OUR FAVORITE VEGGIE RECIPES THAT FEEL LIKE SUMMER

the age of the watermelon + recipes with tomatoes, beets and more

Jun 21, 2024

It is officially the summer of Watermelon 🍉. Last year, I was bombarded with TikToks on how to pick the best watermelon….some people insist the blossom end (opposite of the stem) should be small, while others completely disagree and think they should be large. I tried both….neither was that good. Honestly, I think watermelons were just having a bad year. But I’m happy to say that’s not the case this year, watermelons are back and better than ever!

I bought three watermelons so far, and all were amazing, lasted forever, and had a yellow stripe on them (yeah yeah… yellow stripe is another “hack” but I wanted to try).

While you can eat it straight up or use it in a hot honey and feta salad, an underrated, yet perhaps the best use for watermelon, is to turn it into a martini. In fact, a watermelon martini is one of our favorite cocktails.

The first one we had was at Buccan in Palm Beach (shoutout to Jackson for ordering one at a work event there and getting made fun of after lol), and I knew after the first sip I needed to make these at home. Surprisingly, it only has three ingredients: watermelon, vodka, and lime.

In addition to my hankering for watermelon, I’ve also been craving fresh early summer veggies. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been incorporating some of my favorite June produce into light and delicious summer meals. Last week’s Panzanella was a perfect example. This week, I’m favoring tomatoes (heirloom and sungold), corn, beets, and cucumbers.

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD

Years ago, in one of Ina Garten’s cookbooks, we came across a recipe for heirloom tomatoes with a blue cheese dressing. It quickly became a family fixation and we would make it all the time. Surprisingly, I haven’t really had it since. But when I saw heirloom tomatoes at the farmer’s market the recipe came right back to me and I knew I had to make my own take on Ina’s recipe! Even those who aren’t the biggest blue cheese lovers end up enjoying this Roquefort dressing, but if you want to use a less-strong blue cheese I would go for Danish Blue.

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SPICY INDIAN STREET CORN

Next, we have another family favorite…grilled Spicy Indian Street Corn. Our Aunt’s friend came over once when we were kids and introduced us to this delicious Indian version of grilled corn. We were instantly obsessed with the tangy, salty, and spicy flavor and using the lemon to apply the spices to the grilled corn.

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ROASTED RED & GOLDEN BEET SALAD

Another beautiful and unexpected side is the Roasted Red and Golden Beet salad. This is a great dish to bring to a summer get-together. You can find golden beets at the farmer’s market right now while they are in season!

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SUMMER SUNGOLD TOMATO PASTA

There’s nothing better than a light pasta for a veggie-forward summer entree. This Summer Sungold Tomato Pasta is super easy to make. I made it last year with sungold tomatoes from my garden! But until mine are ready to pick this year, I’ll be grabbing some from my local farmer’s market.