honey cantaloupe spritzer

At the start of this summer I bought on a whim an on-sale cantaloupe from my neighborhood grocery store, and it turned out to be the most delicious melon I'd had in recent memory: sweet, juicy, smooth, creamy—it was peak flavor and texture all at once. Since then, I've been a bit obsessed with cantaloupe. Every time it's on sale, I snap one up and eat it like I've been stranded in the desert for weeks.

Usually, though, that discount cantaloupe is on sale for a reason; it's rapidly approaching overripeness, and its texture is teetering on mealy. If your melon crosses into this less-than-desirable state, don't fret—and for the love of god, don't let it go to waste! With some honey and lime juice and a brief stay in the freezer, your cantaloupe becomes an icy melon snow. Scoop it into a glass with prosecco and sparkling water, and you have the antidote to summer's relentless, beating heat.

Watch the video!

Ingredients:

4 heaping cups cantaloupe (about half of a large melon)

2 tbsp lime juice (about half a lime)

2 tablespoon honey

1/4 tsp salt

Mint leaves for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour the cubed cantaloupe into a blender.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the lime juice, honey, and salt. Add that in with the cantaloupe and blend until smooth.

3. Pour the cantaloupe smoothie into a metal pan (I used a bread pan but any baking dish will do) and put it in the freezer for 2–3 hours or overnight.

4. Once the cantaloupe is hard, use a fork to rough it up into a pile of shaved ice.

5. Fill a glass halfway with the shaved ice. Top it with a splash of Prosecco or other boozy bubbles. Then fill the glass the rest of the way with your sparkling water of choice.

6. Top the glass with another pile of melon snow and a garnish of mint, if ya dig.

Now kick your feet up, sip your grown-up slushy, and pat yourself on the back for saving an aged cantaloupe from the landfill and giving it a new, chilly lease on life.