Frugal Summer Fruit: Watermelon

As a kid, watermelon is the fruit I associate with summer.  We used to buy the old fashioned watermelons, gigantic ones that must have weighed nearly 20 pounds, and because we didn’t have room enough in the fridge, we would have to eat huge amounts until it was all gone.  In season, watermelon can often be found at a reasonable price per pound.  I usually like watermelon plain and eaten wedge-after-wedge.

In addition, with summer fruits in season, I like making a simple fruit salad with chopped up summer stone fruits, melons and berries.  I keep the fruit salad very simple, with no added sugar to allow the fruit flavors to shine through. I also make a simple agua fresca, of 3 parts lightly crushed ripe watermelon and one part ice as a complement to Mexican meals.  Although the traditional Mexican recipe adds sugar syrup, I find that this interferes with the clean fruit tastes.  I used to scoff at watermelon recipes, until I spotted one with watermelon and feta and it sounded so intriguing I had to try it.  The sweet and salty combination is surprisingly good.

Watermelon and Feta Salad

2 cups of watermelon, cubed and seeded
1/4 cup feta cheese, broken into small chunks
1 T mint leaves, chopped

Combine and mix lightly, serve immediately.

see other ideas and recipes at Frugal Friday and Food Renegade and Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Grocery Cart Challenge