Grilled Watermelon Wedges with Balsamic Reduction

Here's one last recipe from my Blooming Glen Farm demo last week--and this one is probably the most unusual of the ones I made that day.  But it was also the one that was completely scarfed up by samplers.

I love grilling fruit.  I think it really brings out flavors that you might miss from the raw fruit.  Watermelon is no exception.  You just have to make sure that you don't grill it for too long or it will get pretty mushy.  (If you missed it, click here for a grilled cantaloupe and peach recipe from my demo in July.)

This dish has that sweet and salty thing going on, which I love.  And I think you'll love it, too!  It will be the talk of your picnic.

GRILLED WATERMELON WEDGES WITH BALSAMIC REDUCTION
Serves 4-6

You can cut up the watermelon to serve as a salad if you wish.  I like serving it in wedges as an interesting finger food.

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 lb watermelon, preferably seedless
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
1/2 cup feta cheese (or goat cheese)
Pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

• In a small saucepan, bring vinegar to a simmer over med-high heat.  Cook until reduced to a thick syrup.  Set aside.
• Preheat grill to high.
• Cut watermelon into half-moon slices.  Brush both sides of melon with oil.
• Clean and oil the grill grates.  Grill watermelon about 2 min per side or until grill marks appear.  Transfer to a plate and season with salt.  When cool, cut into smaller wedges.
• Place wedges on a platter.  Drizzle with balsamic reduction and sprinkle with crumbled cheese.  Finish with pepper and a little extra-virgin olive oil if you wish.

Watermelon and What?!

Another true flavor of summer is watermelon. 

Getting a fresh, sweet, ripe watermelon on it's own is good enough to please the ol' taste buds.  But I'm always on the lookout for interesting flavor combinations.  So here's a salad that I made that puts together ingredients that you may not think would go so well.

But they do!  Sweet, salty, savory--it's all there!  Try it!

WATERMELON SALAD WITH FETA, OLIVES AND BACON
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
8 lbs watermelon (preferably seedless), cut into 1 1/2" chunks (about 10 cups), chilled
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled (or more to taste)
1 cup kalamata olives, coarsely chopped (or more to taste)
1 small sweet onion, cut in 1/2" dice
1 cup mint, coarsely chopped
5 sliced bacon, cooked until crispy and coarsely chopped

• In a large bowl, whisk together oil, juice, salt, hot sauce and pepper. 
• Add watermelon, feta, olives and onion.  Toss gently.
• Garnish with mint and bacon.  Serve chilled.

Watermelon Pico de Gallo

This is the best time of the year for watermelon.  Sweet and juicy--it's one of those things (along with tomatoes and peaches) that just says "SUMMER". 

For most folks (Jake, for example), just chomping down on a slice of watermelon is the best way to eat it.  But watermelon is actually a great ingredient to use in ways that you might not expect--like in this recipe, for example.

This is one of the recipes I made at Blooming Glen Farm last week.  It was a big hit with all who tasted it.  So here's the simple receipe. 

Watermelon Pico de Gallo
Serves 6

Serve as a salsa with tortilla chips.  It's also great as a condiment with grilled fish or meat.

INGREDIENTS

2 medium tomatoes, diced

16 oz watermelon, diced slightly larger than the tomatoes

1 Tbsp red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, diced (remove seeds and veins, if a less-spicy dish is desired)
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
Juice of half a lime (or more, to taste)
Salt, to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, toss gently and chill for about an hour. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Frozen Watermelon

Somehow we got more watermelon than we can eat at one time. And we haven't even tried the ones from our garden yet.

Anyway, I decided to make a Watermelon Sorbet. Haven't tasted it yet, but it can't be bad--or more easy.

Watermelon Sorbet

Watermelon Sorbet base ready to
be chilled.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups watermelon, cubed

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lime juice

• Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor.
• Chill mixture for at least an hour in the fridge.
• Freeze in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
• If you don't have an ice cream maker, you could make a granita by pouring mixture in a rimmed baking dish. Put in freezer for about an hour, then scrape with a fork to break up ice crystals. Return to freezer. Before serving, let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving. Scrape again with a fork, then spoon into serving dishes.

I also decided to try to freeze watermelon chunks--essentially turning them into watermelon ice cubes. Cube the melon and set the cubes on a sheet pan (don't let the chunks touch). Freeze. Then, when totally frozen, put chunks in a zipper bag for storage. I don't know if they'll be too hard to eat straight from the freezer (I think so), but you could let them thaw slightly and eat them as a slushy melon. Or buzz them in the blender and add to lemonade or iced tea.

 

On another topic, here's yet another bowl full of garden bounty. Got a bunch more ground cherries, too. The purple pepper was really a cool color--of course it looses the color when cooked.

  

Spit It Out!

At Jake's request, this year we planted watermelons (we usually do cantaloupes).  And up until now, they've been doing pretty well.  Suddenly, the plants don't look so healthy--not sure if they need water or if something's eating them from inside. 

Here's one of our melons from a week or so ago.  It's now about the size of a volleyball, but according to the variety that we planted--Black Diamond--the fruit gets to be about 30-50 pounds!  We have a quite a way to go.  I hope we get at least one.

Elsewhere, watermelons are starting to appear in markets and farms.  To me, watermelon is so often disappointing, that I don't usually care for it.  How can you find a watermelon that is going to be sweet, juicy and delicious?  Check out my latest post on Bucks County Taste to find out!

Down on the Farm, Part II

Back at the end of May, we planted our garden.  You may remember my previous post about it.  Well, not much more than a month later, things are looking pretty good!  In fact, it's the best our garden has done in a long time--maybe ever!

A mix of nice garden weather--hot and humid--and our using mushroom soil this year are the causes of our green success.  Already, we've picked more zucchini and squash than we can use--there are about 7 or 8 in our fridge and we've made muffins and fried & grilled squash.  Gotta be creative.  Our tomatoes aren't getting red yet, but they will.  We've had a nice dinner with our beans and there are eggplants, peppers and watermelons starting.  And there will be loads of ground cherries.  If I only knew what to do with them.  Hello, Google!

As you can see from the pictures, the plants are growing like gangbusters--almost growing too much.  The squash plants that ate Blooming Glen!  I'm worried that the plants in the middle won't get enough sun, but I'm sure they'll be OK.

Mary Beth deserves pretty much all of the credit for our gardening success.  She's the one who spent so much time pulling weeds and getting the beds ready.  The least I can do it make her some dinner.  Something with squash, perhaps.

Have a great holiday weekend!