Watermelons can come in a variety of sizes and colors. You can get the large family size or the individual sized ones. There are also cantaloupes and honey dew melons. These are all readily available at your local road stands or farmers markets.
There is nothing like eating a slice of melon all by itself, but if you’re going to a barbeque, why not take it to the next level with a nice dip.
But first, how do you pick the best melon? Here’s how.
The best way to pick both Honeydew and Cantaloupe is by smell. If it’s not fragrant, it’s probably not ripe. But please, do NOT put your nose on the melon smelling it or any other type of fruit or vegetable and put it back! Smelling from an inch or two away will be sufficient.
Also, melons should feel heavy for their size.
When picking a watermelon, look for a white patch somewhere along those green stripes. This patch indicates the melon has had enough time to sit and ripen.
Now let’s get creative.
Watermelon Fries With Coconut Lime Sauce
½ Watermelon, rind removed and cut into long fry-like shapes
Salt to taste (if you like it that way. Personally, I save that for cantaloupe.)
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 Lime juice
SAUCE:
1 cup Coconut Yogurt
1 Lime zest and juice
1 Tbsp Honey
Instructions
Cut rind off watermelon and cut into long fry-like shapes.
Add desired amount of salt, cayenne pepper, and lime juice to watermelon.
In a small bowl, mix coconut yogurt, lime zest and juice, and honey.
Serve watermelon fries with dipping sauce.
Melon Fruit Salad with Minty-Lime Dressing
1 chilled cantaloupe, halved and seeded
1 chilled honeydew, halved and seeded
1 chilled small seedless watermelon, halved
Dressing:
⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon of honey
¼ cup vanilla yogurt
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
4 teaspoons freshly minced mint leaves
Instructions
Using a melon baller, scoop out the flesh of each melon and place in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Alternatively, cut the melon into bite-sized pieces.
To make the dressing, combine the remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth.
Just before serving, pour dressing over melon and toss to combine.
And for the kids
Triple Melon Popsicles
1 ½ cups each cubed watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1/3 cup (6 tbsp) lime juice
Honey or agave nectar as needed to taste
Instructions
Combine watermelon, ½ cup of the coconut milk, and 2 tablespoons of the lime juice in a blender, and puree until smooth.
Taste and add honey or agave nectar as desired to sweeten, a tablespoon at a time.
Repeat the process with the cantaloupe and honeydew.
Fill popsicle molds a third full with the watermelon mix and insert popsicle sticks. Freeze for an hour until frozen. Fill the middle third with the cantaloupe mix, and freeze for another hour until frozen. Fill the top third with the honeydew mix, to just below the top of the molds, and freeze until fully solid.
And if you don’t have popsicle molds, you can use paper or plastic cups and a popsicle stick. It’s not fancy, but it still tastes the same.
