[1] A refreshing watermelon and strawberry salad with feta or goat cheese (photo © Murray’s Cheese).

[2] Yellow watermelon is a special treat (photo © DP Seeds).

[3] Greek feta is the best: no overly salty like others (photo courtesy Murray’s Cheese).

Watermelon is the juiciest of melons, with a very appropriate name given that the fruit contains about 92% water by weight. Mankind has been enjoying watermelon for a long time. There is evidence that it has been cultivated in the Nile Delta since the second millennium B.C.E.

Watermelon is a good source of vitamin C, beta carotene and lycopene (the latter in the red-fleshed variety only). But first and foremost, it’s delicious.

Watermelon has long been featured in summer recipes: in mixed fruit salads, martinis, smoothies, sorbet, on the grill, and so much and more.

Watermelon is wonderfully refreshing in this Watermelon Salad with Thai Basil & Feta. Just because it’s called a “salad” doesn’t mean it has lettuce—or even a recognizable vegetable. Other greens, such as parsley or basil can turn mixtures of ingredients into salads.
 
 
PICK YOUR SALAD INGREDIENTS

 
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*Substitute fresh lime juice for the vinegar, or use a citrus-infused vinegar or olive oil (blood orange, lemon, lime, etc.) If you have chile-infused oil, you can use that too, ideally half-and-half with non-flavored oil.
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SUMMER BASIL TYPES

Beyond what you find in the supermarket—the herb called sweet basil—there are many different basil varieties, each with distinct aromas and flavors. We love the conventional basil, but in the summer months, we head to the nearest farmers market to pick up some special varieties.

If you live in a temperate climate, you may only see these in the summer months. If you have a garden, plant your own!

 
There are many more basil cultivars.

There are numerous watermelon salad recipes, plus sides and sandwiches with watermelon, at Watermelon.org.

We can’t wait to try the Watermelon Tabbouleh Stacks with Grilled Chicken. And perhaps whip up some watermelon sorbet!

Even when they’re not a stated recipe ingredient, chives add color and subtle onion favor to just about any dish: eggs in the morning, salads and soups at lunch and vegetables, poultry, fish, and compound butter at dinner (see a recipe for chive butter).

A sprinkling of tiny snipped chives adds a festive garnish dusting to any plate, and in their “long form,” they can tie asparagus or green beans in bundles, make graceful “X” designs over steaks, chops, fish and poultry. Combine chives with roasted red or yellow peppers or a slice of red tomato to make a tasty color statement. Halve red and yellow grape tomatoes in a vinaigrette with snipped chives for a delicious and low-calorie topping or condiment.

If your pot of chives flowers, consider that a bonus and use them immediately as a glorious garnish.

• Try this recipe for Spice-Seared Tofu with Avocado, Beets & Cucumbers. The sauce is an avocado purée with chives.

Chives in flower. Photo by Bura | SXC.

Fish and rhubarb? Absolutely! Photo
courtesy McCormick.

• Ginger is a wonderfully pungent spice with a long history of cultivation. In China, where the plant originated, as well as in other Asian countries, the spice is used in a multitude of both savory and sweet dishes, is eaten raw or pickled and is made into candy. In the U.S., ginger is especially associated with holiday baking, thanks to the western tradition of making gingerbread cookies at Christmas. Crystallized ginger is another favorite baking item—as well as a candy. Ginger makes a soothing tea (by itself, with boiling water, or by adding raw slices to your favorite tea). Ginger is high in antioxidants, and as such, is one of the Seven Super Spices.
• Rhubarb is actually a vegetable, not a fruit. The giveaway might be that it looks like red celery stalks with cabbage-like leafy tops (some can be dark green like spinach or kale). By the time it gets to market, the leaves have been cut off, and we only see the red stalks. (Another giveaway: fruits carry their seeds inside; vegetable seeds scatter in the wind. You see seeds in an apple, avocado, cucumber and tomato, but not in broccoli, carrots or lettuce. Lacking sweetness doesn’t make it a fruit.)

Chicken soup is great comfort food for whomever needs a Spoonful of Comfort—which is the name of one of the two chicken soup gifts we tried recently (the other, not surprisingly, is Grandma’s Chicken Soup).

We enjoyed both soups, plus all the fixings: noodles, matzo balls, challah and cookies.

Is chicken soup really the “Jewish penicillin” that cures colds and flus? See the article!

You’ll also learn the different types of chicken soup: chicken broth, chicken bouillon, chicken consommé and more.

• Read the review and contemplate a hot bowl of chicken soup—with noodles or matzo balls.
• Make your own with this chicken soup recipe.

Get well, get through exams/new baby,
get a good bowl of chicken soup. Photo courtesy SpoonfulOfComfort.com.

• Switch it up with international chicken soup recipes: Udon Noodle Soup With Chicken & Lemongrass, Mexican-Style Chicken Soup With Queso Fresco and Chicken, Corn & Tortilla Soup.

It won’t fit on the windowsill, but a French
herb pot from WhiteflowerFarm.com
organizes five different herbs.

We fill flowerpots with basil, chives, rosemary, thyme and tarragon. The plants are beautiful, fragrant and easy-to-grow (rosemary is hardy and can grow into quite a large household plant, and spawn cuttings for all of your friends). We snip fresh herbs into eggs, salads, on pizzas and sandwiches, use the fresh leaves as garnishes for everything—even sorbet.

You can grow your own herb pots from seed, or invest more and buy small pots of herbs that will quickly grow to meet your cooking needs.

This is the beginning of a week of fresh herb ideas. For more flavor ideas, click here to visit our Salts & Seasonings Section.