Summer melon salad. This “recipe,” if you can call it that, just goes to show that 1. simpler is better, always, and 2. food tastes best when it’s in season.
This salad simply wouldn’t work if the melon, which is the star of the show here, was bland, lackluster, or flavorless. The feta cheese, olive oil and coarse sea salt enhance and balance the richly sweet flavors of this juicy melon. The red pepper flakes bring the heat (but not too much!). The basil adds a savory pop of freshness.
These are truly the flavors of summer.
As a side note: We had a similar dish at a restaurant recently, only they weren’t using melon, they were using tender ripe heirloom tomatoes. Tomatoes so sweet they work just as well with this application and flavor combination.
Anyway, back to this gorge melon.
I hadn’t noticed melons at the farmers market until this year. Maybe I just wasn’t looking for them before. Maybe I was too preoccupied with all the dang berries, as I usually am, but melons and here and they are delish!
Some thoughts on mini-farming
I’ve been mentally taking note of all the fruits and veg I’m going to grow when I have my tiny lawn or backyard or whatever it ends up being.
Speaking of lawns: I saw a kind of terrifying but uplifting animated infographic recently about why you should turn your lawn into a mini-farm.
Comic: Why You Should Turn Your Yard Into a Mini-Farm https://t.co/WPwxM7prMc@yesmagazinepic.twitter.com/4Jvw1aYQeF
— Modern Farmer (@ModFarm) August 12, 2017
In short, if you’re gonna have a large lawn, plant things that yield food and/or help the bees, that last more than one year, and that provide for you and your community. They can save you hundreds of dollars in grocery bills yearly.
It’s a high bar but I know it’s something I want to do once I have some land.
On a related note, I’ve noticed on my morning walks that there are so many unattended garden boxes that are growing great produce, like cherry tomatoes, kale, fresh dill and so many other things but they seem like they’ve been abandoned. They’re usually in the space between the sidewalk and the street.
I wonder, would anyone notice if I “harvested” them? 😛
What are your thoughts on mini-farms versus lawns? What’s your favorite way to eat summer melon? I want to know!
This is summer on a plate. An easy sweet and savory recipe for your fresh summer melon!
Ingredients
- 1 small ripe summer melon (I used a small cantaloupe, but honeydew could work)
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 1 tbsp fresh basil
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- red pepper flakes
- coarse sea salt
Instructions
- Peel, de-seed and slice melon into half moons.
- Toss the melon with feta cheese, fresh torn basil, sea salt and red pepper flakes.
- Portion into 4 servings.
- Drizzle a healthy portion of good olive oil over each plate.
- Enjoy!
