As soon as I saw the photo above on a website, I knew that I had to carve my very own watermelon brain for a Halloween party I’ll be attending this weekend. But like everything lately, I ran out of time and I don’t think I’ll be able to put my carving skills to the test this week. So, I’ll do the next best thing and link to a website with step by step instructions for carving this cranial concoction. If anyone tries this, take a picture and send it to me using the experts link on the right, and I’ll post it here on What About Watermelon!

I used to eat way more pudding when I was a kid than I do as an adult. I’m not sure why I ever stopped, because pudding is pretty darn tasty. So when I stumbled across this recipe for watermelon pudding, I knew I had to rekindle my love affair with the sweet, creamy dessert.

I haven’t tried it for myself yet because I’ve been pretty busy lately (yes, too busy to make pudding). I’m also afraid to make this recipe because I have no idea what orange blossom water is.

WATERMELON PUDDING

INGREDIENTS

2-1/2 pounds ripe watermelon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1-1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons chopped pistachios plus extra for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS

Cut watermelon into chunks and remove rind and seeds. Put watermelon through a food mill or process in a blender to get about 2 cups juice.

Combine the watermelon juice, sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, and stir until the cornstarch completely dissolves. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Let boil for a few minutes until the pudding is bright red. Stir in the orange blossom water and cinnamon.

Pour into 4 or 5 small ice cream goblets. When cool, stir in chocolate pieces and pistachios.

Refrigerate until well chilled. To serve watermelon pudding, sprinkle with chopped pistachios.

Everyone I talk to says watermelon and feta cheese are two foods destined to go together. Sort of like peanut butter and jelly or coffee and doughnuts. Apparently, there’s something about the sharp saltiness of feta cheese that pairs perfectly with sweet juicy watermelon.

So I went out and bought some feta cheese and watermelon and gave it a whirl. I’m happy to report that everyone I talk to is 100 percent right. Watermelon and feta cheese really is a culinary marriage made in heaven. Even if you’re not a feta lover, you have to give this recipe a try.

There are actually lots of watermelon feta salad recipes out there. Some have several ingredients, and some are basically just watermelon, feta and one or two other ingredients. The recipe below is the one I tried.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups of 1 to 2 inch watermelon chunks
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup pitted black olives
• Black pepper to taste (optional)
• Lime juice (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Mix all the ingredients together. Enjoy.

Pretty simple, huh? All you really need to do is mix watermelon and feta cheese, but you can throw in some more ingredients like the ones above if you like. Some recipes add thinly sliced red onions. Some use a little bit of fresh parsley or mint. Maybe a little olive oil. It’s up to you!

I’ve always held a special place in my heart (and stomach) for deep fried foods. I actually received a deep fryer as a gift a few years ago. I imagined cooking all sorts of things in it. French fries and chicken wings, of course, but also unusual things like ice cream and pickles and carnival legends like deep fried candy bars and deep fried pizza.

My deep fried dreams never came true because I never used my fryer, but that’s about to change now that I’ve found this recipe for deep fried watermelon. Yes, deep fried watermelon. I haven’t tried it yet, but I will. And when I do, I’ll let you know how it turns out. Unless it’s not good. Then I’ll just put my fryer back in its box and never mention it again.

If anyone makes this before I do, leave a comment with your feedback!

DEEP FRIED WATERMELON

INGREDIENTS

1 seedless watermelon (6 to 8 pounds)
3 cups vegetable or canola oil for deep-frying
1/2 cup cornstarch (corn flour)
2 egg whites, beaten
2 teaspoons water
3/4 cup flour
Powdered sugar for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Cut watermelon in half lengthwise. Cut each half again lengthwise into 2, leaving 4 long triangular shaped wedges. Remove the rinds, cut into 1-inch thick slices, then cut the flesh into about 1-inch triangles. (Basically, just cut the watermelon up into one inch square pieces.)

Heat oil in a deep-fryer to 350 F. You can also use a wok if you don’t have a fryer.

Whisk cornstarch with egg whites and water until combined.

Dredge watermelon chunks in the flour, then coat with the cornstarch batter. Deep-fry in batches, leaving room in between pieces to properly brown, until watermelon chunks are golden.

Remove from oil and drain well. Sprinkle deep-fried watermelon with a dusting of powdered confectioners’ sugar. Serve immediately while still crispy and hot. I’m just guessing here, but BE CAREFUL! Because watermelon is 92 percent water, these little morsels of goodness might be very hot inside, so proceed with caution!

UP NEXT: The world record for watermelon eating

Ahh, back to school time. Some kids are excited about it. Some kids dread it. I was one of the few who got excited about it. I’d lay out all my new school supplies days ahead of time. Sharpening all my new pencils perfectly, zipping them up in the little plastic pouch in my Trapper Keeper. And who can forget the smell of new school clothes?

School lunch was a memorable experience, too. Occasionally, I’d get watermelon in my lunchbox (thanks mom!), which happens to be the topic of this post.

Moms everywhere: If your son or daughter is packing a lunch this year (I’m assuming kids still do that), please consider changing up the ol’ apple and orange fruit rotation by putting a little watermelon in there now and then. (And by “little watermelon” I don’t mean the pint-sized treat pictured above, although that would be pretty cool if you could find it.)

If you need some ideas, you can find some fun recipes for kids on the National Watermelon Promotion Board website. Some might be good for lunchboxes. If you want to do something simple, consider just a few chunks of watermelon in a baggie. It’s nutritious, it’s delicious… it’s fun! Throw in a few banana slices and grapes, put it in a plastic container, and that’s great too.

I assure you, a non-profit group of children who are fed up with boring lunches didn’t put me up to writing this blog entry. It’s just a simple plea from the kid in me who remembers how great it was to get some watermelon for a mid-afternoon snack now and then.

UP NEXT: Mouthwatering photos

The great thing about this recipe is that it uses pieces of watermelon in the cake and  watermelon juice in the frosting. And it also looks like watermelon when it’s sliced and served.

The original recipe called for red food coloring in the frosting to make it red, which I guess works for the top of the cake, but you might  also make a batch of icing using green food coloring for the sides of the cake to give the finished product the appearance of a watermelon rind.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (2-layer package) white cake mix
1 small package mixed fruit gelatin powder
1-1/3 cups seedless watermelon cut from the center and cubed into 1-inch blocks
3 egg whites
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup miniature chocolate chips, optional

FROSTING:

1/4 cup watermelon juice
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 (3-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2 to 3 drops red food coloring, optional
2 to 3 drops green food coloring, optional
1/8 cup miniature chocolate chips, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan (or 9 x 13-inch cake pan).

In a medium bowl, whisk together cake mix and gelatin powder until combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat watermelon, egg whites, and vegetable oil until smooth. Add dry ingredients, half at a time, and mix until well-blended. Fold in chocolate chips, if using.

Pour into prepared pan and bake about 35 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature before frosting.

For the frosting, blend watermelon juice, butter, powdered sugar, and cream cheese until combined and fluffy. Set aside some frosting for the top of the cake and some frosting for the sides of the cake. Add red food coloring to the icing for the top of the cake to achieve a rosy watermelon color. Add green food coloring to the icing for the sides of the cake to simulate the watermelon rind. Frost cooled cake. Place chocolate chips sporadically around the top of the cake to simulate seeds.

Refrigerate to set frosting. Remove from refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving.

UP NEXT: Some mouthwatering watermelon photos

Watermelon is 92 percent water, so it only makes sense to use it as an ingredient in a drink. In fact, one of my favorite things to do when eating a large slab of watermelon is to slurp the juice that collects like little lakes in the watermelon as I eat it. I don’t care if people think I’m ill-mannered. They’re just jealous.

Now that I’ve found this recipe, I don’t have to slurp my watermelon from the rind, but I probably still will. Check it out below. I haven’t tried it yet, but you can bet I will soon. In fact, this might make a good recipe to make to celebrate National Watermelon Day, coming up on August 3. (Thanks for the reminder, Louise!)

WATERMELON LEMONADE

INGREDIENTS

6 cups watermelon cubes (seeds removed)
1/4 cup raspberries, blueberries or other fruit
1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

Place watermelon, raspberries and water in container of electric blender, cover and blend until smooth. Strain through fine mesh strainer into pitcher. Stir in sugar and lemon juice until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Makes 4 servings (or just one really big one for yourself).

The only way the name of this recipe could get any better was if they inserted “chocolate” or “ice cream” or “bacon” in there somewhere. Actually, you could easily put bacon on this burger. Someone pinch me.

INGREDIENTS

4 hamburger patties
4 slices white cheddar cheese
4 slices watermelon about the same size as the burgers, seeded
1 tablespoon ground pepper
4 toasted buns

DIRECTIONS

Grill the hamburgers almost to desired doneness. 30 seconds before they are done, place a slice of cheese atop each burger. Place the watermelon slices on the grill, just to warm them, and dust with the pepper to taste. Assemble the burgers on the buns with a slice of warmed watermelon on top of each. Enjoy! (You will.)

I’m usually not “a go-go” in the morning but this recipe sounds like it could put some extra pep in my step. It’s simple to make – just three ingredients – and a nice departure from my usual “toast,” “leftover pizza” or “nothing.”

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup low fat granola
¾ cup de-seeded watermelon chunks
5 ounces low fat banana or other flavor yogurt

DIRECTIONS

In a large, cylindrical glass or to-go cup, create the following parfait:

Bottom layer: low fat granola
Next layer: small chunks of seeded watermelon
Next layer: banana yogurt
Next layer: low fat granola
Next layer: small chunks of seeded watermelon
Top layer: banana yogurt

Garnish with a slice of banana, toasted almonds or coconut, a wedge of watermelon, a strawberry or an orange wheel

To help celebrate Independence Day this year, I adapted a recipe from one I found on the National Watermelon Promotion Board website. It’s technically a “kids” recipe, but who cares? I certainly don’t because it looks and tastes great and that’s all that matters!

This is one of those things you can make for your home barbecue or to take to a friend’s house. It’s fun because it looks really cool and makes people say, “That’s made of what?” or, if their mouths are full, “Mmff made aff whullff?” Best of all, it’s easy to make. You’ll notice a lot of the recipes I feature on here are easy. I like easy.

The only difference between the recipe below and the “Kids’ Watermelon Pizza Supreme” on the website is that I substituted blueberries for raisins to put the “blue” in “Red, White & Blue Watermelon Pizza.” Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 to 10-inch round and 1-inch thick) watermelon slice
1 cup strawberry preserves
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
½ to 1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

INSTRUCTIONS
Place the watermelon slice on a serving platter and cut into 6 wedges, leaving them in the shape of a pizza. Spread the preserves over the watermelon and sprinkle the toppings over the top.