Watermelon & Tomato salad

The last two watermelons we purchased at Winco were grown by Dan Avila & Sons of Turlock and they have been over the top delicious. I found a fun bunch of watermelon recipes in the September, 2008 issue of Saveur magazine (issue 113)

I made the watermelon & tomato salad pictured above; which is a tasty mixture of sweet, sour & spicy. Ali noted that Mark Bittman also has a recipe for this unique combination. We found it delicious.

The recipe makes a big bowl full, but it keeps well for a day in the frig.

Mix together 1/4 cup white wine or rice vinegar, 3 tsp sugar, 1 tsp kosher salt, and 1/4 tsp cayenne in a large bowl. Quarter & slice half of a small red onion & add to bowl. Let the onion soak in the mixture for at least a half hour. This softens & sweetens the onion. (Dad commented on the delicious onion in the salad.)

Remove rind & seeds from 4 lbs. of watermelon, cut into 1 inch chunks. Also cut about 1.5 lbs. of red ripe tomatoes into 1 inch chunks; add these to bowl along with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 loosely packed cup each of shredded basil & mint leaves. Stir gently to toss. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Cool and refreshing on a HOT summer day.

Our Family's Oldest Known Tomato Salad

When Dad & I were dating, I learned about this salad from the Italian Mama of his friend Dave. It was a salad to make on a hot summer day when the tomato plants are burdened with fruit. It tastes best when made with warm tomatoes right off the vine; tomatoes so very very ripe they can be peeled without scalding.

But that is unrealistic most of the time. So start by scalding (for just 10 seconds in boiling water) a pound or two of summer tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes into large bite-sized pieces. Add vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, a lot of crushed fresh garlic and a lot of chopped fresh basil. I'm not exact in my amounts, because it doesn’t matter. The salad is delicious freshly made or chilled. It reminds me of hot summer days, a bountiful garden and picnic dinners eaten on the grass.

Crazy Tomato Sorbet

So, the tomato plants are getting bigger and its time to use those tomatoes in the freezer from last summer. A few weeks ago I thawed a bag full to use in a ragu. The recipe said puree the tomatoes, so I used my new stick blender. However they were only partially thawed, so I got a tomato snow cone affair. Don said it was a sorbet. The tomatoes were so fresh tasting & sweet, I thought - Why not do this on purpose. Here is what I started with.About 2 cups frozen skinless tomato chunks (some are the variety, "Lemon Boy" hence they are yellow), fresh basil, garlic, a lemon, salt & pepper. I let the tomatoes thaw to the point where I could separate some of the tomato hunks from one another; yet they were still quite icy. I've done this in the microwave on defrost for a minute or two.

Chop a few leaves of basil and one garlic clove. In a bowl, combine semi-frozen tomatoes, basil, garlic, a tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper. Blend with stick blender for 30 seconds, till no tomato pieces are visible. Here is the result:
Stir in additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste. Eat right away or keep in freezer for only about 15 minutes.

Note: Freezing the contents of 1 or 2 cans of ready-cut tomatoes would be another way to make this yummy salad.