Seedy Crackers

Hi there!
I've been making these crackers for a good 4 months now and it seems like I ought to share them; particularly since I took them to every holiday gathering I attended. [Gluten- nut- egg-free things are always popular at parties.] People kept asking for the recipe and now, finally, I'm passing it along to the masses.*  Yes, I realize it's now past the holiday party season, but you can still make these, just for you.  They're an exceptionally flavorful snack all by themselves, but they're also great with cheeses or hummus, or tapenade.  The best thing about these pretty little crackers?  They're even easier to make than my go-to wheat crackers.

I first made them for a meat and cheese picnic because I wanted to have a second type of cracker to compliment with my usual crackers, and came across this recipe from a very nice GF website.  I wasn't actually planning to go sans gluten, but I liked the premise of the recipe.  Once I went gluten-free, though, I decided I may as well go nut-free, and once I started getting seedy, it just made sense to use flax seeds instead of eggs, which makes these babies quite vegan... but they don't taste vegan [if you know what I mean], so they're popular with just about everyone.

Gluten-free things need a little extra help holding things together, which is why the inspiration recipe used egg.  The flax seeds work as an egg substitute because they contain a good bit of mucilage, which is a clear gelling agent found in almost all plants that absorbs water and binds it into "mucilaginous gel."  [Cacti and other succulents have lots of mucilage.] Grinding the flax exposes the mucilage and mixing it with water lets it goop everything together. Fun, huh?

Recipe: Seedy Crackers

Roasted Okra

I've been on an okra kick lately.  I'm not sure how it started.  Growing up I only ever had fried okra at school (yes, in the south, fried okra is a school lunch vegetable) and when I lived in Houston I got to know it as a component of gumbo and some Indian veggie dishes, but I wasn't really partial to it and I have no idea what possessed me to buy some at the grocery store the other day, except for the fact that I don't think I'd ever seen in my Cambridge grocery store.

Once I got it home I wasn't sure what to do with it, so I did what I do to all new vegetables [and most of my favorites]: I roasted it.

It was fantastic.  The okra flavor was rich and earthy, and the roasting made it not at all slimy. [Okra is boiled in gumbo and curries because the goo it releases acts as a thickener.]  I wanted more, but a week later the store seemed to have the same batch of okra sitting out and they were no longer green and firm but soft and spotty brown... I guess when you don't usually carry a product and your customers aren't too familiar with it, you can get away with letting it go bad in full display?

I was bummed until I discovered something wonderful.  I went to little Indian convenience store on the corner for a quick gallon of milk and down on the bottom shelf of their refrigerated section was a giant box of fresh okra for half the price per pound I'd paid at the big grocery store.  Of course!  I think of it as "Southern", but it's native to Africa and grown throughout India... and Indian food is much cheaper than Southern food in Yankee Land. The ethnic store wins again!


Recipe: Oven Roasted Okra

Low-Fat Refried Beans

Here's another simple, wholesome-if-you-make-it food that cooks fast: refried beans.  The name comes from frijoles refrito, which actually means "well-fried beans" not "twice-fried beans" but there needn't be much frying at all to get a flavorful spread that's great for layering or dipping... friends back in Texas even include lean refried beans in their baby food rotation since it's a more substantial food than carrot puree.
 

I know plenty of people will think refried beans have limited Tex-Mex uses, but I learned better from my Grandpa Ed. Back in the day, he was a man who ate peanut butter like nobody's business; if my grandmother was away for a few days, he'd just eat peanut 'til she got back -- not because he couldn't cook but because it was all he really wanted to eat anyway.  [You may recall I made a stick-to-your-mouth peanut butter shortbread in his honor.]

Unfortunately, sometime in his late 60s or early 70s, the doctor told him his cholesterol was too high and the peanut butter had to go... forever.  It was a blow, but he soon discovered he could use canned low-fat refried beans as a substitute. It wasn't the same flavor, but somehow the texture was enough to satisfy him.  How he discovered this, I do not know, but as a result I've tried refried beans in and on many things you may not otherwise consider...  and, frankly, refried beans in a lunchmeat sandwich was a lot less weird than the peanut butter version.  Refried beans and celery sticks?  Delicious.

Think of it as "pinto bean hummus" if that makes it easier to diversify.  Despite its "refried" name, this recipe actually has less fat than hummus...

Recipe: Low-Fat Refried Beans

Wax Beans

I know many people are scarred by cans of three-bean salad.  Personally I always liked it, but I like most pickled things.  I will admit, however, that I've never been inclined to buy fresh wax beans, in part because I didn't know what to do with them beside three-bean salad.

The answer is one of my favorites*: Roast them!  A woman I know was waxing poetic about them at the market, about how much more meaty and flavorful they were than supermarket green beans, so I figured I may as well try them... and once they were home I figured I may as well cook them like I usually cook green beans.**

I sprayed them with oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and then broiled them in my toaster oven for about 15 minutes [ovens vary; check at 10 just to be safe].  I usually stir beans halfway through, but I got distracted and they were no worse for it.

They were meatier, and while I can't be sure they were more flavorful [roasting tends to heighten the flavor of everything] they were quite good.  Color-wise they may not be as striking, but if you pair them with wilted greens or something tomato-based, they'll look pretty as a picture on your plate.

If you see some, snatch them up.  I've already gone back to the market for another bag.



*right up there with "Add alcohol!"

** The other green bean preparation in regular rotation is to blanch them, douse them liberally with green salsa, stir in some olive oil and chopped raw shallot, sprinkle with sea salt, and chill.  This was faster.

Simple Polenta [Grits]

Polenta has a bad reputation as a very fussy starch, but it may help your confidence to think of it as "corn grits" -- a simple, salt-of-the-earth sort of dish.  The name polenta is derived from pulmentum, the Latin word for "porridge."  In practice, the big difference between "polenta" and "grits" is that the former is traditionally adulterated with cheese and butter [and sometimes milk] while the latter makes use of bacon fat [and cheese on occasion, but those are usually called "cheese grits"].  Despite these conventions, a plain mixture of cornmeal, water, and salt can rightfully go by either name.

Polenta making is often seen as hot and tedious, requiring a long simmer with constant stirring to prevent the dreaded clumps... but this, my friends, is completely unnecessary.   Clump-free polenta can be made in your microwave in 10 minutes or less with a minimum of stirring!
[I sound like an infomercial, but wait! There's more!]

Actually, there's not.  You can certainly get fancy with your polenta, but its glory lies in its simplicity -- you don't have to do much at all.... and that makes it a regular guest at my weeknight dinner table.

Recipe: Microwave Polenta [Grits]

Simple Berry Dessert

I threw this together to satisfy a must-have-something-dessert-ish impulse one evening during the June strawberry season.  I didn't think it was worth sharing, but I've made it so many times over this summer with various berries (blueberries may have been my favorite) and now a second round of berries have appeared in the markets, so I may as well share the fun. You could certainly add a scoop of ice cream, but it was really nice just like this... and pretty.  

To make: Slice a pint of berries [or halve cherries, or use whole blueberries].  Stir in a tablespoon of maple syrup and another of amaretto. Set it aside to macerate for 10-20 minutes.  Toast 1/4 cup nuts until sizzling [use pre-sliced or crush after toasting].  Sprinkle over strawberries and toss a pinch of salt over the top. Garnish with chopped fresh basil or tarragon (optional).

Cold-Wilted Spinach

In my quest to heat my kitchen as little as possible, I discovered an interesting way to wilt spinach by beating it up.  It started with a tomato salad I was letting sit to meld the flavors.  About an hour before I was going to serve it, I decided to stir in some baby spinach in as well.  When I came back to it, the spinach was completely wilted -- not in a sad-salad kind of way, but more like I'd given it a whirl in the skillet before combining.

It wasn't exactly what I was going for at the time, but I was intrigued. A couple of nights later, I tried making a wilted spinach salad to go with cold soba noodles [no recipe, but they were something like this].  About half an hour before dinner, I tossed the spinach with the dressing, left it on the counter, and gave it a stir every time I passed by.  Come dinner, I squeezed out all of the juice, plated it in a little mound, and poured the dressing over the top.  It was perfect.

I'm guessing it has something to do with the acids in the tomatoes first and the vinegar second, aided by the bruising caused by the stirring.  It's probably not chemically identical to cooked spinach (though it could be, ceviche-style) and it's really only a valuable technique when lack of heat is more important than speed [a cold salad or... a picnic?] but I liked it... so I'm sharing it with you.

Recipe: Cold-Wilted Spinach with Soy and Sesame
Hourensou no Goma-Ae

Gazpacho for Grownups

The tomatoes are finally ripe here in Yankee Land.  I think I understand why eating green tomatoes is such a Southern thing.  Up here you only get one big crop that takes forever to ripen... eating any before they're ready is just wasteful.

I bought ~8 pounds of heirlooms at the farmers' market this week and we've been eating them in:
in paella, with our last chunk of cured venison sausage
as a raw salad, with herbs from the garden
as bruschetta, with homemade rosemary bread
with hummus plates, which reminds me I need to ask JG if I can post his recipe
stuffed full of taggelio (a riff on these), which was fine, but not amazing
and -- my favorite-- as light gazpacho, with ceviched bay scallops added to the individual soup bowls.
[The scallops were actually too tender and mild to add interest, but the soup was still fantastic.]

A couple days later I was sipping a little of the leftover gazpacho straight from the storage container. [It was cold and I was thirsty; don't tell JG.] It was just a little spicy from the poblano I'd used in lieu of bell pepper and it was so refreshing to drink! It occurred to me that the only thing that would make it better [like so many things] was a shot of alcohol, using the gazpacho as a base like a lighter alternative to a bloody Mary.

I mixed 2 parts gazpacho to 1 part vodka [I'm keen on Tito's], shook it with a little ice, and garnished with a pick-full of olives and a big fat caper berry... and it was sublime.   It was also little dangerous, because it goes down so very, very nicely.  The flavors of the pepper and cucumber were present without asserting themselves and the olives and made a nice brine-y counterpoint.  [I also salted the glass rim, but I'm not sure it's necessary.]

I kept calling it a gazpacho martini, which I know is a misnomer as it contains neither gin nor vermouth; I guess it's just a "gazpocktail", which doesn't sound nearly refined enough for its sophisticated flavor. Whatever its name, it'll definitely be the belle of my next brunch.

Bulgur Salad Lettuce Wraps [aka Mediterranean Tacos]

I needed to cut back all of my herbs and lettuce before depositing my garden in the bathtub and skipping town, so I made this pretty little no-heat salad for dinner.  

 

I salted the remaining tomatoes and left them to drain over a measuring cup, then combined that with the juice from my 2 remaining lemons, stirred in 1/3 cup of fine bulgur (parboiled cracked wheat) and let it sit until the grains absorbed the liquid ~ 15 minutes.  

Then I tossed it with my herbs (mostly the cilantro and burnet, which were bolting), diced my remaining queso seco as a feta cheese stand-in, threw in a few pinches of salt and pepper,  drizzled it with olive oil, and served it with lettuce leaves, taco-style.

I was pleased with the result.  It was a nice dinner for two, but I imagine it'd make a nice side dish with shish-kebabs.  A diced cucumber and chopped kalmata olives would have added some nice texture, but I didn't have the first and I didn't think of the second until later.

Simple Guacamole [and other goodies for the 4th of July]

 Below are a few ideas for your 4th, plus a simple guacamole recipe after the jump:


Smokey Melon Balls
Roasted Corn
Roasted Squash
Carrot Slaw
Delicate Gazpacho


Pesto Pipian
Scallop tacos
Summer Squash Pizza [on the grill]

Burger Buns
Whole-Wheat Pita [My first recipe post!]


Mint Tea
Agua Fresca
Cerveza Preparada/Michelada

Silken Chocolate Pie
Tres Leches Cake
Sunflower Cookies 
Green Chile Cookies 
Whiskey Marshmallows 
for the perfect s'more

Recipe: Simple Guacamole

Simple Temaki [a.k.a. Japanese Tacos]

I've had some amazing Japanese food in my day.  I discovered sushi late in college and was fortunate to get an expense-paid visit to Tokyo when JG was working over there for a bit... though I think I was still too new to the cuisine at the time to make the most of my trip.  After moving to Austin, I fell in love with a modern Japanese place and even developed an unfortunate habit of of putting any raw thing in my mouth based on the things they [carefully and safely] served.  It was exquisite.

I learned the importance of toasting nori at this lovely place -- and that's the key to a tasty handroll.   The greatest thing about a hand roll is that it doesn't require skill as there is no rice shaping involved.  I also learned that the hand roll [temaki] is the Japanese equivalent of a sandwich with a similar origin story: a noble -- too obsessed with the gaming table to come away for a meal -- ordered his servant make him something he could eat with one hand.  It seems a little too close to the Earl of Sandwich story, but maybe it's a case of culinary convergence.

Temaki is the only sushi I'll make at home because doesn't require skill.  I don't want to spend the money for sashimi-grade fish for a weeknight meal, but there are times when I want that refreshing satisfaction of a sushi meal mid-week, and the hand roll hits that spot... plus they're fun to make:  All it takes are toasted seaweed sheets [nori], a bowl of vinegar rice and an array of sliced veggies, sauteed mushrooms for a meaty texture, and occasionally kani [fake crab sticks make from pollock that I find disturbingly delicious in a distinctly non-crab way].  You fill one corner, roll it up into a cone, and eat it quick before the nori goes soft. It's a casual week-night food at its best.

It takes a lot of practice to make true sushi rice look and taste right and involves lots of fanning and folding.  I've seen it done many times and I'm not even close to mastering it... but with a little tweaking I've created a brown rice version with the right flavor and a close enough texture for the at-home hand roll.


Recipe: Simple Temaki, Japanese Tacos

Greens, Beans, and Toasted Pasta

This tasty thrown-together dinner was loosely inspired by a NYT recipe for risotto-style pasta that I mentally bookmarked a while back.   My humble version was quick and healthy-hearty;  I'd say resulting whole was definitely greater than the sum of its parts. The collards maintain their tooth better than other greens and the starches released from the toasted pasta and the beans make a rich, creamy sauce.

The leftovers may have been even better. Overnight, the pasta soaked up the remaining liquid but retained its structural integrity. [Whole grain pasta, in my experience, never gets as mushy the white stuff.] While this pasta fagioli-esque dish was excellent hot, it also turned out to be an amazing cold pasta salad that would be a nice substitution for a mayo-based pasta salad at a picnic.

Recipe: Greens, Beans, and Toasted Pasta

Agua Fresca

I know I've seen plenty of other recipes out there for aguas fresca,"fresh waters" so if you read food blogs and you haven't made them yet, I probably won't convince you to try.

However.

They're super tasty. I personally never liked cantaloupe until I tried it as an agua fresca. The melon/lime combo works amazingly well. I consider my first taste of agua fresca to have been a life-altering event.

They're refreshing. Because the fruit used to make them isn't quite as sweet as orange juice and the puree is further adulterated with water and lime juice, they don't leave you with that cloyingly sweet mouthfeel you sometimes get with OJ, but they do linger longer than a gulp of iced tea.... and they'll actually cut the heat of spicy foods, which makes them perfect for a fiesta.

They're interchangeable. The ratios work with any melon you want to try. Watermelon is another personal favorite [and who hasn't bought too much watermelon at some point and had an awkwardly-shaped hunk o'leftover dominating their fridge?]. In the height of summer, when grocery stores get all those different varietals (musk, tuscan, canary... etc.) you can explore the various flavors via fruit drink and not feel like you're eating melon _all the time_... and then you can try various melon medleys! The fun never stops!

They're adaptable. Equal parts agua fresca and sparkling water makes for a nice light spritzer, better than an Italian soda. A shot of rum, vodka, or tequila turns it into a unique adult beverage welcome at any outdoor party. Seriously, folks; the possibilities are endless with these things.

Recipe: Agua Fresca

Oranges and Olives

I'm going to be honest. This post was inspired by my trash. I leaned over to spit the pit of an oil-cured olive into the trash -- one of those step/flip top things -- and got an intense hit of orange from the peel on the top of the pile.
[Yes, I know these things could be composted. I used to compost everything in my backyard, but I have no backyard now and the City of Cambridge doesn't sponsor household composting. What's a girl to do?]

The olive in my mouth and the orange in my nose was an intriguing combination.It wasn't unlike the marinated olives you get at bars that're sometimes served warm with bits of zest, but orange-ier and super salty. [Oil-cured olives are actually salt cured until they get all shriveled, then stored in oil.] I'm trying to come up with an appropriate dessert to highlight the combo, but this salad dressing is a nice stop-gap.

If you've never supremed [soo-PREM-d] an orange before, it's not hard, but it does take a sharp knife and a little patience. If you don't work work in a restaurant, there is absolutely no need to be fast at this... though a little practice will make you feel like a pro. [There's also an alternative after the jump.]

Recipe: Oil-Cured Olive and Orange Salad Dressing
It's not absolutely necessary to supreme the orange at all; removing the membranes lets it meld with the other flavors better and ensures you don't get any pithy flavor, but you can also chop the segments into smaller pieces after you peel it carefully. I think this recipe would work well with other olives. Green olives, for example, would make something completely different but could make a great side salad for some kind of tomato-y main dish like chicken Veracruz or lasagna.

1 orange, supremed*
1/4 cup oil-cured olives [variations welcome], pitted and sliced or roughly chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
4 cups salad greens [large leaf greens like lettuce should be chopped into 1/2" squares]

Squeeze any remaining juice from the orange membranes into a large bowl.  Slice orange segments into 1/2" wide pieces. Stir together oranges, olives, oil, and spices with any juice in the bowl.  Let sit ~5 minutes before tossing with salad.

*Supreming an Orange:
Cut the top and bottom off the orange so that it sits flat and you can see how thick the pith [the white part] is. Use a curved downward motion to completely remove the pith in one strip, if possible.   Cut all the way around the orange, then flip it over and clean up any spots you've missed.

Now hold the orange in your hand.  Slice as close as possible to the membranes between each segment, starting with the side nearer you and then the far side, all the way to the center.  The segment should fall onto your knife, but it's good to have a cutting board or bowl to catch any strays.
It's easy, see?

[Thanks to JG for the camera assist!]

Brussels Sprouts

Do you pronounce all of the "s"s in Brussels sprouts? I realized as I typed the title that I never do. It's actually kind of tricky to say...
As a kid, I once at a Brussels sprout with half of a gray-green worm in the middle [it was probably a caterpillar, really] and refused to eat them for about 10 years. I've since reversed that opinion and loved them shaved raw in the spring or roasted in the winter. Whatever you do, don't boil them; they're easy to overboil and release a horrible sulfur smell when they do.

Roasted, they're an easy side dish that goes great with meats or pasta. They're also super simple, just halve them, spray with oil and sprinkle with salt, and dump them on a foil-lined a baking sheet at ~425F for 20-25 minutes or until they're spotty brown and soft. [You could do them with kabocha on the same pan.]

Roasted Kabocha, an easy side dish

Kabocha is a Japanese pumpkin [hard winter squash] with a nutty flavor and natural sweetness. It's like a more intense butternut squash with a texture almost as dense as a sweet potato. I recently saw them in the grocery store labeled "buttercup squash" and if you find them, you should definitely take a couple home. You can dice it and roast it with the skin on, and it can cook in the oven [or toaster oven] while any big piece of meat (roast, whole bird, etc] is resting before carving... it's a great side dish for a holiday meal with very little effort.
If I'm only cooking for two, [and I usually am] I'll cook just a half at a time as a super simple side dish in my toaster oven while I'm working on the stove. I'm highlighting it as a holiday side, but goes with pasta or rice dishes just as well.

Recipe: Roasted Kabocha, "Buttercup Squash"
You can add a sprinkle of whatever spice might tie it in to your main dish, maybe a little thyme or fennel seeds or crushed garlic or red pepper flakes... but it's pretty great with simple salt and pepper.
If you're doing this while a roast or bird is resting, it's better to prep the squash while your meat is still cooking so you can slide it right into the oven after the meat comes out... it won't hurt it if starts cooking before the oven's up to temp.

serves 4

1 kabocha or buttercup squash
cooking spray
salt
pepper

Preheat [or increase] oven to 425F.

Using a sturdy knife, cut the squash half, pole to pole, and remove seeds and fibers. Halve each half and remove the stem end. Dice into ~1/4-1/2" cubes.

Cover a shallow roasting or jelly-roll (half-sheet) pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Transfer squash cubes to the pan, spray again with cooking spray, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Roast until deep brown spots appear ~20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, if you're not busy setting the table.

Crab Apple Preserves

JG and I were at a wedding in New Hampshire recently and came across a crabapple tree in a park. There was fruit all over the ground and the tree was chock full of fruit still, so we emptied a shopping bag and filled it full of fruit (~4 lbs). I'd never done anything with crab apples before, but we quickly discovered they're extremely tart like cranberries but with a heady apple scent, which took us into thanksgiving-style thinking. The idea was to preserve them in a spicy syrup for serving after turkey, but I was wholly unable to keep the skins from splitting during the simmer, no matter how many ways I pricked them.
Luckily, as super potent apple, they also have a very high pectin content, so I sieved the whole mess and turned it into some wildly-colored preserves that we can serve in lieu of cranberry sauce this year... unless I happen upon a wild cranberry bog up here, then we may have to have both.
How do you know that weird little fruit is a crabapple? Cut it in half; it should have a 5-star seed pattern. If it doesn't, I don't know what it is and you probably shouldn't put it in your mouth.
I attempted to make crabapple jam squares, but they went horribly awry in snack-cake kind of way. Tasty, but not what I wanted to send to my grandfather.
I think I came up with a solution today, but more experiments are required...


Recipe: Crab Apple Preserves
What I made was an amalgamation of a few failures, but this way will work the first time around.

~2 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/2 stick cinnamon
6 black peppercorns
3 cardamom pods
1 alspice berry
1/4 tsp anise seed
1 lemon, juice and zest (or an orange, for a little less zip)

~ 2 lbs crab apples, whole

Use 1 1/4 cup sugar for every 1 lb of crab apples. Combine spices in a diffusing ball or tea bag. Bring sugar, water, citrus, and spices to a boil and simmer in a small stockpot or dutch oven, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove spices with a slotted spoon and discard. Add crab apples and simmer gently for 15 minutes. [Congratulations if your skins don't split.] Set up a strainer over a big bowl, pour the contents of the pot through, and press the solids until only the skins, stems, and cores remain -- the cores are much tougher than a normal apple. Return the contents of the bowl to the pot over medium heat and stir frequently until the preserves hit 220F (they'll foam up and come close to boiling over at about 218F). Pour into hot jars and seal. Process in a water bath, if desired.

Roasted Summer Squash

After posting the squash pizza, I realized I've never shared this preparation method. [I think it's too simple to count as a recipe]. I eat this frequently as a side dish or tossed with tomatoes and whole-grain pasta. I used to use tender calabacita (thin-skinned, variegated "little squash") whenever they were in season at my Fiesta grocery store -- about half the year -- but it works just as well with whatever variety of summer squash your neighbor or CSA gives you.

Recipe: Roasted Summer Squash
I know it's still too hot in some parts of the country for some people to turn on their big ovens, but I like to do a bunch at a time. These can go fast and two gourds per person is not out of the question. When we do have leftovers, they tend to disappear in snacking forkfuls straight from the fridge.

Summer squash or zucchini, sliced into rounds or planks 1/8- 1/4" thick
coarse sea salt or kosher salt
cracked black pepper
red pepper flakes
one clove of garlic, minced, for every 2 gourds

Preheat oven [or toaster oven if you're just doing a single gourd] to 450F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coast with cooking spray. Lay squash on pan in a single layer, spray with more cooking spray, and sprinkle with seasonings [the garlic will clump; it's not a problem].
Roast 10-15 minutes or until tops look a little dried out and brown spots are starting to appear. Flip the slices over with a spatula (try not to rip the foil) and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

Smokey Melon Balls

Sweet, salty, smokey; it's like prosciutto wrapped melon without the prosciutto and it's a great quick snack or party appetizer [and cheap]. I used to buy pimentón (smoked Spanish paprika) in the bulk spice section of the grocery store, but McCormick also packages it so I think it has pretty wide distribution and a little goes a long way. [It's also great on popcorn, eggs, squash, & chicken, among other things. Once you own it, you will find many uses for it.] You could also just sprinkle smoked sea salt... the black would be a nice visual contrast, too.

Recipe: Smokey Melon Balls

Melon -- this was a Crenshaw, just be sure any melon you pick has a good melon scent
Sea salt -- I used coarse gray salt for crunch
Pimentón

Ball or dice the melon and refrigerate until you're ready to serve, then sprinkle with the salt and spice. The salt will make juices to flow, so it's better eaten with picks than fingers.

Mint Tea

This one is super simple and super refreshing.... well it was actually simpler when I had my own herb garden, but it still only takes a brief pause in the produce section next to the leafy greens. I've done it with many variations... lemon verbena is great [particularly if you throw in a bag of orange- or peach-enhanced black tea] and thyme and lavender are lovely in small doses... but mint is my favorite.

Recipe: Mint Tea
I usually use a tea pitcher, but I don't have one at the moment and the rinsed milk jug works just fine. You can use just a leaves [5-10ish?] in a smaller pitcher

handful of mint [~1/3 of a $1 bunch, 1/2 of a $.50 bunch]
1 gallon of water, filtered if your tap water has a funky flavor

Crush mint without tearing [or you'll end up with bits in you glass] into chosen receptacle. Fill with water and cover. Let stand at room temp until water takes on light color. Refrigerate.

You can refill the water in the pitcher or jug after pouring out a few servings and the mint will continue to steep more slowly in the fridge. After 3-5 days, the tea will get as strong as it's going to get and it's best to strain the tea into another container and dump the solids.