Eating Out of the Box: The Plight of the Flavorless Melon

Cucumber, tomatoes, purple basil, beets, dill and melon.

Cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes, purple basil, eggplant, beets, dill, new potatoes, and melon.

More squash, more beets (I like beets, but MORE BEETS? Seriously?). Also tomatoes, a cucumber, a bunch of dill, a tease of a melon, three zucchini, and a study in purple: eggplant, basil, and potatoes.

The melon I had planned to make into a sorbet. The flesh was gorgeous, but it had no flavor. I think it sold its flavor to the devil and what I received is the picture of its flavor that is supposed to stay in the basement while the perennially luscious flavor is out debauching all over London (an imperfect metaphor, I admit). So, I did what I generally do when I’m stumped: I pickled it. We ate it in a salad at Jay’s birthday dinner (more on that coming soon). The pickling definitely improved it, but still it disappointed.

The eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes joined a couple of robust crookneck squash donated by the lovely Lucy Oullette Santis in a rustic ratatouille which we ate at Jay’s pre-birthday dinner, topped with a healthy mound of Narragansett Creamery ricotta, a swish of olive oil, and lots of black pepper.

Ratatouille with ricotta.

Ratatouille with ricotta.

The purple basil garnished a Asian-inspired cucumber salad (cucumbers, rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil, fish sauce, chopped peanuts) and took a starring role in a crayola-colored cocktail (St. George’s gin, purple basil, pomegranate, simple syrup, lemon juice, lemon bitters*). Now that’s what I call multi-tasking!

Cucumber salad.

Cucumber salad.

Purple hooch.

Purple hooch.

I pickled the beets (of course) and used the potatoes in Jay’s birthday dinner. All good stuff.

*I have a ton of homemade bitters looking for a good home. If you’re interested, hit me up.

Signing off with the Gourds, covering Snoop Dogg.

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2 Responses to Eating Out of the Box: The Plight of the Flavorless Melon

  1. Deb Goeschel says:

    Seriously … ya gotta love purple hooch! 😉

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