Looking for a juicy and nutritious treat to enjoy this Independence Day?

Well, local watermelons are coming into season and fit the bill perfectly.

Buddy Miller, local farmer and owner of Plantation Pecan Co., said his watermelons should be ready to harvest by the end of the week and will be hitting local farmer’s market shelves as soon as possible.

Miller said the melons are usually ripe for the picking by now, but the unusual amount of rain in recent months did more harm than good by stunting the growth of the vines.

To have the sweet summer fruit ready to munch on, Miller said he begins planning seeds in his greenhouse in February and plants every two weeks until April when he starts transplanting them into the field.

It is a lot of work, but Miller said such a treat has little competition.

“They are cool and refreshing on a hot day and have good nutrition,” he said. “Eating a cold, sweet and juicy watermelon is hard to beat.”

Miller likes his watermelon just the way it came out of the ground, but if you want to mix it up, you can try one of the following recipes:

 

Watermelon fruit pizza

1 watermelon

1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese

1 (8 ounce) container of Cool Whip

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

strawberries

blueberries

 

1. Slice your watermelon in half horizontally.

2. Slice two one-inch circles out of each half of the watermelon, set aside extra watermelon.

3. Pat each slice dry with paper towels.

4. In a bowl, beat together softened cream cheese, Cool Whip, powdered sugar and vanilla until well mixed.

5. Evenly spread mixture over both slices of watermelon.

6. Top with your favorite fruits and enjoy! Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate.

— from sixsistersstuff.com

Watermelon Smoothie

3 cups (about 1/2 inch squares) of seedless watermelon (the smaller the pieces, the better)

1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons maple syrup

 

1. Line a cookie sheet or large plate with wax paper and spread out watermelon pieces, leaving space between each piece. Freeze for 1 hour. After watermelon is frozen you can add to Ziploc bag for future use.

2. Place frozen watermelon pieces in blender, add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

3. Serve immediately. Garnish with a piece of watermelon or fresh mint, if desired. Enjoy.

— from karaspartyideas.com

 

Watermelon salsa

2 cups diced watermelon, seeds removed

1 cup diced red onion

1 cup diced cucumber (or zucchini)

1 cup diced tomatoes

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup chopped jalapeno pepper, seeds removed

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

kosher salt (to taste)

fresh ground pepper (to taste)

 

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.

2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow all the flavors to meld together.

3. Serve and enjoy.

— from momsneedtoknow.com