Very good home made fruit slushies

As a follow-up to my slushie post: Here's my self-invented fruit smoothie.


Here's the secret trick: cube the fruit, and then freeze it ahead of time!!! This gives the slushie a dense, frosty consistency -- and is more flavorful than using ice cubes (which just dilute things).


So: I'll cube a cantaloupe, then put it in a big tupperware container in the freezer. It usually just takes a day.

If you're in a hurry, spread them out on a single layer on a cookie sheet before sticking them in the freezer: then it just takes a few hours. You'll have to chip 'em off the tray -- but they come off pretty easily. And they're less likely to stick if you pat the underside dry.


Once I have my frozen cubes, I break a few off each other, and put them in the blender. Don't worry about getting them down to single cubes: two or three stuck together are fine, as long as the combined shape is narrow enough to reach the blender blades.

A splash of vanilla is optional: I usually didn't bother.


In the beginning stages, only the bottom layer will pulverize, and the rest of the frozen cubes just sit on the top. Add just enough milk (gives a smoother consistency than water) until there's enough fluidity that you get ''churning'' -- the top stuff gets sucked into the vortex and hits the blades.

If you accidentally add too much milk, toss in one or two frozen cantaloupe cubes to thicken things up again.


Cantaloupe is sufficiently sweet that you don't need to add any sugar: I suppose that's healthy.


This works with pretty much any frozen fruit.

• Bananas are a rather overpowering flavor, actually, so I usually don't use 'em.
  
• Strawberries (the large, commercial ones that have been bred for appearance and size, not flavor) are surprisingly bland.
  
• Watermelon is good, but a bit more brittle than cantaloupe (less fiber, I suppose).
• Blueberries and raspberries work well. And you can usually find them pre-frozen at the grocery store, as ''pie filling''.

Mix and match to taste, of course.


During the summer, I'd have two plastic tubs of cantaloupe in rotation: one that I'd draw from, and one that was freezing up.


My slushie rule of thumb: A straw must stand upright in it, by itself. Otherwise, it just ain't right.


Like many of my food fixations (PB & honey sandwiches; green tea), I'd abruptly start making one or two a day (I wouldn't bother washing the blender -- I'd just keep it in the 'fridge). And then, for no discernible reason, I'd abruptly stop. Although, with these, it would somewhat relate to a change in the weather: less hot.


--GG