Sorry for the week of silence! I was camping, hiking, and driving through Utah. I have tanned shoulders, the smell of desert sage and pinyon in my nose, and a deep desire to re-buy terracotta linen sheets (why did I ever stop?). We hit all sorts of parks, won the lottery to hike Angel’s Landing in Zion, explored just a few acres of the million acres that Grand Staircase Escalante holds and ate at Hell’s Backbone Grill. Fragrant bowls of Fremont beans in juniper broth were hitting almost every table, and ours was one of the best things I’ve eaten this year. Catch up below:
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With all that said, I’m back in the city and it’s also Memorial Day weekend. Summer starts now! If summer is starting now, my drink of the summer is also starting now. I wish I could tell you that I changed something, anything, from last summer…but no. I’m making quarts and quarts of salted, lime-y watermelon juice. I am drinking it on ice constantly, with tequila often, and with rum if I run out of tequila. Not a one-trick pony, my juice!
I don’t actually love watermelon - and have actively railed against it in the past for being a “waste of time” - sorry! I don’t crave crunching into a slice, salads with feta, or anything along those lines, but fresh watermelon flavor? The tops. I love it in juice, drinks, and also in this one sorbet I had in Paris last summer at Folderol during a thunderstorm. Loved that sorbet so much I ordered another round of it to wait out the storm (with another tasty glass of white).
Next week, we’ll return to more of our regular scheduled programming - buttercream recipes, summer fruit plans, melons and melons and more melons? Perhaps my go-to summer dessert will make an appearance. Paid vs. non-paid content will start to pop up. Stay tuned.
This isn’t really a recipe. More of a….put one thing in a blender. Regardless, for those of you that love structure, here we go!
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salted watermelon juice
To get as ripe a melon as you can, it should have a big yellow spot from ripening on the ground, feel heavy for its size, and have a deep sound (not hollow, but resonant) when you thump it.
Depending on the size of your watermelon, this can make a lot. Bring a jar to your friend!
1 watermelon
Salt, to taste
Lime juice, to taste
directions
Cut the watermelon into chunks. Blend in a blender until no chunks remain. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Season to taste with salt and lime. If you’re going to keep it in the fridge for a while, I usually wait to add the lime juice until serving for the freshest taste. It will separate as it sits. Just shake it up.
salted watermelon margarita
2oz silver tequila
3-4oz salted watermelon juice
3/4 oz lime juice (more if you want it more acidic)
optional: simple syrup or agave, if you want things sweeter or your juice is less sweet
Salt the rim of a glass and fill with ice. Shake tequila, salted watermelon juice and lime juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Strain over fresh ice.
side notes
We’re heading to the beach this Memorial Day - for the first time in years it’s a true long weekend for me. My essentials are as follows:
Salted watermelon juice, duh.
Sunscreen! I worked in a melanoma research lab for a few years and there is literally no un-hearing or un-seeing the harm, plus, I refuse to age more rapidly than I already am. The whole darn website at Supergoop is on sale now!
I don’t know if your targeted ads have also served you this swimsuit since the dawn of time (I’m feeling like I saw this on Tumblr), but every year I get tempted anew.