Thank You & Watermelon 2 Ways

Recently, I was surprised to find that myself, along with three fellow bloggers, were mentioned on Bo's wonderful blog, Bo's Bowl.
Bo, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. I'm truly grateful.

The experience of blogging has been nothing short of inspiring to me. The kindness and generosity and support I've experienced since being a part of the blogosphere resonate with me in a way no other online social medium has been able to. In an age where things that once held meaning have been relegated to ephemeral, inconsequential, and ultimately, disposable, I find that blogging has been able to transcend the mishegoss and tap into the pulse of others' because to keep people in tune with what you're doing, sharing, writing about, you're only asked to adhere to one rule, do it from the heart. Whether you're observant & witty, bemused & random, open & healing, cooking, eating, photographing, reviewing, traveling, Sunday cat(ting), anecdotal, and on ad infinitum, I appreciate everything you do, because you do it with heart.

Watermelon & Feta Salad

One morning my grandmother comes downstairs and starts "Terri..." (Terri is what she calls me even though she knows I hate, loathe, strongly dislike, would rather be called Terrianne or "T", or given my druthers, Ree, as it goes). So, "Terri," she says, "I was watching 'Chopped' last night (on The Food Network), and one of the contestants made a watermelon salad." She continued. "The judges said it was one of the best things they've ever had."
Although I had heard of watermelon salad before, the concept of combining fruit with something salty/ savory like feta or vinaigrette is faily new to me.
Re: Strawberry & Spinach Salad
I'm all about trying new things, so I began by making a watermelon salad that consisted on red onion, mango, feta, basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. I'll be honest, I really did not like it. In fact, I only ate the feta and threw the rest away. And I never like to throw food away! Not one to give up easily, I tried the salad again with just watermelon, feta, basil (you could also use mint) and a drizzle of fresh lime juice. Though the flavor was an improvement over my former endeavor, I still did not like and ended up only eating the feta.



















In the end, even though this salad wasn't to my taste, I'm always glad for a new experience.
















The same cannot be said for the watermelon-vodka sorbet, which I adored! As much as I love Alton Brown and his erudite approach to cooking, and how much I learn from that, I found the original call for 1 & 1/4 cups sugar excessive, so I cut it down by more than half. As fruit varies in sweetness, I suggest starting with 1/2 cup sugar and adding more if necessary. But please, whatever you do, make this!

Watermelon-Vodka Sorbet

Recipe courtesy and Adapted from Alton Brown

















2 heaping cups diced watermelon, muskmelon or honeydew

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons vodka

1/2 cup sugar, more to taste if necessary

Directions:

Add melon to bowl of food processor and process until liquefied. To liquefied watermelon, add in freshly squeezed lemon juice, vodka, and sugar, process until completely blended, about 30 seconds. Pour mixture into air-tight container and refrigerate until cold, about an hour. Once the mixture has chilled, pour into ice cream maker and churn or according to machine's directions. Place churned mixture in freezer and allow to freeze at least 4 hours before serving.
















If NOT using an ice cream maker, pour mixture into freezer safe bowl, cover securely and place in freezer. Every hour, remove from freezer and stir to break up ice crystals until mostly frozen. Allow mixture to continue freezing until ready to serve.