Believe it or not, this post has been 8 days in the making! So I’ll get it out of the way so I can start catching you up on the rest and get this site done!
I’ve been trying to work less, exercise more, eat better. We’ve been selling some rabbits, slowly going down the waiting list, and butchering what’s left.
Bonbon had another set of babies! We only lost one after the first day, and now I have a colorful pile of fluff balls. We’re so close to getting NPIP certification for our chickens! More on that later, but all that remains is the paperwork itself. Testing is all done.
But back to this eating healthy business. I have to admit our garden is pitiful this year. What we did put in has failed, except for squash, corn and a couple of cucumber plants. The handful of herbs, peppers, eggplant so kindly gifted by a local farmer–failed. Probably neglect on my part this time. I just didn’t have it in me this year, but next year will be better. So aside from a bumper crop of squash and hopefully tomatoes (we have a field of tomato volunteers!) we have had to buy from local farms and markets. And I can’t complain about that!
Our fridge is almost constantly stocked with peaches, watermelon, peppers, and more. So, I bring you: Watermelon Gazpacho.
I love watermelon. I can eat an entire watermelon myself in a week. And that’s being bashful in how I eat it. That’s measuring portions and sharing. That’s not eating it how I want to: one big watermelon, a spoon, and a day. I haven’t tried it yet, but I know I could.
So a few years ago when we were at one of our favorite local restaurants and I saw watermelon gazpacho, I was immediately in love! But I never tasted it, never tried it.
Two years later, I had to make it for myself.
See? Watermelon gazpacho below. (Don’t mind my superb photography skills.) All measurements are approximate. What I liked best was that it was EASY. What I liked least was, well, it lacked depth and just tasted too sweet.
- 8 cups watermelon, diced
- 1 whole cucumber, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 red pepper, peeled and chopped
- 3 tbsp shallot olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup basil
- 1/4 cup parsley
- handful mint leaves
Puree all ingredients in a blender and chill for a few hours to let the flavors combine. If you like your soup chunky, mix up some of the watermelon, cucumbers and peppers in a bowl and set aside to add back in once the rest is blended.
The end result was a little weird. Sweet. Cold. Flavor more like fruit salsa than soup, and I don’t like my salsa sweet either. This recipe was a variation on a recipe I found online. I will make it again, but probably with an onion and apple cider or red wine vinegar in place of the balsamic. It lacked the depth to make me want to drink it down.
But, Mike’s coworkers loved it, and I could at least eat it. So it wasn’t all a loss!
Morgan Farms 