Watermelon Cucumber Salad

Okay, it may sound kinda weird.  But I was searching for another use for watermelon, and was needing a dessert for my book club.  So I made this salad, with my own tweaks, of course.  And it was great!  A refreshing dessert, and then a yummy side with anything grilled.  Try it, you will love it!  It was quite the hit at my friend Lorena's baby shower earlier this month!  You could also add some cherry tomatoes and/or goat cheese...yum!

Ingredients
4 cups watermelon, cubed
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded (if you wish) and cubed
juice of 1 lime (more or less to taste)
1 tbsp fresh basil (or mint), chopped

1. Combine first 3 ingredients and allow to marinate together at least 1 hour in the fridge.
2. Add basil, mix and serve!

Sweet Potato Fries

I love these!  And they are much better for you than regular fries, and I know my family prefer them!  Great to have in the summer with some burgers or steak!

Ingredients
1 large sweet potato
2 tbsp oil (olive or canola)
salt, seasoned salt, and/or pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Slice potatoes as fries or in rounds.
3. Mix with oil and season to taste.
4. Place on cooking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.
5. Bake for 30 minutes (or desired tenderness), flipping over when halfway done.
6. Remove from oven and serve.

Oven-Baked Polenta

Okay, maybe this isn't a good summer side, but I've been meaning to post for awhile.  This recipe is super easy and doesn't take tons of whisking or standing over the stove!

Ingredients
3/4 cup cornmeal or polenta (not quick-cooking)
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese (like parmesan or romano)
2 tbsp butter

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a lidded dish, whisk together cornmeal, water, salt, and pepper.
3. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, whisking halfway through.
4. Remove from oven and whisk in cheese and butter and serve.

week 6...

of our farmhouse delivery!  It is great to see what is in season, and that later on I can review these posts and see what we ate!

This weeks bushel includes carrots (orange and maroon), purple potatoes (that made good fries), corn, butter lettuce, peaches, beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

It is almost all gone a week later...but as you can see, Nate had to try the carrots as soon as we got them!  The beans (Romano beans) are stumping me...

Watermelon Margarita

Ryan devised this little cocktail yesterday and we enjoyed 2 pitchers (with the help of my in-law's and Tessa).  I think this may become our new favorite summer drink!

Ingredients
12 oz watermelon puree (just pureed in the blender, no need to strain)
12 oz limeade
4 oz Cointreau or Gran Gala (orange liquor)
4 oz tequila
juice of 1/2 a lime
sliced lime
watermelon chunk

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender.
2. We enjoy ours served over ice, but you could also blend in some crushed ice too.
3. Garnish with lime and watermelon

local, really?

I went into our local HEB last night to pick up a prescription.  I had to wait a bit, so I perused the store.  I really haven't spent much time in the grocery store since we buy all our fruit and veggies from local farmers and get our meet from local ranchers.

I was intrigued to see a sign that said "locally grown" in the produce section.  Since HEB is a Texas-based grocery store I thought I may find a local farmer, but the label on the veggies (mustard greens and another I forgot) read Arkansas and Georgia.  Really?  Arkansas and Georgia are local to Austin, Texas? I guess maybe to HEB it is when they get their produce from Peru, Mexico, Chile and beyond.  I seriously was astounded and almost made a comment...maybe I still will!

Meatloaf

I enjoy a good meatloaf.  And I think I finally found a good recipe (from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, modified a bit).  It easily doubles, so I made this a couple weeks ago when we took a meal to my friend Rowena who just had her daughter.  Sometimes I will also make a loaf and freeze it, then cook it at a later date.  The only bad part is that this is soo good, there usually isn't any leftovers...

Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 cups soft breadcrumbs or 2/3 cup dried bread crumbs
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, snipped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried sage, basil or oregano OR 1 tbsp fresh basil, snipped
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup catsup
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl combine eggs and milk.  Stir in bread crumbs, onion, parsley, salt, sage/basil, black pepper and garlic powder.
3. Add meat and mix well.
4. Lightly pat mixture in bread pan (regular or mini).
5. Bake 50 - 60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees (may be a little less time if you use a mini loaf pan).
6. While meatloaf is baking, combine catsup, brown sugar and mustard.  Spread over meat (spoon off  if any fat first) and bake for 10 more minutes.
7. Let stand for 10 minutes and serve.

week 5...

of our farmhouse delivery!  This week we had lots of veggies, and a few that I haven't cooked before.  The corn was amazing - too bad we only got 2!!  

This weeks bushel includes carrots, blackberries, corn, pattypan squash, peaches, new potatoes, leeks, rainbow swiss chard, daikon radish and parsley.

We've grilled a bit, eaten some with ice cream, but I'm still a bit confused on the swiss chard, leeks, daikon radish and how I will cook the pattypan squash.  Any suggestions?