credit: sara remington
Fresh Watermelon-Vodka Martini
Yield: 2 servings
Soundtrack: “Who Me?” by KMD from The Best of KMD
Art: “How to Market Kitty Litter to Black People” by Hank Willis Thomas
Because of the racial stereotypes associated with Black folks eating watermelon, I intentionally avoided it throughout most of my adolescent years. Now I eat it all the time. Here’s to eating (and drinking) watermelon and enjoying it (clink, clink).
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar
6 tablespoons vodka
1/2 cup fresh red watermelon juice
2 red watermelon wedges, 2 inches long and 1/2 inch thick,
Herbed Sea Salt (basil) (see vegan soul kitchen)
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Watermelon Juice & Watermelon Water
To make watermelon juice, add watermelon chunks to an upright blender, puree until liquefied, and then strain through a fine-mesh seive to remove all solids. (Compost the pulp.) Every 3 pounds of watermelon (before the rind is removed) usually yields between 3 1/2 to 4 cups of juice, after straining.
Besides drinking the tasty juice of watermelons straight and using it to make drinks, watermelon vinaigrette, watermelon popsicles, and sorbet, I add it to water to give it a fruity essence. Use 1 part watermelon juice for every 6 parts of water.
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- Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Top it with cold water, and place in a freezer. Next, rinse two martini glasses with cold water and immediately place them in a freezer
- Remove cocktail shaker from the freezer, empty, and refill with fresh ice.
- Add the lime juice, orange juice, agave nectar, vodka, and watermelon juice in the chilled cocktail shaker. Vigorously shake ingredients until well chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain into the martini glass. Garnish with a wedge of watermelon buy placing it directly in the martini glass (with the rind sticking out), add a pinch of Basil Sea Salt, and serve.
