We spent approximately all of last Sunday eating.  That’s what picnics are all about, right?  They’re an excuse for exactly such behavior.  We grazed on freshly baked breads, beet salad, fresh fruit, little balls of saffron risotto, eggplant spread, the smoothest goat cheese I’ve ever seen, salmon ceviche, and berries drizzled with heavy cream.  We drank Pimm’s and we swam in the ocean with full bellies, without waiting anything close to half an hour.  We were feeling all kinds of rebellious.  We even snacked on a watermelon soaked with vodka.

My curiosity for vodka infused watermelon was first piqued back when I saw Can’t Hardly Wait (skip ahead to 00:52) (seven bottles… really?) (was that TWELVE years ago!?).

Twelve years later, apparently, I found an actual recipe for the spiked fruit, in Jamie Oliver’s book The Naked Chef Takes Off.

In Jamie’s always charming words, “Great for a barbie or party.  Wish I’d known about this when I was going to school parties – I could have walked in with my watermelon and got all my mates completely sloshed!”.  As if Jamie hasn’t already inspired us enough. (If you haven’t seen his TED talk, it’s more than worth twenty minutes of your time).

We didn’t exactly get completely sloshed, but it is a fun little party trick.

Jamie Oliver’s Watermelon Vodka

-1 large ripe Watermelon
-26 oz. bottle of Voka

Jamie suggests sticking a funnel into a hole you cut into the watermelon and pouring vodka into that, but we just poured vodka directly into the melon, as shown below.   Basically, you pour in as much vodka as you can, wait for it to absorb, and then pour again after about eight hours.  Three days later, you have a cocktail in a fruit’s body.

He also suggest trying it with champagne, which sounds excellent.