"watermelon" news and stories

Fruit + water + sugar = sorbet. It's simple to make, it's nonfat (unless you use a recipe that contains milk) and it's almost Labor Day already. What are you waiting for? Blogger norwichnuts makes a watermelon-and-lime sorbet, above, that's refreshing and ubercool. Melon and citrus are a great team, reprised in this sorbet recipe from Kitchen Daily that invites you to choose from watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew to mix it up with orange juice.

Using an ice-cream maker is the key to sorbet, as the action of the blades helps to keep ice crystals from becoming too large. No big chunks of ice; just smooth, frosty, fruity goodness.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

• Everyone's downsizing these days -- even watermelons.
• Now that everything's available online, how do food souvenirs stay special?
• Toloache may not look like much from the street, but "nothing on Broadway is ever what it seems."
• Tequila's too tame for you? Try mezcal.
• There are 13 menus at the Plaza Food Hall. You'll find what you're looking for...eventually.

Watermelon can take you from sweltering to chilled in the time it takes to eat a slice and spit the seeds (if you're so inclined). So logic (and the nonstop heat) would dictate that you include it in as many dishes as possible this summer. Photographer pellis pureed his melon and combined it with Serrano chiles, lemongrass and ginger (among other ingredients), then added lump crabmeat tossed with cilantro and olive oil, and gave it a squeeze of lime. The result is a spicy cold Thai soup that is just as delicious served hot. (Try the Gourmet magazine recipe.)

Watermelon also makes a gorgeous gazpacho, as in this KitchenDaily recipe. Sure, it's tomato season, but when you've got a 10-pound watermelon to play with, live a little.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

• How much watermelon is in your melon?
• If there's little, fill your head with this watermelon sangria.
• We have on it on good authority that Sesame City has better wings than Buffalo.
• The culinary world isn't filled with Star Trek technobabble -- or is it?
• Reach the blueberry finish line with this bushel of eats.
• Thankfully, this gelatin cheat sheet does not involve Bill Cosby.

Happy National Watermelon Day!

There are few pleasures as sublime as the simplicity of slurping a sloppy, untouched slice of watermelon in the middle of summer, dripping be damned. But with its pleasant crunch and subtle sweetness, watermelon is an extremely versatile ingredient in a plethora of summery dishes too.

Flickr user Ayngelina dressed it in a salad with feta and mint (pictured above), but it can handle spice too, in this fiery watermelon salad with serrano dressing or paired with grilled steak and hot chili paste in a salad. Combine it with fresh vegetables to take center stage at lunchtime in this watermelon and cucumber gazpacho, or dish it out as a colorful garnish in a salsa with jalapeno and cilantro or watermelon jelly with lemongrass and lime.

Come dessert time, make use of the juicy fruit in watermelon yoghurt ice, dragonfruit-watermelon sorbet or watermelon-mint ice pops -- or drop it in a watermelon and rosé sangria for a refreshing daytime sip.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.