Watermelon Limeade
Last week we decided to get out of the hustle of Port-au-Prince. We leave the city through congested streets and drive up Route National 1, up the Cote des Arcadins. We are in search of two things, salty ocean breezes and beautiful watermelons. Watermelons, by virtue of their size and water requirements, are expensive and hard to come by in the capital, but along the coast, and especially around the small town of Luly, there are mounds of them piled high on roadside stands. We pull over and I ask for one watermelon, "youn melon dlo." And with thoughts of watermelon recipes dancing through my head, I can't help but ask for two more. Incredulous, the farmer asks me if I am sure I really want three watermelons? "Yes," I say. "Well then you must have a very big family who loves watermelons," he laughs. At home this week our small watermelon loving family of two-and-a-half polished off watermelon salads, pies, and one of our new favorites, a Watermelon Limeade. With a spike of tartness from key limes, this is a great thirst quencher in these hot August days.
Yield: a pitcher of limeade
- 6 cups watermelon cubed, rind removed
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice, we use key limes
- 1/4 cup sugar or honey
Steps:
- Puree the watermelon, lime juice and sugar or honey until smooth. Taste and add more lime, sweetener or water to your preference. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard the remaining solids.
- Add ice and serve.
Notes:
- You can opt to skip the straining if you are ok with a little extra texture to your juice.
- This drink will keep for up to 2 days refrigerated, stir prior to serving.
Fresh Guava Jam
Hurricane Matthew is churning through the southern Caribbean this weekend, and we can already feel the winds picking up and the temperature falling here in Port-au-Prince. Currently, it looks like the eye-of-the-storm is likely to pass just off the southwestern tip of Haiti, but the damage may be significant. People are bracing for the storm; battening down the hatches and stocking up the larders as they are able. Keep Haiti in your prayers.
One of the new additions to our pantry stock, in addition to some pickled red onions and granola, is Fresh Guava Jam, courtesy of jam making with our staff this week. Rather than traditional Cuban-style guava jam, which relies on long cooking to create a darker caramelized flavor, our Fresh Guava Jam has a bright fresh fruit flavor. It is not too sweet and has a tart bite from fresh squeezed key limes, which balance the warm tropical sweetness of the aromatic guavas.
Homemade Blueberry Soda
In less than two weeks, we will be back home in Haiti, with both a chattering toddler and tiny newborn in tow. On my bucket list of foods to enjoy before we leave are the delicious peak-of-summer blueberries that line our local farm stand. So this week I boiled up a batch of blueberry syrup to make into tall frosty glasses of Homemade Blueberry Soda; a thirst quencher on these steamy Indiana days. For more blueberry additions to your cooking, try: Summer Chicken Waldorf Salad, Blueberry Bay Leaf Quick Jam, Hoosier Milk Tarts with Berries, and for a blue tinted breakfast, Blue Corn Griddle Cakes with Lime Butter.
Persimmon Citrus Salad
“What kind of weird orange tomato is that...” the check-out clerk wondered aloud, as persimmons made their way up the conveyor belt at the grocery store last week. Ten minutes later, there were two mangers involved, a low buzz of grumpy conversation in the line, and toes tapping impatiently. Finally, with the arrival of a third manager, and no persimmon on the produce list, I was told to name my price and take my strange fruit home. Victory! Persimmon Citrus Salad is worth the trouble to track down persimmons in your area, it is a festive and zippy salad, featuring winter's most vibrant colors and textures, bathed in a lime mint vinaigrette.
Persimmons are a fall fruit in season between September and December and there are a number of varieties of this fruit. We prefer the pumpkin orange, tomato shaped Fuyu persimmons, as they can be eaten at all stages of the ripening process, unlike other varieties which are astringent and incredibly bitter until they fully ripen.
Watermelon Chiffon Pie
Four years ago, in dreary mid-April, Rebecca asked me what I wanted for my Birthday dinner. I'd been preparing for the question, and quickly pointed to a quirky recipe I'd found for Watermelon Chiffon Pie. The pie was a winner; light, airy, and fresh, with the undeniable, but subtle flavor of fresh watermelon. This oddly addictive pie balances a sweet buttery graham crust with an almost cucumber-like freshness in the fluffy pastel-pink filling. While I request it every April, the best flavor comes from using fresh-from-the-market local watermelon in the heat of summer.
Market Mango Salad
We woke up this morning to a light dusting of frost covering the delicate green shoots of spring in our garden. I spent the rest of the day studiously avoiding all mention of cold weather and doing my best to conjure up images of spring. This salad is my edible contribution to the ‘make-spring-a-reality-campaign.’
