Summer

Growing up in China, beginning of summer was always marked by two things: watermelon tent along side of the road and mound of peaches grandma used to bring back from the market. It was a simpler time. Often, I was send off with 50 cents in my hand to get a watermelon for "desert" from a particular vendor. The size of the watermelon wasn't particularly big. Seedless watermelon was unheard of. I still remember the thrill of hearing the gentle sound of the watermelon crack as the knife sliced it into halves. Grandma always cut the melon in perfect wedges that looked like red sails glistening in the setting sun. And if we were very lucky, we would find the watermelon with the golden yellow flesh. Maybe this is why I have this obsession with growing ice box watermelons, specially varieties from Asia.

My memory of peaches in China is always associated with gluttony. Yes, my gluttony. Peaches I grew up with were always the white ones. They were the size of my fist. When bitten, the sugary juice gushes into the mouth, then dripping down the chin. Needless to say, I have ruined quite a few shirts/dresses that way. I always had a heap of peaches in my room. Usually, it lasted me 2 days max. Here in the states, I can find the white peaches in local market, but somehow they don't quite match those from my childhood memory.

Going back to watermelon. I remember watching a TV cooking show LONG LONG time ago while I was still in China. The host was making some sort of watermelon custard. Well, I haven't tried to make watermelon custard yet, I guess I really should try it sometimes. Here is a simple recipe for watermelon granita that anyone can make, perfect for a hot summer day.

Watermelon Granita

4 cups of watermelon (enough to fill the blender to the top)
1/2 cup of sugar or more to taste
1 Tsp of lime juice
chopped mint for garnish

1. Blend the first 3 ingredients together until smooth.
2. Freeze the watermelon puree for about 40 minutes. Scrape the mixture and break up the large chunks of ice crystals
3. repeat step 2 until everything is frozen.
4. Garnish with chopped mint and serve.

So the recipe is super simple, unless you forget to scrape the mixture every 40 minutes or so. If that happens, just break up the solid to small pieces (hammer required) and throw them into the blender.