Watermelon Salad

Posted by Judy | Bebe Love Okazu on October 18, 2010 in Blog, Fruit, Salad | 2 comments

Watermelon, BBQ’s and lazy, hot summer days always seem to go hand-in-hand. Not this time! Fall is finally in full-swing in So. Cal. but last week I made watermelon salad and it was quite refreshing, even for a Fall evening.

Two weeks ago Bebe E and I went over to our good friends N & N’s home for a costume-making get together. I was originally invited over for my past creativity and craftiness with Halloween costumes, but the mastermind behind all of my costumes has always been M, yet another one of our childhood best girlfriends who is extremely talented and artistic. N made a fabulous spread for all of us who were invited to help with her son’s costume. She has always been, and always will be, a fabulous cook and hostess. As expected, I ended-up not helping with her son’s costume since I was otherwise preoccupied running after my own little one, and basically ended-up going over to simply eat great food and socialize. It was a great evening out. Our two other girlfriends, including super artist M, came through and made an amazing big truck costume for N’s son. Way to go, ladies (and Mr. N)!

One of the dishes that my girlfriend served at dinner was a watermelon salad. It was comprised of fresh watermelon, onions, mint and feta cheese. It was so delicious! Then, a few days after our get together, I went to visit my parents and… guess what?!? The watermelons my Dad had been growing the past few months were ripe and he cut one open for us to take home. Yay! It was sweet, with pink flesh, black seeds and best of all, it was organic and grown with love!

Every week when Bebe E and I would visit Bachan and Jichan (grandparents), we would excitedly look at the watermelons to see how much they’d grown from the previous week. I took pictures, of course.

Watermelon is probably Bebe E’s favorite fruit. She knows what watermelon looks like on the outside and she points at them at the supermarket and reaches out to them because she thinks it’s fun to touch them. Or maybe she’s trying to tell me that I need to open it for her so that she can eat some of it.

The funny thing is that I’ve disliked watermelon for many, many years. I ate it as a child because I thought it was fun to eat the big red wedges and spit out the seeds, but as I got older I realized I didn’t really like the taste of watermelon and stopped eating it. For some reason, while I was pregnant with Bebe E, I found a new found love (more like an obsession) with watermelon! I couldn’t get enough of it. I’m fairly confident that it was my little baby making me eat it. Since then, whenever I’m around watermelon, I can’t resist but to eat lots of it! Bebe E is the same.

My parents had a good time tending to their watermelon patch. For some reason, my Dad decided to plant the watermelon in the front yard alongside the driveway. I’m pretty sure that this was a decision based upon the fact that his Spring florals were done for the season and he didn’t know what else to plant in their place. I told him that someone would steal the watermelons despite the fact that they live in a safe neighborhood. It is after all, L.A.! Anyway, he just laughed. Well, it turns out that the watermelon pictured in the bottom left corner (above) was indeed stolen, about 6 to 8 weeks before it was ready to be harvested. The watermelon bandit was likely very disappointed to find white flesh, not the pink, sweet fruit that we enjoyed!

My parents are already planning their watermelon patch (or patches, I should say) for next summer. My Mom wants my Dad to plant them in the front yard again, as well as in the back yard. Of course, my suggestion to grow one huge watermelon patch in the backyard to prevent future watermelon bandits from stealing their crop was poo-pooed despite the fact that they have a big enough backyard. Apparently, my parents enjoyed the “oohs” and “ahhs” from their neighbors, and the many people on their walks who would stop and ask about their watermelon patch. My Mom and Dad found great joy and entertainment talking to all those who stopped to chat. My parents are cute.

Prior to making my watermelon salad, I hopped onto one of my favorite websites, Food Network, and chose Giada DeLaurentiis’ watermelon salad for inspiration. Given Bebe Dada is not a fan of soft cheeses (he won’t touch any kind of soft cheese with a 10′ pole), I went without it. Also, in lieu of the recipe’s watercress or baby arugula (which is my all time favorite salad green but is Bebe Dada’s worst enemy) I used organic baby spinach. While Bebe Dada approached my watermelon salad with caution, stating he’d never eaten watermelon prepared in this way, he said it was refreshing and quite delicious. I thought it was great, even with the ingredient modifications, and I’m looking forward to making this again.

Watermelon Salad

(serves two)

• 2 cups watermelon, cubed into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 cup very thinly sliced sweet onion
• 1 cup loose spinach, chopped horizontally in long strips
• 6 mint leaves, chopped fine
• 1/4 lemon, juiced
• 3/4 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Dash of fresh course ground black pepper

Thinly slice onion and rinse with water. Then soak in fresh water for 20-30 minutes. I ended up soaking them overnight because I didn’t get a chance to make this salad as I originally planned. Soaking the onions reduces the sharpness of the onion’s flavor and aroma. My mom did this anytime she served raw onions.

In a medium bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Add watermelon, onion, mint and spinach and toss very gently in the olive oil and lemon mixture. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Cheers!

bebe mama