Summer Pea, Watermelon and Farro Salad

This summer, I've had the opportunity to reconnect with a dear friend from my freshman year of college. She and her husband + 5 kids are living nearby for the summer and we have been getting our kids together weekly for swimming, sleepovers and tons of fun. Our kids have never met before this summer, but they have become fast friends. It has been an absolute blast.

Last week, we were throwing together dinner for the kids- we ended up making sprinkle pancakes, steamed broccoli, corn on the cob, turkey sausage, and watermelon- and I had torn out this recipe from the most recent issue of Cooking Light. I had all the ingredients, so I decided to make a little something special for the adults. This recipe was under the 5 ingredient section of the magazine and took about 30 minutes to throw together.

For the amount of time it took and the small number of ingredients it contains, I would have to say it is pretty good. I added some olive oil just because I felt it needed a little something and next time I will add some fresh lemon juice. It was almost too sweet for me, with the peas and the watermelon, I would have liked some feta or something to cut the sweetness. I prefer my salads to be on the savory side, but it was enjoyed by all of us and a nice change for a quick summer meal.

Here is the recipe for Summer Pea, Watermelon, and Farro Salad from
Cooking Light August 2011

* I added a little bit of olive oil to the salad and I think lemon juice would be a great addition too
*I used shaved Parmesan cheese

Feta-Watermelon Tabbouleh

I found the perfect Tabbouleh recipe last year and haven't really wanted to try another one since. Until, I saw a Tabbouleh recipe that had watermelon in it. Watermelon is my favorite food. I usually don't do anything to it, because I just want to eat it the way it is. But, last summer I tried a delicious watermelon salad that absolutely converted me to combining watermelon with savory ingredients like feta cheese. And dressing it with olive oil mixtures.

I decided I wanted to make this particular Tabbouleh with quinoa instead of bulgur, because I had quinoa on hand and I wanted to make a big batch of it to use with other ingredients as well.
It worked. I think bulgur has more of a bite/crunch to it, but the quinoa was really good in this salad.

Overall, I really liked the combination of flavors and thought this was a great take on Tabbouleh. This would be a great side for a summer dinner, or a main dish for that watermelon lover that might be out there in your midst.

Here is the recipe for Feta- Watermelon Tabbouleh from Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine
* I used quinoa instead of bulgur- I cooked one cup of quinoa in 2 1/4 cups water for 15 minutes and then used half of that in this tabbouleh

Easy Melon Sorbet and Watermelon-Strawberry Slush

I love summer. The heat doesn't bother me that much and I would definitely rather be hot than cold. I know there are many people out there who completely disagree with me and I happen to be married to one of them.
Anyway, the weather here in Georgia seems to have taken a turn for the hotter, which goes hand in hand with more humidity. The past week has been pretty sticky and hot.

This type of weather means that cold refreshment is absolutely necessary.

I saw this recipe/idea for Easy Melon Sorbet and the picture looked so refreshing that I went out and bought a canteloupe, a honeydew melon and a watermelon.

It turns out, it really was that easy. Not that making sorbet it difficult, but this one doesn't even include a simple syrup, so there are only a few steps.

I cut up my melons, froze them in a ziploc bag and then pureed them, the following day. I had to add a Tablespoon or 2 of water to each batch of melon, to help smooth it out, but my melons were so sweet and tasty that I didn't add any sugar to them.
We loved this easy frozen melon treat. I actually finished it of last night and it was so delicious.

The other little drink came about when I had some watermelon cubes and we wanted a frosty/slushy drink, so I decided to combine the watermelon with some frozen strawberries I had on hand and it turned out really delicious.

Easy and refreshing!



Easy Melon Sorbet from Martha Stewart Living
Enjoy this frozen fruit dessert without a lot of bother or even an ice-cream maker. All you need are a few fresh melons and a food processor.
First, cube a melon and freeze it in a food-storage bag.
When you're ready to make sorbet, place frozen melon in the food processor, and puree.
You may need to add water to smooth. Add sugar to taste, and puree again.
Serve immediately, or store in the freezer in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Watermelon-Strawberry Slush by Mary Ann
4-5 cups watermelon cubes
2 cups frozen strawberries (or more, until slushy consistency is achieved)

Place watermelon cubes and frozen strawberries in the food processor or blender and process until blended and slushy. Pour into glasses and serve.
(I guess you could add sugar, but it tasted great without any)

Watermelon-Cucumber Salad

Watermelon. There is nothing better.
I love it so much. It might be a big part of the reason that summer is my favorite season.

I discovered a yellow watermelon and decided to try it in this salad, along with a red one.

I found the recipe in The Food Network Magazine and thought it would be a beautiful + delicious side dish to round out our Father's Day feast.

I really like the ingredients in this salad. Watermelon, cucumber, cashews, feta, lemon juice, mint. They all come together and make a very tasty combination. The sweetness of the watermelon is balanced by the crunch and salty flavors that the other ingredients add.

Other family members weren't so sure about this salad. Some people in my family are a little bit fussy about mixing certain foods, but everyone gave it a try and it was victorious in a couple of mouths.

I was fine with it not being the most popular dish of the day because that just meant that I got to enjoy the leftovers a different day.

Recipe for Watermelon-Cucumber Salad
* I reduced the amount of red onion
* I reduced the amount of olive oil to 1 Tbls
* I used feta cheese instead of goat cheese

Watermelon Blueberry Pops

Me and the kids just got back from a little vacation. One of my best friends was here visiting me and we decided to drive to DC to visit my sister and some other friends. On the way back we went to Savannah and then arrived home yesterday.

In DC they were already getting ready for the 4th of July festivities. It reminded me of the great time we had there last year celebrating the 4th.

On a side note- my sister took us to eat at Zaytinya in downtown DC and it was fantastic. It features small plates and great flavors. If you are in the area, you should definitely give it a try.
A couple of weeks ago I made these Watermelon Blueberry Pops.
I had been waiting for a good price so that I could buy a watermelon and the one I finally picked was amazingly delicious. It reaffirmed my belief that I could live on watermelon alone.
I saw this recipe in Ellie Krieger's So Easy Cookbook and these popsicles really were just that- so easy.
You just have to puree watermelon chunks (making sure you don't eat the entire watermelon in the process) with a little powdered sugar and lime juice.
Then you put the mixture in popsicle molds or plastic cups and drop in blueberries.
I wish I would have made these in popsicle molds because they were slightly difficult to eat due to the large size. They were still delicious though.

The fun part is that in the freezer a white layer forms at the top of the popsicle and makes this frozen treat truly patriotic looking.

Perfect treat for a hot afternoon or sticky summer night!

Watermelon Blueberry Pops adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy
3 cups cubed seeded watermelon (from about 2 pds with the rind)
2 Tbls fresh lime juice
2 Tbls confectioner's sugar
1 cup blueberries

Puree the watermelon, lime juice, and sugar in a blender.
Distribute the blueberries among six 8-ounce popsicle molds or paper cups, then fill each with the watermelon mixture and place in freezer.
If using paper cups, place a popsicle stick in the center of each cup after a 1/2 hour in the freezer.
Allow to freeze completely, about 4 hours.

Sesame-Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa

Today life changes as we know it at our house.
College Football started on Thursday and that is when the craziness slowly started to appear, but today is when it will take over full force.
The Georgia Bulldawgs play their first game today and I can pretty much guarantee that I won't see much of my husband until January. At least he is passionate about something, right? I am looking on the bright side here.
Ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit- but I learned the first couple years that we were married that GA football reigns supreme in the fall and I have just accepted it. There is nothing that is more important. But that also gives me lots of opportunities to make tasty food, so it is a good thing.
Here is to a great season! It is good to be back in the South!

Now, I have this thing for watermelon. I love it. A lot.
A couple of weeks ago I tried a fantastic tilapia dish with watermelon salsa- that was soo delicious!
I saw this recipe- Sesame Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa, on the cover of some sort of Cooking Light special magazine. The salsa ingredients for this one were slightly different, so I wanted to try it and compare the 2 watermelon salsas. This recipe also has great reviews on myrecipes.com, almost everyone who has reviewed it gave it 5 stars.

This chicken was really good and so was the salsa, but I liked the tilapia dish better. The watermelon salsas were fairly similar but had a few different ingredients- the one with the tilapia was spicier and I just like fruit salsas with fish better.
Don't get me wrong, if I had tried the chicken first and never had the tilapia, I would be raving about it even more. It was good.

I am soo excited for a 3 day weekend-football, hiking and time with family. Hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!

Recipe for Sesame-Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa

One Year Ago-Smoky Black-eyed Pea and Rice Cakes with Spinach Garnish on Cornbread

Cornflake Crusted Tilapia with Sweet and Spicy Watermelon Salsa

I have this thing for watermelon. I really love it. I think that if I had to, I could probably survive off watermelon alone.

I also really like fruit salsas. Especially when they are paired with fish or other kinds of seafood.

I was thumbing through one of my cookbooks and found this recipe. I thought it sounded really good and I knew that my kids would love the fish, so I decided to try it.

The salsa was spicy! I don't know if I just got a really hot jalapeno or it was the combination of the jalapeno and the red onion, which was a hot one, but it had a real spicy kick- which I loved.
It was a little too much for my kids- they all tried it, but couldn't handle the heat, so they ended up eating the fish on its own, with some plain watermelon and sliced green peppers.

I can't even tell you what a wonderful combination this was. The tilapia was flavored just right and the watermelon salsa was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. Putting the 2 together was amazing. One of the best dinners I have had in awhile. I was sorta glad that the salsa was too spicy for my kids, because that left more for me!

Recipe for Cornflake Crusted Tilapia with Sweet and Spicy Watermelon Salsa

One Year Ago-2 Bean Wonton Taco Cups and Fajitas

Watermelon Soup with Floating Meringue

I tore this recipe out of Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine about a year ago. I think.
I mostly forgot about it until I was thumbing through someone else's copy of the same issue and I saw it again.

I am doing some preschool activities with my 4 and 2 year old daughters who are home with me during the day. Nothing too intense, but we officially call it "school", so that there can be rules and specific time set aside to do the lessons and things that I want to do. Amazingly enough, my 4 year old is doing really well with this set-up and follows the rules.

I am doing it mostly for her, so she will be ready for the big K, next year.

Anyway, my 4 year old is the child who is the most interested in helping me in the kitchen. I thought this soup would be a fun school snack. We made it together, which was rather messy, especially when the girls took over the job of making melon balls and plopping them into the food processor, but you can't really have fun without a mess, right?
There was lots of splattered watermelon juice, but lots of smiles too.

I reduced the amount of sugar that is added to this soup because our watermelon was soo sweet and delicious. I also only made 1/4 of the recipe because this was our special time and our special treat.

It was quite a fun and delicious day.



Recipe for Watermelon Soup with Floating Meringue

One Year Ago- Orange Berry Muffins

3 Flavors of Lemonade- Watermelon-Berry, Basil, and Cool-as-a-Cuke

I saw these 3 lemonade recipes in a recent issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine.

At first I was only going to make the Watermelon-Berry version for our 4th of July celebration, but then I decided to try them all. We have quite a few cucumber lovers in our family and basil makes everything amazing, so I halved each of the recipes and we had all 3 flavors!

All 3 of these lemonades can be made ahead of time, so that made the preparation very easy.
The watermelon-berry was the most popular. It was definitely the favorite of all the kids, but the other flavors were just as delicious and everyone was glad that we had so many varieties to choose from.

I figure we still have some hot days ahead and I might just make a couple more batches of any of these lemonades and turn them into some kind of frozen ice pops.

We are driving to Nashville tonight to go see Andy Davis in concert. I am pretty excited. Have a great weekend!

Recipe for Watermelon-Berry Lemonade

Recipe for Basil Lemonade


Recipe for Cool-As-a-Cuke Lemonade

Summer Favorites- Watermelon-Nectarine Salad

Watermelon is Sweet. Delicious. Thirst-quenching. Dessert-satisfying. The perfect summer food.
Add a few ripe nectarines, a fabulous lime syrup and you have got yourself the best fruit salad/dish/dessert. Ever.
We first made this salad 2 years ago as part of our 4th of July celebration and it has been circulating through my summer meals ever since. I have posted about it twice before-HERE
and HERE. (I replaced the photos from both of those posts with these pictures because the ones here are much better) I have made it multiple times this summer and finally got some good photos. I am posting about it again, because it is just that good.
You make the lime syrup ahead of time and then, right before serving, you add the nectarines and syrup. This salad is a definite crowd pleaser and it is easy peasy. If you like watermelon at all, I am sure you will love this salad.

WATERMELON AND NECTARINE SALAD
1/3 cup sugar
2 T fresh lime juice
2 tsps freshly grated lime peel
6 cups seedless or seeded watermelon chunks
3 ripe nectarines

1. Put sugar and 4 T water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice. Refrigerate until cold. Refrigerate watermelon in serving bowl.


2. SHORTLY BEFORE SERVING: Cut nectarines in wedges; add to watermelon. Stir lime peel into syrup, drizzle over fruit and toss to mix and coat

Watermelon, Lime, and Mint Granita

I have decided that I could live on watermelon alone. I absolutely love it! The flavor, texture, everything. This was a super simple, yet so scrumptious dessert. It has a ton of mint in it, so if you are not a big fan of mint, I might recommend using a little less, because it is just chopped, so you end up chewing alot of mint leaves. Although some family members just discarded the mint from their mouths. I didn't mind at all because it freshened my breath.


Watermelon, Lime and Mint Granita from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger
9 cups (about 4 pounds with the rind) seeded and cubed watermelon
1 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped plus more for garnish
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup sugar


Working in two batches, puree the watermelon in a food processor. Strain the puree through a fine mesh sieve, forcing the liquid out with a wooden spoon. Discard the solids.


Combine the watermelon puree, mint, lime juice, and sugar in a 9x13-inch metal pan. Place the mixture in the freezer, scraping it thoroughly with a fork, every 20 to 30 minutes for about 2 1/2 hours, until the granita resembles coarse crystals. Scrape one last time and spoon into parfait glasses or bowls. Top with a mint sprig.

Watermelon-Lime Fizz

I think I have probably mentioned before how much I love watermelon. Well, I love fun little drinks too, so I came up with this fruity concoction which was inspired by a photo and recipe I saw in Cooking Light. My kids loved it, and with just a hint of carbonation, it was a great treat on a hot day!

Watermelon-Lime Fizz by Mary Ann, inspired by Cooking Light
3 cups seedless watermelon chunks, with their juice
1 cup sparkling mineral water with lime flavoring
juice of 1/2 or 1 whole lime
1/4 cup sugar
8-10 ice cubes

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Serve immediately, with lime slices if desired.

Watermelon Pops

Watermelon is my favorite food. I love it. When I saw these popsicles I thought they would be so much fun to make. The original recipe called for coconut sorbet, but I couldn't find any, anywhere, so I used vanilla bean natural ice cream instead. I used plastic cups although the recipe called for ice pop molds. Either way you need wooden sticks. These were really yummy. A couple of people even spit out the chocolate chips because they thought they were seeds!


Watermelon Pops adapted from Women's Day Magazine

4 cups seedless watermelon chunks, the smaller the better

light corn syrup or granulated sugar

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1 pt. vanilla ice cream, white as you can get, and softened

3 cups honeydew melon

1. Spread watermelon chunks in an even layer on a baking sheet. Freeze about 1 hour or until semi-frozen. Transfer to a blender and add either 2 Tblscorn syrup or 2 Tbls sugar, or both, to taste (I didn't add very much because my melon was wonderful tasting and sweet). Puree until a thick slush forms. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Fill molds or cups halfway with slush. Insert a stick into the center of each, letting sticks extend 2 in. above top edge of molds. The slush will support the sticks without sinking, so you won't need the tops of molds.) Freeze molds 1 hour or until solid.

3. Carefully spoon ice cream (about 2 Tbls in each mold over watermelon layer, to simulate the rind. Freeze 1 hour or until hard.

4. Meanwhile, spread the honeydew chunks in a even layer on a baking sheet. Freeze about 1 hour or until semi-frozen. Transfer to a blender and add corn syrup or sugar, and puree until a thick slush forms. Fill molds to top with honeydew slush and Freeze 4 hours or until hard.

5. To serve: Let pops stand at room temperature for 3 minutes to soften slightly. Remove from molds. If pops don't release easily, dip molds briefly in warm, not hot, water.

More Watermelon Pops

I made extra watermelon puree and chocolate chip mixture when I was making the watermelon pops and decided to make popsicles with it. Many people liked this part of the Watermelon Pops the best so it was a welcome treat. Look above for the recipe!

Watermelon and Nectarine Salad

(photos updated July 2009)

I know that I posted this recipe just a couple of weeks ago, but we made it again because it is delicious! It is now a 4th of July tradition. Yum!

WATERMELON AND NECTARINE SALAD
1/3 cup sugar
2 T fresh lime juice
2 tsps freshly grated lime peel
6 cups seedless or seeded watermelon chunks
3 ripe nectarines

1. Put sugar and 3 T water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; stir in lime juice. Refrigerate until cold. Refrigerate watermelon in serving bowl.


2. SHORTLY BEFORE SERVING: Cut nectarines in wedges; add to watermelon. Stir lime peel into syrup, drizzle over fruit and toss to mix and coat

Cupcake Hero-Watermelon-Lime Cupcakes with Lime Curd and White Chocolate Mousse

I have been secretly wanting to enter Cupcake Hero for a few months. I was just so intimidated by all the talented people out there, their cupcakes, pictures, etc. Well, I got over it. I decided to tackle it this month because the theme is Melon. My favorite food is watermelon. I love it. It just speaks summer. It is so refreshing and yummy. Cupcake Hero was thought up by Laurie. A different theme is chosen each month and then the entries are tested and 1 is declared the winner. This month we are having a guest host, April over at Abby Sweets. I decided to go with watermelon as the melon for my cupcake. When I was eating my fave fruit salad ever, Watermelon and Nectarine Salad, which has a wonderful lime syrup, I decided watermelon and lime would be a great combination. I thought the white chocolate mousse I used to top my opera cake for last months Daring Baker's challenge would be the perfect topping. Pipe a little lime curd in the center and there you have it, my first entry into Cupcake Hero.

Watermelon-Lime Cupcakes makes 9-10 cupcakes
3/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup buttermilk
juice of 1 lime, divided
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
zest of 1/2 lime
1 large egg

1/4 cup watermelon puree*

1 Tbls watermelon juice*

1 Tbls watermelon flavored jello powder
One 10 oz jar lime curd (Dickenson's)

White chocolate mousse** (recipe below)

Cakemake Watermelon flavored sprinkles

1. * To make watermelon puree and juice, combine 3-4 cups cubed, seeded, watermelon and the juice of 1/2 lime in a blender. Blend until liquidified. Strain through a sieve until thick solids are left in strainer and juice is left in a bowl. Fill 1/4 cup measure with a heaping amount of the thick solids (puree). Set aside puree and juice until needed.

2. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°. Line muffin pans with paper liners and spray with Crisco baking spray with flour. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk and juice of 1/2 lime.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add sugar and the lime peel and beat until fluffy. Add the egg, and beat until combined, scraping down the sides. On low speed, beat in a third of the dry ingredients, then a third of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat, alternating ingredients, until the batter is smooth. Then beat in the watermelon puree, watermelon juice, and dry jello powder, beating until smooth.

4. Spoon the batter into each liner, about three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 26 minutes. Let cool on a rack.

5. Once the cupcakes are cool, stir 1/2 jar of lime curd in a bowl until smooth. Pipe into center of cupcakes.

6. Pipe white chocolate mousse on top and add watermelon sprinkles

7. Refrigerate until cake is chilled and then serve!

**White Chocolate Mousse
7 ounces white chocolate

1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream
Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.
Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool completely.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.
Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.
Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.