Orange-Honeydew Licuado

The first time I went to Mexico I had been properly warned to not eat street food. It was a fear that I respected until I met the licuado, a blender fruit drink.

There was a little store (term used loosely) that was just a window onto the street with a counter. Lined up behind the serving guy was a cornucopia of tropical fruits. In front of him was a blender. You went up and asked for the fruit you wanted (which in my case meant pointing since I didn't know what a lot of the fruits were) and poof you had a licuado.

It became a minor addiction. Anyway, without further ado, here's a licuado I made the other day.

Orange-Honeydew Licuado
A licuado can also be called a batido, but I'm not sure if there's a distinction. It might be that a batido has milk and a licuado does not? If anyone out there is versed in the linguistic or culinary differences between the two, I'd like to know. Don't try to make more than 2 drinks at once. Just make multiple batches.

2 cups honeydew chunks
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange liqueur or honey (optional)
4 ice cubes

In a blender, combine all the ingredients and puree until thick and frothy.
Makes 2 servings

While I was looking around for pictures of honeydew melons (since I hadn't photographed the drink itself), I ran across a chef from Thailand named Krongjit "Kacie" Chatuparisoot (Thai names always make me laugh; they're so silly and jolly sounding) who specializes in carving food. Here's what she did with a honeydew melon.