H20melon

Words and recipes about watermelon! as seen in last week's newsletter! written by yours truly!

Watermelons are the quintessential summer fruit: 100% fun, refreshing and reminiscent. A summer isn’t complete until I’ve eaten almost an entire watermelon in one sitting, spitting the seeds into the lawn and letting the juice run down my hands. It’s one of those things I simply can’t resist.

Luckily, watermelon is a guilt free indulgence! In fact, we might do well to indulge a little more often! They are packed with vitamins, especially A and C, and contain the most lycopene, a cancer fighting antioxidant, than any other fresh fruit. They are their own delicious multivitamin!

Watermelons, like pumpkins and squash, grow on sprawling vines with broad leaves. They can be round or oblong with crisp flesh that can be pink, yellow or even white! They range is size from just a few pounds (like our personal-size melons) to upwards of 90 pounds! The watermelon that holds the Guinness World Record is 268 pounds, although some unofficial records show melons weighing in at up to 290! Though they look quite tough, watermelons have to be hand harvested. Store your uncut melon at room temperature for several days and keep any extra cut melon covered and in the fridge.

Watermelon is great simply sliced and eaten, but there are many ways to enjoy watermelon. Because they are 92% water, they are a natural for blending and incorporating in to margaritas, spritzers, lemonades and frozen into popsicles, granites and sorbets. One of my favorite summer drinks is watermelon aqua fresca; blended watermelon, sugar and citrus juice. Watermelon flesh is easy to cut and can be presented in cubes, balls, triangles, batons, or large, thin slices. Cookie cutters can even be used to cut more elaborate shapes! Not many people know that even the rind and seeds are edible. Once pickled, the rind is a great addition to salads, with pork chops or a crunchy snack on it’s own and in Asian countries, roasted watermelon seeds are either seasoned and eaten as a snack food or ground up into cereal and used to make bread. If you are in need of a quick side dish to bring to a picnic, cut up watermelon and toss with crumbled feta cheese, thinly sliced red onion and mint! Reserve the hollowed out rind as a presentation bowl! If you are feeling extra creative, watermelons are popular for carving. Visit www.watermelon.org for instructions and design templates.

Watermelon-rind pickle salad

adapted from Gourmet Magazine

great with pork chops or seared tuna

1 c watermelon rind

½ c rice vinegar

1 T honey

½ t salt

1 t whole allspice

1 t whole clove

1 c carrot, julienned

arugula, or seasonal greens

½ T olive oil

In a small sauce pan, bring vinegar, honey, allspice, clove and salt to a bare simmer.

Meanwhile, remove tough, green layer from rind with a vegetable peeler and discard. Julienne the rind by cutting the rind into thin slices, about 1/8”, then stack few slices and cut into matchsticks.

Stir in watermelon rind and cook about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let stand 25 minutes.

Drain the watermelon rind, remove spices and toss with carrot, arugula and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Grilled watermelon and tomato salsa yield: 3 c

2-3 slices watermelon

2 T jalapeno, fine dice

½ c onion, small dice

¼ c green pepper, small dice

1 ½ c tomatoes, medium dice

1 T basil, chopped

1 T cilantro, chopped

½ Lime, juiced

tt S&P

Coat the slices of watermelon with olive oil and grill for 30 seconds on each side; just enough to mark the flesh.

Remove rind and dice watermelon. Mix all ingredients. Allow to set for 20-30 minutes to allow flavors to combine. Taste and adjust; adding more jalapeno if you desire a hotter salsa.