Watermelon Wednesdays #5.... A refreshing gazpacho

Hello Everyone.  I hope you are having a wonderful week so far.  I'm off this morning to NYC for a quick trip...but before I left, I just had to share this yummy recipe for watermelon gazpacho from Martha Stewart. What wonderful and refreshing summer treat. Just yummy.

Ingredients:
5 cups peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped watermelon

• 1/2 cup cranberry juice
• 1 cup peeled, seeded, and diced cucumber
• 1 cup diced celery (about 2 stalks)
• 3/4 cup diced red bell pepper (about 1 pepper)
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, minced
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
• Juice of 1 lime (about 3 tablespoons)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, minced

Directions:

1. Combine 5 cups watermelon and the cranberry juice in the jar of a blender, and puree until mixture is smooth. Pass through a fine sieve into a large bowl or plastic storage container, discarding pulp. You should have 3 cups strained liquid.
2. Add cucumber, celery, bell pepper, onion, herbs, lime juice, vinegar, jalapeno, and remaining cup chopped melon to watermelon liquid, and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator until soup is well chilled, at least 1 hour. Serve, or store in refrigerator up to 1 day.

   
   

   Hope you enjoy this....have a great day!
   
   

Watermelon Wednesdays #4...A refreshing drink

I'll let the photograph do the talking....here's is an absolutely delicious drink recipe from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups chopped seedless watermelon (about 6 pounds)
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4 limes)
• 2 tablespoons sugar, plus 2 tablespoons more, if needed
• 1/2 cup vodka, (optional)
• Mint leaves

Directions:

1. Working in batches, puree in blender watermelon with lime juice and sugar until smooth. Add more sugar, if needed.
2. Transfer puree to a pitcher; add vodka, if desired. Cover; chill until ready to serve.
3. Stir; pour into tumblers, over ice. Garnish with mint.
   
   
   Hope you enjoy!!
   
   
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A Summer Salad for Watermelon Wednesday #3....

So I know it's kind of lame to re-post a previous post but I just had to share this salad again.  Trust me when I tell you - it's that good!!  Plus this was one of my very first posts - and I'm sure it was not that well read.  So here it goes:

One of my favorite things about summer is making salads. It reminds me of all the salads my grandmother used to make when we would visit her at the beach on Cape Cod in the summer. I love all kinds.  Potato salad, macaroni salad, fruit salad - you name...I love it.  Well - my favorite this summer has been a recipe that I discovered in The Food Network Magazine.  I have served it over and over again - and everyone raves about it.  I made it for my parents tonight - so I thought I would share it because they loved it so much.  It literally can be pulled together in five minutes - which makes it even better.  So here is the official recipe from The Food Network.  I change it up every so often.  Tonight - I deleted the olives...so here it is - with of course, a coastal twist.  

Try it - this will become a summer staple for sure. And the best part is - you can mix this up with different ingredients....and it looks absolutely beautiful on the table.

Directions:

Whisk 1 part white wine vinegar with 3 parts olive oil, and salt and pepper. Toss with baby arugula, red onion slices, watermelon cubes, crumbled feta, nicoise olives and fresh oregano.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/watermelon-feta-salad-recipe/index.html

Hope you enjoy this delicious recipe 

for Watermelon Wednesdays!


Try it...you will not be disappointed.

Watermelon Wednesdays #2....A Yummy Dessert Basket

Not only is this a healthy dessert from Martha Stewart...it's a pretty one.  

Directions

• 1 medium oblong seedless watermelon, (10 to 12 pounds)
• 5 to 6 pounds mixed cantaloupe and honeydew melons, seeds and rinds removed, cut into 1/2-to 1-inch-thick wedges (32 to 36 slices)
• 3 pounds red papaya, seeds and skin removed, cut into 1-inch-thick wedges (8 to 10 slices)
• Lime zest, for sprinkling
• Pink Hawaiian sea salt
• Raspberry-Lime Ginger Sauce
• Toasted Coconut Brittle

1. Trim ends off watermelon, then cut watermelon in half at an angle. Remove flesh from each half with a melon baller; set aside. Scrape out any excess flesh with a spoon for a clean, smooth interior.
2. Stand watermelon baskets upright on trimmed ends. Fill bottom third of each basket with about 40 watermelon balls. Place assorted melon and papaya slices on top of watermelon balls against the back of the basket, evenly dividing fruit between baskets. Fill in front with remaining watermelon balls. Sprinkle with lime zest. Serve with sea salt, sauce, and brittle as accompaniments.
   
   
   
   
   ENJOY!!
   
   
   
   

Watermelon Wednesday's #1....Refreshing Punch

Kicking off Spring and going into Summer, every other Wednesday I'll be posting creative food and beverage recipes to infuse watermelon (my favorite fruit) into your spring and summer season.  This first week starts off with a fabulous punch recipe from Martha Stewart Living...

Ingredients

Serves 8 to 10

• 1 oblong seedless watermelon (about 14 pounds)
• 3 cups seltzer

Directions

1. Cut top third off watermelon; trim bottom just enough to make a flat surface. Scoop out flesh.
2. Working in batches, puree watermelon in a food processor. Strain through a fine sieve; discard solids. (You should have about 9 cups juice.) Cover rind with plastic wrap. Refrigerate juice and rind until chilled, about 1 hour. Combine juice with seltzer; transfer to rind.

Doesn't this look so refreshing?

So excited it's almost Spring.

The Wonders of Watermelon

I've always associated watermelon with my childhood summers in Massachusetts.  It brings me back to memories that I now cherish so much…and would give anything to go back to – even if only for a moment – to relive just one more time.

When I was a little girl, I would get so excited when my mom would give me watermelon in the afternoon…once I finished, I'd take the seeds, gently wash them and then plant them in the ground…. or sometimes even in a can, and hope the seed would grow into my very own watermelon.  Most of the time, (when I remembered to water them)… the seeds would sprout into a little plant of some sort but (of course) they never grew into a watermelon.

Summertime means watermelon time.  So before summer ends, I thought I’d share some watermelon recipes and hope that they bring back wonderful childhood memories to you.  These are from Real Simple.

Watermelon-Lime Cooler

Ingredients

• 6 cups seedless watermelon chunks
• 4 tablespoons frozen limeade concentrate
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 cups crushed ice
• lime slices for garnish
• vodka (optional)
• 
  
• Directions
• Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. 
• (add a few tablespoons of water, if necessary). 
• Transfer to a pitcher filled with ice and serve in tall glasses. 
• Garnish with lime slices. Add vodka to taste, if desired.

Watermelon Salad With Mint and Crispy Prosciutto

Ingredients

• 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto
• 3 pounds watermelon (including rind)
• 6 radishes, quartered
• 4 scallions, sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh mint, torn
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• kosher salt and pepper
• 
  
• Directions
• Heat oven to 400° F. Arrange the prosciutto in a single layer on a baking sheet. 
• Bake until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Trim and discard the rind from the watermelon. Cut the flesh into 1/4-inch-thick triangles. 
• Place the watermelon in serving dishes and sprinkle with the radishes, scallions, mint, and peanuts. 
• Drizzle with the lime juice and oil. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.
• Break the prosciutto into pieces and sprinkle over the salad before serving.

Minted Watermelon Salad

This is on the cover of this months issue. Aug 2010




ENJOY!

Directions

Cut up a quarter of a medium watermelon (about 2 pounds) and arrange on a plate.

Sprinkle with ¼ thinly sliced red onion, ½ cup tornfresh mint leaves, and ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt and black pepper.

Summer Salads are the best.....

One of my favorite things about summer is making salads. It reminds me of all the salads my grandmother used to make when we would visit her at the beach on Cape Cod in the summer. I love all kinds.  Potato salad, macaroni salad, fruit salad - you name...I love it.  Well - my favorite this summer has been a recipe that I discovered in The Food Network Magazine.  I have served it over and over again - and everyone raves about it.  I made it for my parents tonight - so I thought I would share it because they loved it so much.  It literally can be pulled together in five minutes - which makes it even better.  So here is the official recipe from The Food Network.  I change it up every so often.  Tonight - I deleted the olives...so here it is - with of course, a coastal twist.  

Try it - this will become a summer staple for sure. And the best part is - you can mix this up with different ingredients....and it looks absolutely beautiful on the table.

Directions:

Whisk 1 part white wine vinegar with 3 parts olive oil, and salt and pepper. Toss with baby arugula, red onion slices, watermelon cubes, crumbled feta, nicoise olives and fresh oregano.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/watermelon-feta-salad-recipe/index.html