Watermelon Five Ways

When life gives you lemons, I'm told you're supposed to make lemonade. But what about when life (via the farmer's market) delivers a boatload of watermelon?

Well, I started with watermelonade. After a minute in the blender the watermelon and crushed ice (via hammer) made for a refreshing summer drink. It's no lemonade, but what is?

Given that watermelon is 92 percent water, it's a natural as a drink. My one concern, the seeds, were easy to avoid because they settled at the bottom.

Taking things into smoothie territory, I added some banana and yogurt. I'd recommend the former, but not the latter. Maybe add a little orange juice for extra flavor, but you don't want to overpower the watermelon.

Next, I tried cut-up watermelon in my morning Grapenuts. I'm not sure what happened, but my stomach felt like I'd consumed Pop Rocks and Pepsi. As in this video--notice the Pop Rocks flavor!--the combination didn't kill me. But it sure didn't feel good.

Afternoon snack meant cut watermelon with banana slices. It sounds plain, but it doesn't really need anything else. I imagine grapes would work well here, too.

Finally, I tried watermelon in my salad, piggy-backing on Crook's Corner chef Bill Smith's idea (as seen on the cover of Southern Living's July issue). I didn't make his tomato-and-watermelon salad. Instead, I added watermelon to a salad with tomato, lettuce, cucumbers, red onion and Gorgonzola. The watermelon meshed with all parties, playing the role I usually reserve for a Granny Smith.

These ideas provided a nice change of pace. But after eating melon morning, noon and night, I'd say its best use is a familiar one: a big slice right after dinner, preferably eaten outside in the summer heat and washed down with a tall glass of lemonade.

Melon-choly

I visited the Raleigh Farmer's Market this week. The visit, coupled with the beads of sweat perched on my forehead, reminded me that it's full-on summer. Tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon were all abundantly in season. The zucchini, or squash, as it was called, looked invitingly green.

While the cantaloupes and their beckoning free samples were attractive, I asked around to see if anyone had honeydew, my favorite melon. Nope.

But if you're looking for honeydew, one vendor told me, you should try the sprite melon across the way. After being reassured that the soda industry wasn't in cahoots with North Carolina farmers, I examined what looked like a small honeydew.

The grower, a young man, was giving it toothpick tastes. He described it as a cross between a pear and a honeydew. Maybe the worst parts of each. In hindsight, it's not surprising that I didn't enjoy its flavor, since I don't love a pear.

Back at the ranch, I learned a bit more about the sprite melon. While I was under the impression the sprite melon was a result of some cross-breeding, it's actually an Oriental crisp flesh melon, said Nick Augostini, a marketing specialist at the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture's Specialty Crops program.

Around 2000, the N.C. Specialty Crops Program realized there was a market for this melon and that it would thrive in North Carolina's climate. Today, sprite melons are grown here and shipped across the country, sometimes marketed as Paradise Melons (I think).

Anyway, the outing made me realize there's a whole world of melons, waiting to be discovered. And while I'm getting around to that exploration, I'm enjoying a good ol' watermelon from the farmer's market.