Don't Knock It Till You Try It

I always like to think that I am not easily swayed by the many ploys of advertising and product placement in grocery stores. For example, I don’t grab a pack of gum at the checkout stand when I know I can buy the three pack for a fraction of the price in the candy aisle. I’m also aware that just because a bag of potato chips boasts “No trans fat!”, I shouldn’t necessarily interpret that to mean that it’s just as healthy as a bag of pretzels. But today, I must confess that I wiped the usual smirk from off my face and fell into that very trap of consumerism. The scene of the crime? The entrance to Trader Joe’s. The victim? A girl in business attire and looking rather vulnerable. I hadn’t even made it inside the store when a certain something caught my eye and tugged at my very heart strings. The huge bin of watermelons is hardly tough to miss, and with that rather large, visible sign with that cute TJ font stating $3.99, I thought, “Huh. Maybe I should get a watermelon.” After all, with that very melon just recently becoming a fruit even more near and dear to the hearts of my entire family, I just couldn’t resist the temptation to knock on at least 10 of them before finally placing one lucky winner in my cart. A watermelon near and dear to the heart? I’ll explain.

When my family entertains or cooks for guests, we like to do things a little differently (I take it you’ve gathered as much from some of my prior posts). While some traditions are great and shouldn’t be messed with, some American customs, well, should be. I’m not here to bash the hot dogs and hamburgers of a summer barbeque (I will, however, take the opportunity to tell you how disgusting heavy mayo’d potato salad is and should be a crime to serve); I merely want to express that sometimes it’s ok to throw a summer party and not do what’s expected. And that’s exactly the philosophy my sister adopted when she decided to throw a watermelon-themed, first birthday barbeque for my niece.

You may laugh (I know I did) at the thought of a watermelon-themed party, but you have to admit, it’s pretty darn cute, especially when you’re as creative and detailed as my sister and didn’t let any part of this celebration go without at least a reminder that watermelon was the fruit du jour. Watermelon wedge-shaped cintronella candles posted in the yard, watermelon sangria, watermelon napkins, and watermelon food trays only begin to paint the picture. Indeed, we had aprons, potholders, and bibs (those were for the nieces, not the guests…although with the messy ribs off the grill, it would have come in handy) made with watermelon-patterned fabric (thank you, Mother). I even wore watermelon-shaped earrings to commemorate the occasion (thank you again, Mother, for having impeccable taste even in the early ‘90s). I don’t know, some may say that the hosts went overboard with the theme, but I thought it was fabulous. Plus, I always love an excuse to exercise my cookie decoration craftsmanship. Here, for the first time ever, clatter has posted a picture of my creation taken from my phone. Now you understand why I stick to my words and not my photography.



My sister also made a fantastic watermelon bombe cake that had the guests ooh-ing and aah-ing. Years from now, when my niece looks back at old photographs of her first birthday, she’ll make fun of her mom for being a total dork (although I’m sure by then, there will be a way cooler slang word for that) and I will try my best to defend my sister. But I can’t make any guarantees, for I might still be bitter that I didn’t win a personal-sized watermelon during the watermelon trivia portion of the party. (Seriously, how could I not have known that the world record for watermelon eating is 13.22 pounds consumed in 15 minutes?? I’m a disgrace!)

Even at the off-chance that I’m still reeling from that defeat (I am), my respect for the watermelon has not wavered. As soon as I grabbed that hollow-sounding melon from the bin today, my mind went straight to thoughts of salads. Watermelon in anything savory initially left me skeptical (maybe aside from a salt-rimmed watermelon margarita), but I’ve seen recipes for watermelon-tomato salads with or without feta cheese way too often (I even spotted one in June’s issue of InStyle magazine!) to keep a closed mind about it. And so, tonight I figured I’d break into that melon (after throwing it in the freezer for a while to chill) and make a salad. I came across a lot of recipes in my research, but couldn’t seem to make a decision about which one I wanted to try. So instead, I just took some of those ideas I came across and ended up cubing some watermelon and adding fresh basil, crumbled feta, arugula, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and drizzling it with balsamic and olive oil. That skepticism I once felt? Vanished in a single bite. Ok, maybe it would have tasted a tad better had I been wearing those watermelon earrings while I ate it, but the salad was still pretty tasty.