Watermelon - Yum!

Aaah, watermelon.

It is the absolute essence of summer.  Juicy, fresh, bursting with sweetness - watermelon is our family's favorite summer treat.  Up until this year, I had only ever served it as a slice of fruit, as a snack or alongside a grilled feast.  Sometimes, if I'm feeling adventurous, I even cut it into cubes so my family can devour it even faster.  This summer, though, it seems every magazine, cooking show and blog has something delicious and wonderful to do with watermelon, I had to break out of my fruit rut and give some a go.

Here's some of the best:

Watermelon Popsicles
Cool, icy and refreshing, these popsicles hit the spot on a hot summer day.  My two-year-old adores them!  Recipe found here at The Butterfly Mile.

Watermelon Limeade 

This refreshing drink recipe was found in a clipping I'd saved from Organic Gardening (Vol. 57.5).  It is a delicious treat - and if you like watermelon and lime, you're sure to love it.  A pdf of the recipe is downloadable from my MediaFire, it is not available on the internet.

pdf of Watermelon Limeade

Martha's Watermelon Limeade 
                 (p.s. There's vodka in this one)

And, finally, leave it to Martha to take the basic limeade above, and turn it into an amazing cocktail.  I bet her parties are kick ass.  Recipe here at Martha Stewart Living online.

There you have it, a collection of basically the same easy-peasy recipe, done three ways.  All were insanely refreshing and de-lish.  Plus, depending on if you add sugar, insanely good for you as well.  

If you're as much of a watermelon fanatic as I am, make sure to check out good old watermelon.org as well, for useful tips and tricks.  Did you know you were supposed to wash a watermelon before cutting into it?  I didn't, but I do now.  The site is enormous, and chock full of useful information, such as the following tips on how to pick out the best watermelon:

1. Look the watermelon over.
You are looking for a firm, symmetrical watermelon that is free from bruises, cuts or dents.

2. Lift it up.
The watermelon should be heavy for it's size. Watermelon is 92% water, most of the 
weight is water.

3. Turn it over.
The underside of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow spot from where it 
sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.

Whatever you do, have some melon this summer, kick back, and enjoy!