn't need help with sugar or honey. 














Although I like ice and toss cubes into everything I drink, TCM considers this a no-no. Ice is too cold on the stomach. I pick my battles.

• 2 C chopped watermelon
• 2 C ice cubes

؂ Joerg Kastner, MD, LAc. 2009, Chinese Nutrition Therapy 2nd Edition. Stuttgart, Germany. Thieme Publishing Group. p 137.