I’m not normally a salad kind of a guy at Thanksgiving because I prefer to save precious room for turkey and dessert, but other members of my family do like salad, so I think I’ll mention this recipe to my mother. Actually, though, this isn’t a “salad” in the traditional sense… it’s more of a mixture of a bunch of great ingredients. Sort of like potato salad or taco salad.

SWEET AND SOUR WATERMELON AND CUCUMBER SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar or to taste
1 tablespoon poppy seed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch scallions, trimmed and chopped
3 cups seedless watermelon balls or small chunks
2 English cucumbers, peeled, seeded and sliced into small slices

INSTRUCTIONS

Mix together the vinegar, water, sugar (adjusting as desired) and poppy seeds in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the chopped scallions. Place the watermelon and cucumber in a serving bowl and pour the marinade over the top. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate a couple of hours before serving. Toss gently before serving.

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!