salted watermelon, avocado & mint salad.

super fresh summer salad, comin’ atcha.

this is a riff on a watermelon & mint salad i had a couple summers ago…

ohh emm geee, it is so. good. so much flavor and way way way fresh.

i added avocado for texture & creaminess, lime and black pepper and sooo much mint to this version.

i made this salad last week and brought it on our friend’s boat that afternoon thinking i needed to try and use it the same day, but that it would get soggy and nobody would want any…

but it actually stayed crisp & fresh and was gobbled right up.

i have a video of our friend’s sister giving the watermelon salad a real-time review on the boat which i’ll just let serve as the blog post for this recipe, because she really says it all!

here’s her direct quote that sounds like actual poetry now that i’m listening & reading it back 😂.

“the lightness.

the burst.

it feels like sunshine coming from your core, spreading outside.

the balance of sweet and salt, and just light with the mint just coooating over - just bruuushing over.

the mint!

beautiful.”

me: “it’s the mint, right?!”

salad poet: “it’s the mint…. it’s the mint.

because the honeydew meets the watermelon…..”

me: “i hate honeydew!”

salad poet: “i don’t like either of them. but the marriage of those two together, with the mint - it’s a beautiful balance.

beautiful. it’s actually perfect.”

me: “how do you feel about the avocado?”

salad poet: “if you’re looking for some zesty flavor - it’s going to balance it out with a bit of - i don’t know, it’s like it’s comforting you - it’s giving you a big hug. the watermelon hugs all that flavor together…

and the avocado….. it’s bliss!

…and the mint.

avocado, watermelon, honeydew, mint…..”

me: “we hate half of those things, but we love them together.”

salad poet: “it’s true.”

she didn’t mention the pickled red onions in the real-time review, but those are a key player in this flavor explosion. do yerself a favor and just start making pickled red onions every week and keep them in a jar in the fridge.

this salad is sooooo delicious and fresh and perfect for summer. i want to eat it every day.

in fact, i am sooo into the mint in this salad that i’ve been putting mint on all the things. i often cut up cherry tomatoes & cucumbers for a snack and just toss with salt & pepp and some feta - now i add mint, and yum! it’s just so light & lovely and adds a great layer of fun flava.

i want to make lots of summery salads using fruit and herbs now. i feel like just by having summer fruit around and a handful of extra ingredients ready to go, you can have a lot of combinations of the most refreshing, crisp, light, cooling, flavorful summer salads.

this cucumber, peach & prosciutto salad from last summer is also a winner, and has a wee bit of added protein, too!

and of course, my bff, mint.

Salted Watermelon, Avocado & Mint Salad

Serves 2-4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a watermelon, the firmest parts cubed

• 1/2 a honeydew melon, cubed

• 1 medium avocado, firm - not too ripe - sliced

• 1/2 cup pickled red onion slivers

• 1/4 cup feta crumbles

• juice of 1 lime

• lots of fresh mint, torn or chopped

• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tsp. flaky sea salt, like Maldon

Instructions -

Cube the firmest parts of the watermelon, discarding any mealy or super seeded parts. Cube the honeydew melon. Chill the melon cubes in the fridge and prep the other ingredients.

Gently toss all ingredients together with the chilled melon. Top with extra lime juice, flaky sea salt and fresh mint. Serve immediately or same-day.

qp

whipped coconut milk chocolate chip muffins.

this is me pondering what the actual difference is between a muffin and a cupcake….

these look like a cupcake…they smell like a cupcake…they are made similarly to a cupcake….yet they are a muffin….

i think muffins are just more dense than cupcakes. cake should be light and airy.

and when you call something a “muffin,” it becomes an acceptable breakfast food. 😈 although this batch was more of an afternoon snack for pete & me when they were still with us.

not sure why i took 8 zillion photos of the same thing, but muffins are just cute, ya know!?

so i whip whip whipped up that thiccc part of (cold) canned coconut milk and made a thiccc muffin batter. that yielded a super moist and dense, yet fluffy, muffy. yum!

i used a wee bit of almond flour in addition to the all-purpose just for some varying textures and really enjoyed that. the other tweak worth mentioning is that i used 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp almond extract. i personally love almond extract in things like sugar cookies, but it is very overpowering. you could probably just use a tiny drop of almond extract in this recipe and still taste it. just beware of that, or use all vanilla if you prefer.

this is one of those times when i am so sad these muffins are long gone. i want one baddddlyyyy.

and they were so good kept in the fridge! i normally leave all baked goods at room temperature, but these were like cool little coconutty, chocolatey treats. and stayed super m o i s t. 😬

when pete tried one of these muffins, he said, “these are the best thing you’ve ever made.”

…i’m not sure about all thaaaat, but they were quite delicious. last night i made steak & potato burritos, and he said, “i’d buy this for $100.” yes he exaggerates, but he does not lie regarding food criticism, no no. he will be the first to tell me something’s too salty or weird. so i will take both of those compliments, thankyou.

make these muffins for a breakfast/snack/dessert and live it up.

i’ll have to try fresh blueberries in this whipped coconut milk version sometime when i’m in the blueb mood. that sounds gooooood, too.

Whipped Coconut Milk Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

Bake Time: 23 minutes // Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup almond flour *

• 1/3 cup white sugar

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• 3/4 tsp fine sea salt

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted & cooled

• 1 large egg

• 1 cup of cold canned coconut milk (full-fat preferred - the thickened part), whipped with a hand mixer

• 1/3 cup of the coconut milk liquid from the can

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, or 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract + 1/4 tsp. almond extract

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions-

Chill the canned coconut milk in the fridge for 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a muffin tin with paper liners and spray with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, scoop 1 cup of the cold, thickened coconut milk from the can with 1/3 cup of the coconut milk liquid. Whip it up with a hand mixer until fluffy and smooth.

Add the melted coconut oil, egg, and flavor extracts to the whipped coconut milk bowl, stirring between additions.

Add the dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and fold gently with a spatula until just combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. The mixture will be quite thick.

Scoop the muffin batter into the prepared liners, about 2/3 full. Place the muffin tin on top of a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving.

These muffins stayed very moist and delicious at room temperature, but were also good kept cold in the fridge.

*You can omit the almond flour and use 2 cups of all-purpose flour if you prefer.

Enjoy!

qp