Friday, July 13, 2012

When Watermelon isn't Sweet...

Of late, all they've been selling around here are the seedless, small, "Personal Watermelons."  They seem to be just as expensive as the old-fashioned big watermelons, but at least half of them lack flavor.  It's very disappointing.  So, with the remains of one last weekend, inspired by a book I was reading, this is what I did:

FIX THAT WATERMELON

2 cups cut up watermelon (bite sized pieces)
2 to 4 tbsp honey
1 cup cottage cheese

Drizzle the honey over the watermelon, stir well, and let sit for 15 minutes.  Stir in the cottage cheese, and let it sit another 15 minutes.  Serve for breakfast, lunch or dessert.  If you keep it overnight, you might to need to drain some liquid off the top before serving.

Inspired by the book:

IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT
by Robin Allen

Poppy Markham is a restaurant inspector in the city of Austin, Texas, a job she took after leaving her father's restaurant when he remarried and hired his new wife's daughter, Ursula, as chef.  One particular weekend, her father asked her to come back to work in the restaurant, helping in the kitchen and dining room, for the grand reopening featuring a French chef named Evariste, who has a Michelin Star.  Evariste was a roundly disliked, difficult person who, on Friday night during the grand reopening, turned up dead beside the dumpster in back of the restaurant; later that evening, Poppy's father had a heart attack.  Ursula, who is herself a difficult person, was quickly arrested for the murder, and Poppy's stepmother immediately demanded that Poppy deal with the police and get them to release Ursula at once.  But Evariste was stabbed with one of Ursula's knives; who else could have been suspect?  Evariste's wife, Bonbon?  Trevor, Ursula's assistant?  Will, the general manager?  And what were those 3 guys who were clearly not from Austin, as evidenced by their wearing of suits and ties (completely out of character for Austin, which I know from business dealings in Austin) doing in the restaurant, meeting with Will, and meeting with Bonbon at her hotel?  Where was the flash drive, which allegedly held Evariste's latest recipes and secrets?  A fun romp, available both for Kindle and as a real book.

The inspiration for my watermelon fix came when Poppy went into the kitchen of her father's restaurant looking for food, and found some fruit, honey and other ingredients; Bingo!  That was what I needed!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

12 comments:

Diane said...

We have the old fashioned water melon around here, but I will remember this if we ever get the tasteless variety. Diane

Sue said...

Watermelon is about the only local fruit that does have any flavor around here. We learned long ago to not buy local fruit.

Mickle in NZ said...

Weirdly, I don't like watermelon - kind of frustrating given wonderful recipes like yours!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I thought the book was an article at first. Whew.

I think the more they jimmy around with fruit and even flowers, the more they lack in taste and scent. So I like to grow heirlooms, though I'm doing a pretty poor job of that this summer.

pam said...

We found some personal watermelons that were yellow that were amazing. Unbelievably sweet. I'll see if I can find out what kind they were.

~~louise~~ said...

What an inspiring solution Marjie. Now you know I've been thinking about Watermelon since we hit the month of July which of course just happens to be...that's it, Watermelon Month!!!

We've been disappointed in the Watermelon around here too but I think it's because they aren't really local but shipped in from who knows where. I only wish the ones we are buying here were labeled, lol...

Thanks for sharing...have a wonderful weekend!

SissySees said...

Another book I want to read!

But in our house, not sweet enough watermelon goes to the dogs. They love it.

Linda said...

I'm not a huge fan of watermelon but I CAN pick a good one......usually. We've had some real good seedless ones this season. I haven't seen an old fashioned seeded one at all for a couple of years.

Lapdog Creations said...

hmm... how disappointing to get a NON sweet watermelon, but your recipe sounds great!

Blond Duck said...

Great recipe and review!

Mary said...

I hate the watermelon we've been getting around here the past few years. We tried growing our own a couple times, but have had absolutely no luck with it. Maybe next year we'll get it planted early enough!

grace said...

that's a new watermelon twist definitely worth trying!
i'm LOVING inspector lewis! i laughed out loud for so long at hathaway bowing to that woman in the first episode. actually, that whole exchange was hilarious. :)