From Everyday Food magazine, this recipe calls for a 6-pound piece of watermelon. I cut that in half and adjusted the rest of the ingredients accordingly. Here is the original recipes:

1/2 tsp finely grated lime zest
2 tbsp lime juice (from 1 lime)
2 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp light rum
1/4 tsp salt
6-pound piece chilled seedless watermelon
2 tbsp slivered fresh mint leaves

In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, sugar, rum, and salt.

Using a melon baller, scoop melon into balls (about 10 cups) or cut melon into bite-sized pieces. Add melon to lime mixture. Sprinkle with mint and lime zest, and toss gently to combine. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate, up to 2 hours.

When using the melon baller, I noticed a large amount of juice from the melon getting left behind. I would suggested saving it if possible and pouring back over the pieces of melon.

Another tasty dessert from Everyday Food’s book “Great Food Fast,” from the Kitchen’s of Martha Stewart. This dish is best served warm with ice cream on the side. The tart taste of rhubarb goes well with fresh strawberries or, like this recipe, strawberry ice cream. The book points out that though rhubarb is a vegetable, it is usually used in desserts or jams.

2 lb rhubarb
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
3/4 cup flour, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Strawberry ice cream, for serving, or vanilla (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F

Wash and remove leafy ends of rhubarb. Cut into diagonal pieces 3/4 inch thick. Place in a 9×13 baking dish. Toss with 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour.

In a food processor or chopper, pulse remaining 1/2 cup flour with the butter until the clumps are pea-sized. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, rolled oats, and cinnamon. Pulse just to combine. Sprinkle over rhubarb.

Bake until the rhubarb is tender and the topping is golden, 25-35 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream, if desired.

The recipe calls for 35 minutes, though mine was bubbly and brown at about 25 minutes, so cooking time will vary. The strawberry ice cream complimented the rhubarb well, the picture below shows my serving with a small scoop of strawberry and vanilla.

This tea was inspired by the drink “Five Alive” by MinuteMaid, which combines orange, tangerine, lemon, lime, and grapefruit into one beverage. I added some iced tea and sugar (though feel free to use honey if you prefer), and came up with this 5 fruit concoction.

6 black tea bags
6 cups hot water
1/4 cup sugar (or honey)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup pink grapefruit juice
1 lemon, juiced
1 tangerine, juiced
1 lime, cut into wedges
additional fruit for garnish, if desired

Pour hot water over tea bags in a heat-resistant pitcher. Allow to steep for 10-15 minutes. Stir in sugar until dissolved.

Add orange, grapefruit, lemon and tangerine juice. Stir well. Chill for 1-2 hours.

Fill glasses with crushed ice and lime wedges. Pour tea over ice and lime. Serve with additional fruit garnish (optional). Suggestion: orange wedges or lemon slices.

Here is a great dessert recipe from the Everyday Food book. It is listed in the “Fall” chapter, but I think it works better for spring or summer, when the stone fruits are more in season. The combination I used was peaches, plums, and apricots. Because the apricots were small, I used 4 instead of 2.

Pick 3 of the following:
2 apricots
2 nectarines
2 peaches
2 plums
Plus:
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 to 3 tbsp sugar (depending on the sweetness of the fruit)
2 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 tbsp fresh lime juice (about 1 small)
Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, optional

Preheat oven to 400F

Prick the skins of the stone fruit. Halve each fruit and remove pits. Halve fruit again. Separate rosemary leaves and discard stems.

In a roasting pan, toss the fruit with rosemary, sugar, butter, and lime juice. Roast, tossing occasionally, until the fruit is fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm over vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, if desired, and drizzle the pan juices over the top.

Original Name: “Farfalle with Salmon, Mint, and Peas” from the book Everyday Food: Great Food Fast.  Farfalle is a fancy, technical way of saying Bowtie Pasta. This is from the “Kitchen’s of Martha Stuart.” The original recipe called for peas, but I substituted green beans. Seasonal mint flavors compliment the fresh lemon and mild salmon, I would recommend the green beans on the side with some garlic.

1 lb farfalle (bowtie pasta)
1 1/2 lbs skinless salmon fillet
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1 package (10 oz) frozen green peas OR 3/4 lb fresh green beans, snipped
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint, plus more for serving
Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water, return the pasta to pot.

Meanwhile, season the salmon with salt and pepper (about 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper) and place in a large skillet. Add 1/4 cup water and the lemon zest and juice. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover, steam for 10 minutes.

Add frozen peas (or green beans) and steam, covered, until the peas are tender and the salmon is opaque, 6 to 8 minutes.

Transfer to the pot with the pasta. Add butter and mint. Season with additional salt and pepper as desired. Toss, gently flaking the fish and adding reserved pasta water as desired. Serve immediately, sprinkled with more mint.