At the end of this summer season we ran into a problem! a few of our cantaloupes didn’t make it to market due to the extensive heat. No need to worry though, I have made it my personal (and delicious) mission to put all produce to use whether its at peak ripeness, or on its last leg! thus I was given 4 gorgeous cantaloupes and got to work!

BEHOLD: cantaloupe bread (cake) and cantaloupe agua fresca!

Juice ‘n the melons

So to begin you are going to need :

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 cups pureed cantaloupe
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. This will yield 2 loaves so grease two 9×5 pans in preparation.

you will then add all of the dry ingredients together including the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and ginger, mixing well.

In a separate bowl beat the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and puree together.

Stir the flour mixture slowly into the liquid mixture, try not to overwork the batter at this step. If you wish you can add nuts during this period as well, I would recommend about a cup of pecans!

Simply pour batter into the two pans and bake for 55-60 minutes!

A glaze is optional, but super simple! Just take 3 cups powdered sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla, and enough milk to thicken the glaze ( for me that was about 2-3 tbsp)! once the two loaves are cooled, feel free to pour the glaze on top as generously as your heart desires!

As fun as making the loaves turned out to be, I soon realized I still had a ton of melon left. So I cut up the remainder of my melons and decided I would make thirst quenching agua fresca, a common flavored water drink famous in Mexico. This is so simple ya’ll all you need is:

• half a cantaloupe (chunked)
• 2 cups cold water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• one lime (squeezed)

I made more than one batch but its as simple as juicing (blending works as well) the cantaloupe and separating the pulp from the juice using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth (if you like pulpy juice keep it)! then simply combine this with the rest of the ingredients and enjoy!