thinking about that garden

It's that time of year again, to start thinking about what to plant for the upcoming summer season. Last season the tomatoes almost took over the house and we were worried about being attacked, so this year green beans, peas, one tomato plant, and maybe some peppers are the way to go. Our yard while small in size has an area for planting that is really beautiful. Two years ago, watermelon was grown, and despite everyone laughing at an Ottawa boy attempting watermelon, 4 of the biggest juicies watermellons came out of my yard. One was ofcourse injected with vodka for a perfect refreshment, while one was used for a watermelon salad with olives and feta....if you haven't had the opportunity to mix your watemelon with a salty feta, make sure you experiment with that this summer. The flavours are amazing and with the right herbs like mint, or lemon parsely it just adds an freshing spring to the taste.

Watermelon Salad with olives and feta
1 small red onion
Juice of two limes
1.5 kg sweet, ripe watermelon (you can also use watermelon injected with kirtsh, or vermouth)
250g feta cheese
bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
bunch fresh mint, chopped
6-7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
100g pitted black olives that have been dried in an oven (about 45 minutes at 150 degrees)
black pepper

Peel  the red onion and cut into strips and put in a small bowl with the lime juice.
Remove the rind and pips from the watermelon, and cut into medium bite sized pieces, and the cut the feta into small pieces but not crumbled and put them both into a large, wide shallow bowl. Use spring of parsley , and add to the bowl along with the chopped mint.

Tip the onions, along with the lime juice over the salad in the bowl, add the oil and olives, then using your hands toss the salad very gently so that the feta and melon don’t lose their shape. Add plenty of freshly cracked black pepper to finish and serve.

Watermelon