Refreshing Cantaloupe Smoothie

Ah the summer that refuse to end...October is just around the corner yet the weather here in Sunny LA is stillas warm as it was in the summer. Why??? I really long for the weather to cool down a little bit, not much, just enough to allow me to turn off the air conditioner even at night. Yesterday, I turned the AC off at around 1030 in themorning which was okay since the house was still cool. I fell asleep on the couch at around 130 pm and woke up drench in sweat about 3 hours later. WhenI checked the thermostat, it registered a whooping 84 degrees..yikes! I cannot live in that kind of temperature which is really surprising since I came from a tropical country where it is perpetually summer all year long except of a couple of months of rainy season and occassional storms. But it has beena long time ago since I left Pinas...


I woke up this morning starving because I did not eat dinner last night as I was finishing yet another school paper. Graduate school is really no fun since we have so many homeworks and papers to write :( I would be so glad when this is over...might take a few months to a year break before I embark on tackling the doctorate degree. Hmmm, but then again, I might just stop when I finish grad school... hehehe... Anyways, I had some cantaloupe slices which were leftover from last night and has been chilling in the fridge so I thought of making a refreshing drink to fill me up before I start cooking lunch. This is quite easy to make. All you need is about half a cup of cantaloupe puree, sugar, ice cubes, and lemon juice ...blend them all together and presto! Instant breakfast/refreshment.


Ingredients:

1 Cantaloupe - peeled,chopped, and seeded
sugar according to taste
1 cup ice
15 ml water
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice


1. Chop cantaloupe coarsely and place in a bkender. Add water and blend until pureed. Transfer to a clean container.
2. Measure about a cup of cantaloupe puree and return to blender.
3. Add sugar and lemon juice. Blend until sugar is dissolved.
4. Add ice and blend some more until smooth.
5. Transfer to a tall glass and serve immediately

Mango-Cantaloupe Cooler

Last day of summer 2011! Whoa, time flew by so fast. It seems like it was only yesterday when 2011 started and now we are entering the fourth quarter of the year. I am so not ready to bid goodbye to this year because it would mean I will be turning a year older. Ah, I was just coming to terms with the fact that I entered a milestone,make that two milestones, this year and now what? I am turning another year older? Does that even make sense? I guess that's life. Although we cannot make it slow down, the least we can do is make the journey as enjoyable as possible right? Enjoy each passing moment because once it is gone, it is gone for good...no second chances,no undoing, and yes, it it becomes part of a memory. Some memories are good for reminiscing, others are best left where they are... the best memories though are those that makes us feel happy and contented...


I made this refreshing drink as a way to send off summer and welcome autumn. Hopefully the weather cools down considerably so I can turn off the air conditioner and open the windows. I am getting tired of using the exhaust vent instead of opening the windows to get rid of the smell from the cooking that I have been doing these days. The weather outside though has been too warm, at least to me, to allow me to open the windows :( Actually, living in LA makes me long for cool autumn nights in Tennessee where the weather dips down slightly but not too low like other parts of the country. Funny how man is never really satisfied with what he has. I remember complaining about the cold weather when I lived in Tn but now longing for them since I live in LA where it is practically summer all year long...ha ha ha.


Ingredients:

2 cups roughly chopped cantaloupe
1 cup chopped mango flesh
1/2 tsp orange blossom water
sugar, according to desired sweetness
30 ml water



1. Place cantaloupe, water, and mango in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Add orange blossom water and sugar and blend some more until sugar is dissolved.
3. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until well chilled then serve.