Never Enough Watermelon

I love watermelon and am always willing to try a new recipe. This one makes for an especially good summer meal.

Basic Preparation
If you don't like arugula (which I don't) any other bitter green will work. This recipe would also likely work with any other summer melon or even peaches. The key is to use ingredients that are in season rather than be a slave to the recipe.

Watermelon Salad with Serrano Vinaigrette

Watermelon Salad
1 medium seedless watermelon
1/2 lb feta
1 serrano chile, thinly sliced
1/4 lb baby arugula
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Cut the watermelon and feta into 16 three-inch squares, each 1/4-inch thick. Gently toss everything, with half of the vinaigrette, in a large bowl. Place some of the greens on each of four plates. On top of the greens on each plate arrange four watermelon slices and top each of those with a slice of feta. Garnish with serrano slices and the remaining vinaigrette.

Serrano Vinaigrette
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp champagne vinegar
1 shallot, minced
1 serrano chile, thinly sliced
1/2 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Combine all ingredients and mix until the oil is emulsified.

A Couple of Nice Melon...Recipes

If you happened on this entry because you were searching for lewd pictures then you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you are looking for some interesting summer recipes...read on!

I love watermelon and am always willing to explore new ways of ingesting it. When I was younger I picked up the habit of just chewing the seeds and swallowing them because spitting them out slowed my WPS (Watermelon Per Second) intake. Once the seedless variety became popular, I was a happy camper.

• Blackened Watermelon Salad
• Watermelon Gazpacho

Note that the salad recipe is an excellent way to use bitter greens.

Basic Preparation

Although these recipes specify watermelon, any watery melon or fruit should work. In particular, the salad would probably be good with peaches. Choosing a watermelon is a tricky business and I've never found a foolproof method. While thumping will tell you if it is ripe, there's no sure fire way of knowing if it is tasty or bland.

Blackened Watermelon Salad
4 servings

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4 lbs watermelon, seeded
1/4 apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp honey
3/4 olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
4 tsp Old Bay blackened seasoning
6 cups salad greens
1/2 cup glazed pecans
4 tbsp feta, crumbled
1/4 sugar snap peas

Balsamic Reduction:
Reduce balsamic vinegar over medium-high hear to 2 tbsp.

Vinaigrette:
Blend one cup of the watermelon, the apple cider vinegar, and honey until smooth. Slowly add olive oil until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Watermelon:
Cut melon into 12 two-inch squares, 3/4 inch thick. Dust one face with the Old Bay seasoning and sear, seasoning side down, in a light coating of hot olive oil about one minute.

Salad:
Toss the greens, pecans, feta, and peas in a large bowl with the vinaigrette. Separate the salad on four plates, top each with 3 watermelon squares and drizzle with the balsamic reduction.

Watermelon Gazpacho

4 servings

8 cups coarsely chopped watermelon, seeded
1/2 cup fine diced watermelon
4 cups country bread, crust removed and torn into small pieces
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup tomato juice
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 toasted bread rounds
Spicy Hungarian paprika
salt

Puree the coarsely chopped watermelon and strain, reserving the liquid, about 4 cups. Discard the pulp. Puree the watermelon juice, bread, olive oil, tomato juice, water, vinegar, lemon juice, and cayenne util smooth. Season to taste with salt. Chill. Divide into four bowls and garnish with the diced watermelon, bread rounds and a dusting of paprika.

Back to the Grill

We haven't grilled out as much recently and since it has been getting warm in the house I decided it would be a good idea to avoid turning on the oven.

• Chicken with Orange-Honey Glaze
• Grilled Mixed Vegetables with Potatoes

Basic Preparation

I've written a lot in the past about using fresh ingredients as a way to improve the quality of what you make at home. The same can be said for grinding your own spices. With a small, inexpensive spice or coffee grinder you will be impressed with the improved flavor of the spices you use.
When cooking foil wrapped vegetables on the grill, especially potatoes, be sure to get the foil well sealed to allow the heat and steam to build up. If you don't, you are likely to find the starchier veggies underdone while the others may dry out. Never allow glazed meats to cook glaze side down or the sugar in the glaze will crystallize and burn before the meat is cooked through. If you want a little crystallization, apply the glaze at the end and cook with the lid up for a couple of extra minutes when the meat is nearly done.

Chicken with Orange-Honey Glaze
4 servings

3 cups orange juice
5 fresh thyme sprigs
1/4 cup clover honey
3 tbs spicy Hungarian paprika
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs dty mustard powder
2 tsp ground fennel seeds
2 tbs canola oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and pepper

Combine the juice and thyme in a medium saucepan and boil over high heat until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove the thyme sprigs and whisk in the honey and 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper.

Stir together the dry spices and 1 tsp each salt and pepper. Brush both sides of the chicken with oil and rub generously with the spices.

Place the chicken on a medium-high grill for about 4 minutes. Turn over and apply the glaze to the top only. Finish cooking for another 4 minutes and until the internal temperature is at the correct temperature.

Drizzle with more glaze before serving.

Grilled Mixed Vegetables with Potatoes

4 servings

4 medium potatoes, sliced, peel on

12 asparagus spears, cut into thirds with the woody part discarded

2 Roma tomatoes, sliced

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

assorted fresh or dried herbs

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Place the vegetables in a large, shallow bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss them with the herbs and the salt and pepper. Place in a piece of aluminum foil about 2 feet long and seal well. Cook on medium-high grill about 20 minutes.

Soup Glorious Soup

It's not often I expect much out of the recipes in the Kroger coupon mailer but this one sounded like it was worth a try. I was not disappointed. The onion, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, parsley, rosemary, and thyme all came from Dewdrop Farms in Springboro, Ohio.

Basic Preparation

Although it might seems expensive, I highly recommend getting a good food processor for blending soups and chopping vegetables. It really does simplify the prep work and reduced the chance of injury, either from slicing your fingers or burning your skin. Whenever recipes call for varying amounts of herb, I always go with the upper number; for salt, I err in the other direction. I also always use reduced sodium stocks if I don't have fresh on hand. Salt is good for enhancing flavor but it shouldn't be a crutch to cover up poor flavor. When you get use to using less, you'll be surprised at how salty typical over-salted fare starts to taste.

White Bean Soup With Vegetables
4 servings

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
2 medium carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium Yukon Gold potato, chopped
1 medium zucchini, diced
4 sprigs Italian flat-leaf parsley, minced
1/4 tsp each fresh rosemary and thyme
6 cups warm chicken stock
2 1/2 cups white beans soaked and cooked
1 tbs unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and saute the onion, carrot, celery, and potato until they sweat.

Stir in the parsley, rosemary, and thyme. Add the zucchini, stock, and beans. Cook 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Puree to a uniform consistency. Stir in butter and season with salt and pepper. Cook and additional 3-5 minutes.

Not Just For The Soul

I guarantee if you make this chicken soup recipe, you will never open another can or packet again. It is adapted from a recipe by Emeril Lagasse. The onion, thyme, and parsley were provided by Dewdrop Farms in Springboro, Ohio.

Basic Preparation

I cannot stress enough the importance of using freshly ground pepper. Find a good grinder and never buy pre-ground...ever! I also suggest never using salted butter when cooking. You can always adjust the salt at the end. If you don't have real chicken stock or canned I would advise against using bouillon. Why go to all the bother of making fresh chicken soup if you just plan to ruin it with those little cubes. Open up a can of soup and wait until you can buy some. The only substitute for regular bouillon is Better Than Bouillon. If you are using a small noodle like alphabet or stars be sure not too much or they will swell and you'll end up noodle cake.

Simple Chicken Noodle Soup
4 hearty servings

1 whole chicken (3-4 lbs)
1 quart chicken stock
2 quarts water
2 medium onions, quartered
2 carrots, roughly chopped

2 celery stalks, roughly chopped

2 sprigs fresh thyme

5-6 parsley stems

2 bay leaves

2 tbs unsalted butter

1/2 cup diced onions

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 lb noodles

2 tbs fresh parsley

Place the chicken in a large soup pot and cover with chicken broth and water. Add the onion quarters, roughly chopped carrots and celery, thyme, parsley stems, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

Remove the chicken and, when cool enough to handle, shred the meat. Strain the liquid through cheese cloth and discard the vegetables reserving the liquid.

Melt the butter in the pot over medium-high heat. Add the diced carrots, onions, and celery and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved broth and meat and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer until cooked, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

A Daughter's Birthday Dinner

My oldest had a specific request for her birthday dinner. She called it "pumpkin squash soup" and brought me the cookbook she'd used when she made it herself. Turns out it was Red Curry of Roasted Fall Vegetables from "Kitchen Seasons" by Ross Dobson. I highly recommend both the book and the recipe. The book urges eating local produce in season. Although studies seem to show this isn't healthier than the crap produce you get at the local grocery, I guarantee you fewer pesticides and a much better flavor! The potatoes, carrots, onion and basil were provided by Dewdrop Farms in Springboro, Ohio.

Basic Preparation

Although you could make the curry paste yourself, that can be a time consuming process. I only suggest it if you are unable to get a good quality one. I use Maseri which comes in little round colored cans. They can usually be found in well stocked foreign markets. The flavor and quality of the dish will be directly impacted by your choice of curry paste. If you walk away thinking, "eh, it was just so, so" you probably used a cheap curry paste.

My daughter can't handle very spicy foods which this dish definitely is. She used a cheaper curry paste so didn't realize how spicy it could get. I felt bad because my version was hotter than she wanted but she insisted on eating it because she said it tasted so good. Had I known, I would have let it set overnight. If you have trouble with spicy foods, you can do the same. The coconut milk will greatly reduce the heat if left overnight in the fridge.

Cutting a tough squash can be a troublesome task. I prefer acorn and it is more easily cut by slicing it along the groves into cantaloupe-like slivers. These can then be peeled with a potato peeler.

Red Curry of Roasted Fall Vegetables
4 servings

4 small new potatoes, quartered
1 large carrot, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tbs light olive oil
14 oz pumpkin or other winter squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into batons
1 medium onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 can (13-15oz) coconut milk
2 tbs red curry paste
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs fish sauce
1 cup chicken stock
handful of fresh basil

Preheat the oven and baking sheet to 425. Put the carrot and potatoes on the hot baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle with 1 tbs of olive oil and roast for 10 minutes. Add the squash, parsnip, and onion and roast for another 20 minutes.

Heat the coconut milk in a small sauce pan until is starts to separate. Heat remaining 1 tbs of oil in a heavy skillet. Add the curry paste and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the coconut milk, brown sugar, and fish sauce to the curry and cook for a couple of minutes more bringing to a strong simmer. Add the roasted vegetables and the basil. Cook for five minutes more.

Serve over rice, preferably basmati or jasmine.

Looking Forward to the Cold

With winter on the (distant) horizon, we decided to work on our split pea soup recipe. Past attempts were tasty but the peas never seemed to fully cook. So for this attempt, we decided to use a slow cooker. The result was a good consistency but was more bland than we would have preferred. This can probably be corrected by adding another Cajun belle pepper, and substituting a ham and ham bone for pork shoulder. It also might help to replace the water with a vegetable stock.

The onions, Cajun belle pepper, and lemon thyme were provided by Dewdrop Farms in Springboro, Ohio.

Basic Preparation

It is important to remember that very little liquid will evaporate from the slow cooker so you should use less water than called for. With soups, this means putting all the ingredients in the pot and then just covering with water. This recipe was adapted from Emeril Lagasse's "Ham and Split Pea Soup."

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
6 servings

1 pound dried split peas
I pork shoulder
3 tbs unsalted butter
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
1 tbs garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 Cajun belle pepper, minced (with seeds)
2 bay leaves
small handful of fresh lemon thyme sprigs

Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker and cover with water. Cook on high for at least 4 hours or low for 6.