Honeydew Hefeweizen Smoothie

One of my favorite places to go when I am back home in Oregon is a restaurant chain called McMenamins. Not only are the majority of their restaurant locations in really old and/or historic buildings, but they make one my favorite milkshakes in the world. They brew their own beer there, and have a wheat beer with a hint of raspberry called the Ruby. Being the geniuses that they are, they made a milkshake will vanilla ice cream, raspberries, and a tad of the Ruby. It is amazing!!! So, I decided to create my own version with honeydew melon. I love fresh honeydew, it has such a cool, sweet, and refreshing taste. I honestly can't think of any other fruit I enjoy more on a really hot day. This recipe is very easy to make, (I love milkshakes for this very reason...and because they taste awesome), and tastes lovely. Nice and sweet and creamy, with a hint of hefeweizen. I wouldn't try it with any non-wheat beer, though, as wheat beers tend to go especially well with fruity flavors. Trying it with an IPA would be a different story.... probably a story with a sad ending.

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Ingredients:

1/2 of a Honeydew Melon

3 and 1/3 Cups Vanilla Ice Cream

1 Cup Hefeweizen (Wheat Beer)

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Fun Straws (optional)

Small and Thin Honeydew Slices for Garnish (optional)

Cut the honeydew in half and then remove and discard the seeds using a metal spoon. Wrap up half of the melon and put it in the refrigerator to eat at your convenience.

Cut the honeydew into 2 inch thick slices and then peel the outer skin off of each slice. It is better to cut them into long slices before peeling because they are easier to hold and peel that way than when they are still in a giant awkward half-sphere.

Once all of the slices are peeled, cut the honeydew melon into roughly 2 x 3 inch chunks. Place half of the pieces in the freezer, and the other half in the refrigerator. Let them chill for 1 hour.

Remove the honeydew pieces from the freezer and refrigerator and toss them together in a bowl so they are evenly distributed. If you have a large food processor, you don't need to do the following and divide everything in half and do it twice. I have a regular sized blender and it doesn't fit everything in it at once, so I had to divide the ingredients in half and do it in two batches, as follows.

Place half of the the melon pieces into a blender with half of the other ingredients. Put the lid on the blender and blend on high until the mixture is completely blended, about 45 seconds. Pour the mixture into glasses, then repeat this process with the other half of the ingredients.

Serve immediately with fun straws and a small slices of fresh honeydew, if desired. Makes about 4 servings.