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Category: Melon

Water-mule cocktail, and Corn Tomato Salad.
Happy Labor Day. I wanted to share a couple things I made this weekend with the CSA bounty we got last week.

My favorite thing to do with watermelons is to juice them and make cocktails. Last year I posted a watermelon margarita recipe. This year Moscow Mules are all the rage so yesterday we had Water-mules.

I extracted the juice the same way I did when making the watermelon margarita and used the below proportions and directions for the drink;

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup watermelon juice/pulp
- 1 1/2 Ounces vodka
- squeeze of lime
- 4 Ounces ginger beer
- watermelon wedge and mint leaves (for garnish)
- ice cubes
Directions

Place the above in a (preferably a copper mug) glass, mix and enjoy
I also made a nice tomato and corn salad.

I had everything except the basil and parsley from my CSA share, and I had the basil and parsley in my garden.

I cut up two tomatoes and a few cherry tomatoes I had lurking on the counter, a red onion, and an ear of corn. That is raw corn. I just cut it off the cob and added handful of basil and parsley.

I dressed that with some red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper and tossed it. There was so much juice from the tomatoes after I tossed it I thought; I need something to soak that up with. So I threw some croutons in the bottom of the serving bowl I was going to use and dumped the tossed vegetables on top of them. When you scooped up the salad the soaked croutons were an unexpected bonus!

And that was it. I think this could have been really good with some cheese on it, but we were having pizza so I opted out of any more cheese with the meal. You might want to add some mozzarella or feta though.

What’s not to love there?

The croutons were leftover from a tomato and bread salad I posted on last year. I made this night before. One of my favorite salads.

Yum and yay for fresh tomatoes!

Have a great week.

Mo
September 4, 2017
Watermelon Margaritas

My favorite thing to make with watermelons is this beet salad. This is my second favorite thing to make with watermelons.

Watermelon Margaritas.

First, you have to turn the melon into juice, and you need some tequila and limes too.

I don’t have a juicer, so I went low-tech turning that watermelon into juice.

I cut it up.

Smooshed it with a potato masher.

Then I strained it to get the seeds out. I got about a quart of juice from my watermelon.

I chilled the juice for a couple hours, but you could use ice, or hey! You could freeze some of the melon juice into ice cubes so you don’t dilute the drink…oh man…I wish I thought of that before I took the pictures…oh well…moving on….Next, I added some tequila and lime. I used about an ounce of tequila and 1/2 a lime for each margarita. But you can use more or less in yours! It’s like a party in a glass.

Happy Weekend Red Wagon CSA! See you next week!

Mo

August 26, 2016
Watermelon Waldorf Salad

I don’t think anything takes me back to my childhood more than Waldorf salad or melon balls. I thought it would be fun to combine the two.

Watermelon Waldorf Salad

The flesh of one watermelon diced or use your melonball tool
1 cucumber diced. I used 2 lemon cucumbers since they are small
3 stalks of celery diced
1 jalapeno diced (optional)
Dressing
2 or 3 tablespoons of mayo
Juice of one lemon or lime, I used lime
Salt, pepper and honey to taste.
A handful of basil or mint minced (optional).

A handful or two of toasted nuts, I used pecans.

Combine the melon and vegetables and make the dressing. Just before serving add the dressing to the melon and vegetables.
Top with the nuts.

You can make more dressing if you like. I tend to like my salads very lightly dressed.

Have a great week.

August 12, 2013
Storing and Handling Melons

August 12, 2016: This is a re-post of a blog from August 2013. Melons are coming in strong right now. Soon to be followed my winter squash and more fruit, yay! Sometimes it is easy to forgot that, though we are organic, we still need to wash melons, and all produce from ANY Market or vendor before eating.

August, 2013 repost; The most important thing to know about melons, any melons, is that you need to wash the melon before you cut into it. Even though you don’t eat the outer rind of the melon, any pathogens on the outside of the melon can be transmitted to the flesh when you cut into the melon.
You don’t need to wash it if you are storing it. Wash the melon before you cut into it.

Watermelons won’t ripen after they are picked. We are very careful to pick only ripe melons so rest assured the melon you get from us will be at it’s best. It will be heavy for its size and usually have a yellow spot on it’s ‘tummy’ where it was sitting growing on the field.

Cantaloupe, honeydew, and musk melon will continue to slightly ripen after being picked. If you get a really firm melon with no fragrance leave it on the counter for a day or two, it will ripen.
When perfectly ripe, the melon will be firm, the blossom end should smell fragrant and fruity, and the stem end shouldn’t smell like anything. If the stem end smells musky or moldy it is over ripe.

Watermelons whole will keep in the refrigerator for at least two or three weeks. If you have a cool room, 55 to 65 degrees it will keep for 3 or 4 weeks. I don’t have anywhere this time of year that stays that cool, maybe you do.
A watermelon cut up will keep in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days.

Ripe melons, cantaloupe, honeydew, and musk melons will keep in the refrigerator 7-15 days depending on the variety. They will be good and safe to eat but they might be a little over ripe if you leave them a couple weeks.

You can freeze any melon in an airtight container and use them in smoothies or fruit soups.

August 12, 2013
Cantaloupe and Prosciutto Pasta
This is one of my favorite summer meals. The melons are such a short season we try to have this at least two or three times in the summer. I often make this without prosciutto as I did this time in the photo. You can substitute bacon, turkey or vegetarian bacon if you like. The key is to have something salty to stand up to the melon. If you leave out prosciutto (or prosciutto substitute), use a little more Parmesan cheese.
- 1/4 cup fruity olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups cantaloupe, diced
- 1/4 pound thinly sliced prosciutto, very coarsely diced
- grated zest of 1 med. lemon
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- freshly ground black pepper
- 3 T. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, plus extra for serving
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
- RECOMMENDED PASTA: 8 oz. medium shells (conchiglie rigate).
Combine olive oil, cantaloupe, prosciutto, lemon zest, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese in pasta serving bowl.

Set aside to warm to room temperature, or just till flavors mingle.

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water till al dente. Drain pasta well & immediately add to sauce in bowl. Sprinkle with basil & toss. Serve at once with extra Parmesan cheese. Pass the pepper mill.
March 28, 2013
Beet and Watermelon Salad
This is one of my favorite summer salads and it travels well. Our watermelon isn’t ready at the farm yet, but I still thought I would share this with you since we do have beets. I have used mangos instead of watermelon and it’s good that way too.
- 1 bunch beets, cooked (either roasted or boiled) and cut into small bites
- Equal amount of watermelon cut the same size
For the dressing, I use:
- 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup neutral oil
Mix the dressing and pour it over the beets and melon and let that sit for an hour or so.
I like to serve the beets and melon over some bitter, spicy greens and top it with either feta or a blue cheese and some roasted nuts.
Look how shiny the beets get from steeping in the dressing and how the watermelon picks up the red color of the beets.

– Mo
February 7, 2013