Watermelon Strawberry Granita AND a Cocktail

As Summer reaches it’s highest peak, Mother Nature offers man a slight reprieve in the form of watermelon. Is there anything better than cold watermelon on a hot summer day?
Watermelon is really hitting it’s stride right now. They are everywhere and it’s hard for me to resist. I bought this fantastic Sugar Baby Watermelon at the farmer’s market the other day. It’s the best watermelon I have had in a long time. After eating a quarter of the melon all by myself, I thought maybe I should come up with a couple other ways to eat it before me and the kids got watermelon juice all over the place.
Watermelon Granita was my initial solution to the abundance of watermelon. Then I remembered I had a few strawberries that needed to be used, so I threw those in too. The results were great! This is a lot like a shaved ice but without the over sweet syrup. It’s a great treat for a hot day!
The Cocktail is a Watermelon Strawberry Margarita. I’m a sucker for a good margarita and this is a great way to use up any leftover granita you may have in the freezer! You could even make this a non-alcoholic drink! Just leave out the liquor and replace the sweet and sour with lemonade.

Watermelon Strawberry Granita
1/2 a small seedless watermelon
1/2 pint capped strawberries
2 T lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar, more or less depending on your taste

Puree all the ingredients in a food processor. Pour into a baking dish and place in the freezer. After an hour, stir the mixture with a fork, breaking up the frozen pieces. Repeat 2 or 3 more times. Before serving, scrape across the granita with a fork. It should look like shaved ice at this point. Dish out into your serving glasses and enjoy!

Watermelon Starwberry Margarita

1/2 cup Granita
2 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
1/2 cup Sweet and Sour Mix
lime juice
ice cubes

Combine everything in a shaker. Shake. Serve. Enjoy!