Watermelon Lantern, Watermelon Flower Vase & Melony Drinks!

“A watermelon was once thrown at Roman Governor Demosthenes during a political debate. Placing the watermelon upon his head, he thanked the thrower for providing him with a helmet to wear as he fought Philip of Macedonia” (Source)

For many of us from India, the thought of watermelon may perhaps bring back the memory of a familiar sight…….during the summer season, truck-loads of watermelon floods the nook and corner of every streets…..Watermelons mounded on pavements and highway road-sides, and the seller sitting there under a black umbrella, tied to his wooden chair to escape the blistering sun…..and sometimes talking to the nearby fruit stall guy or enjoying a light moment with the tender-coconut vendor :) Sometimes the vendor’s creativity can be seen when he tries to carve flower petals on the edges of the halved melon or when they display halved watermelons, showing its red succulent fruity part, pulling those waiting at the bus-stop and the passers-by to grab one of those summer fruits! Watermelon juice is another temptation to the pedestrians in that scorching heat.

As kids we used to eat the melon as it is, sucking the crescent slice and its juice dripping all over our clothes….and I don’t know , probably that is one of the reasons why I was never a great fan of watermelons and sometimes I feel its too bland and watery! But this Melony Mocktail did capture my attention and it was my friend, SM who shared the recipe with me, almost two years back…Whether to make a Mocktail or Cocktail, that is purely your choice :)

Melony Mocktail: Make puree from de-seeded watermelon chunks and freeze the puree in ice trays. In a glass, pour some freshly squeezed orange juice and some Sprite or Mountain Dew or any similar soda and throw in some frozen watermelon cubes too and you are ready with your mocktail. If the orange juice is too sour, then add some sugar to the orange juice. There is no hard and fast rule to make this drink. The taste of the drink really starts evolving when the pureed-melon cubes starts to dilute. Add less orange juice and more of soda.

Melony Cocktail: Follow the same method above and add Vodka. Please make sure that orange juice is not too sour.

Just when I was about to finish my photo session, another idea struck me. How do you keep the pureed-melon cubes frozen, when served to a group at a dinner or party? Citric/herbal/floral ice bowl comes to your rescue! Click here to learn to make your own ice bowls.

Well, now since you have hollowed out your melon, the next item in the agenda is probably to throw them into the trash can. Hold on! Create a beautiful and unique flower vase and use it as a centerpiece for your table.

To make the Flower Vase: Instead of using perfectly halved melons, it’s better to use melons that are cut off only ¼th from the top, to make the flower vase. Slice off a very thin piece, around ½ inches from the bottom so as to provide a flat base to the vase. Scoop out watery fruit fully and pat dry the interiors with a kitchen towel. Make your fresh flower arrangement in a glass jar or vase and place them inside the melon vase and you are all set to receive compliments from your guests :)

Here’s another fun-centerpiece idea which will be a great addition to your night-time, open air parties, Watermelon Lanterns! It’s Halloween in Summer!! :)

To make the Watermelon Lantern: Use melons that are cut off only ¼th from the top. Slice off around ½ inches from the bottom to provide a flat base. Using a pencil, draw the outlines of a smiley and darken the outlines using a marker. With a pairing knife, cut out eyes and mouth. Also clean up the interiors by scooping out the watery flesh of the fruit thoroughly and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Keep a small candle inside the melon and close it with the top portion, cut off earlier, which looks like a lid to your lantern. For more carving and fun ideas, click here.

Janelle of Talk of Tomatoes is the host and creator of the blog event, Centerpiece of the Month, an excellent idea to encourage the fellow bloggers to come up with novel and unique centerpieces every month and Watermelon Vase and Watermelon Lanterns are my contributions this month!

The entire post goes to the fruity blog event, AFAM, hosted at Jugalbandi for the month of July.

Luv
Shn

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