Breaking news: It’s hot.

In fact, last month was the hottest July on record for Baltimore and Washington D.C. And it was pretty flipping hot in the rest of the U.S., too. So, what can you do? Besides staying inside in the air conditioning or laying around on a pool float all day (lathered up with SPF 50), of course. Why not try making your own watermelon slushes?

I got this idea from Bridget at Bake at 350, who made her own Coke Icees (Yum!). You will need a watermelon and an ice cream maker. Actually, just a quarter of a watermelon should be sufficient for two 16-ounce slushes.

Cut up the watermelon and pulverize the chunks in a blender or food processor. You can strain it if you want to, but it’s really not necessary if you’re using a seedless watermelon. Add some lime juice and a little sugar, if you wish. (I used the juice of one lime and about two heaping tablespoons of sugar for half a watermelon). Stir it up and stick it in the ice cream maker:

Let it whirl until it reaches the consistency you want. This will probably take 15 to 20 minutes. That’s it! Well, unless you want to booze it up. We added one ounce of alcohol to each 16-ounce glass — you couldn’t taste the vodka, but we liked tequila better. We were out of rum, but that would probably be good, too. Just be careful not to add too much alcohol or it will overpower the watermelon flavor.

If you have a half watermelon, you can pulverize the whole thing and process it in two batches. That should be enough for four large slushes, or you can freeze the extra for later. I’m not sure my ice cream maker has enough freeze power to process more than two batches in a row, though, so keep that in mind when you’re getting the watermelon ready.

Stay cool!