Asian Pork Tacos with Watermelon Cucumber Salsa

July 12, 2018

2018 Update: Since this is one of my favorite recipes, and one that I reference all the time, I thought it was about time for an upgrade! I originally published this recipe in almost exactly 5 years ago (yikes!). Back when I sort of knew what I was doing and only published recipes occasionally.

But even after all that time, I still love making this recipe during the Summer! It’s actually really easy thanks to the use of a slow cooker. Just throw everything in, set it, and forget it.

I don’t want to take everything away from 2013 Lindsey, so I will leave in everything else I wrote back then and just trade out the horrendous photos!

Trust me, I am doing us all a favor.

A few weeks ago B and I went out to dinner and had the most amazing tacos. They were brilliant in their simplicity. Pork belly glazed in an Asian inspired sauce and topped with watermelon cubes. We were pretty unsure about the watermelon and pork at first, but we were quickly won over.

We knew we wanted to try to recreate these at home, and after some experimenting, we found a recipe that rivaled the restaurant version. The best part is, they are pretty easy to make and are probably a lot healthier.

I hope you give these tacos a try. You truly won’t regret it! And don’t let the watermelon weird you out. Once you try it, you will love it!

Recipes

You can find my recipe for homemade tortillas here. They are delicious and absolutely worth the extra effort!

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Watermelon Cucumber Granita

July 11, 2018

There comes a time every Summer when I just dread turning on the oven.

It’s already so hot outside and the AC is struggling to keep up; why would add any more heat to its load?

Granita is the perfect thing to make when you want to avoid using your oven but still want something sweet. It’s super refreshing (especially this watermelon cucumber granita) and super easy to make!

How to Make It

Start by chopping up a bunch of watermelon and cucumber. For something like this, you can leave the skin on the cucumber if you’d like. It will just get filtered out later.

Add all the fruit and veg to a blender or food processor. The juice of a lime (or lemon), and just enough water to get the blender to do its job. If your watermelon is juicy enough, you may not need any!

Pour the blended mixture through a sieve to strain out all the pulp.

You should be left with a beautiful red juice that is seriously delicious.

Honestly, you can stop right here and pour this over a couple ice cubes for a refreshing Summer beverage.

But let’s continue turning this into watermelon cucumber granita, shall we?

Pour the juice into a shallow dish and then place it in the fridge. Every 2 hours or so (or every time you remember), take the dish out and scrape a fork over the surface. For the first few hours, it may seem like you aren’t doing much. Once it starts to set up you will start making really fine ice crystals.

It doesn’t take too long to completely freeze leaving you with a beautiful (did I mention healthy?) dessert!

I like to eat this watermelon cucumber granita all on its own. However, it would also be delicious alongside some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if you need something a bit richer.

It will definitely help you beat the Summer heat!

Supplies and Recipe

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Chocolate Dipped Watermelon

June 21, 2018

If you are looking for a super easy, somewhat healthy, all around people-pleasing dessert for any Summer party or picnic, then you have to make yourself some chocolate dipped watermelon!

How to Make It

The first thing to do is to cut the watermelon into slices. These can be as big or small as you like. They don’t even have to be slices! They can be chunks or sticks or however you like to cut your watermelon.

Lay the slices of watermelon on a tray and let them chill in the fridge while you move onto the chocolate.

The trick to getting a nice chocolate coating that sticks to the watermelon is to temper the chocolate.

Tempering chocolate used to intimidate me, but it’s actually pretty easy and makes a world of difference! Instead of chalky, grainy chocolate, you will have a nice smooth, glossy chocolate coating.

To temper the chocolate you first melt about 2/3rds of the chocolate over a double boiler. Not all the pieces will be melted, but most should be starting to melt. Then stir the chocolate off the heat until all the pieces are melted. At this point, the chocolate should be pretty hot.

Then add in the rest of the chocolate pieces and mix until they have melted into the rest of the chocolate. This may take a while because the chocolate is cooling down as more chocolate is added. By the end, all of the chocolate pieces should be melted and the chocolate should actually feel cool to the touch. I highly recommend checking out this very in-depth post about how to temper chocolate.

Next, just dip the watermelon into the chocolate. If the watermelon has developed a lot of moisture on the surface, blot that away with a paper towel before dipping. It will ensure that the chocolate sticks.

If you want the chocolate to cover even more of the watermelon, use a spoon or spatula to spread it up the sides.

Because the watermelon is cold from the fridge, the chocolate will start to harden pretty quickly (which I actually prefer). So if you want to add any toppings, act fast!

You can add sprinkles to make these chocolate dipped watermelon slices super festive. You can even sprinkle on some sea salt or chopped nuts. Go crazy!

Whichever way you dress up your watermelon, I guarantee it will be delicious and refreshing! A perfect combination for a hot Summer day!

Tools and Recipe

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Watermelon Rose Slushie

June 30, 2017

I should really give my husband more credit. For instance, this watermelon rose slushee was all his idea. You see, he likes to browse Reddit, where he finds all sorts of crazy things, one of which was a watermelon keg. In the video (or maybe just a post) they cut open the top of the watermelon, used an immersion blender to blend the inside, then poured in some rose. Add a tap, and you have yourself a watermelon keg!

Now, I’m pretty sure we didn’t need a whole watermelon keg. But a watermelon and rose cocktail sounded delicious!

HOW I MADE IT

I started by cubing then blending the melon until smooth.

Then I poured it through a sieve to get rid of all the pulp.
I poured the juice into an ice cube tray to let freeze overnight.

The next day, I blended the watermelon ice cubes with rose and a toich of lemon juice until I had something that resembled the Slurpee I used to get at 7-11.

It is basically a grown up Slurpee. Just not as sickenly sweet and, you know, boozy.

But its not too boozy. I only used 3/4 cup of wine for what was essentially 4 large cups. You could definitely add more if you want more of the rose flavor. But I loved how refreshing it tasted thanks to all that sweet waltermelon juice.

It’s the perfect Summer cocktail!

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Watermelon, Feta, and Blueberry Bites

June 27, 2017

Watermelon and feta are an unlikely pair, aren’t they? That juicy, sweet fruit with rich and salty feta. When you top them with a drizzle of tangy balsamic, it almost becomes the perfect bite of food!

I added a handful of blueberries to my balsamic reduction and to the top of the feta to really amp up the blue, making these little bites perfect for 4th of July!

HOW I MADE IT

I started by making the blueberry balsamic reduction. You could use a plain balsamic reduction (or buy a bottle of balsamic glaze from the grocery store) if you don’t feel like making thw blueberry variety.

But it’s actually pretty easy to make. I put some blueberries, balsamic, and agave (you could use honey, I just couldn’t find mine) in a sauce pan and then let it simmer until it had reduced by half. And viola! Blueberry balsamic reduction that you can impress your friends with. Just remember to say “blueberry balsamic reduction” in the snootiest way possible.

For the watermelon part, of course you could just cut out cube, but where’s the fun in that? I had my star cookie cutter already out from making pie last week so I decided to make star shaped watermelon. Very patriotic!

Now comes the easy part! I stacked a cube of feta on top of the watermelon and skewered them with a toothpick and blueberry.

Then just drizzled on the balsamic reduction.

Now these cuties are ready to be devoured! I have a feeling they will go quickly at any 4th of July party or Summer backyard barbecue! They are refreshing and satisfying all in one bite!

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Watermelon, Feta and Cucumber Salad

August 10, 2016

I don’t know about you, but it was drilled into me from high school through grad school, “cite your sources!”. It’s now a huge pet peeve of mine when people (especially bloggers) don’t acknowledge the source of the inspiration. That’s why I have no problem telling you where the inspiration for my recipes comes from (got to give credit where credit is due!), Like this particular salad which was 99.9% inspired by this recipe.

I saw it posted over at the Kitchn, and I was smitten. I mean, it’s just so pretty! I had to make it the first chance I got. Fortunately, that chance would come pretty quickly when I had to make a salad to bring to our Small Group dinner on Sunday.

The salad was pretty much constructed based on the picture alone and I didn’t actually consult the recipe (not that I needed to, the picture speaks for itself). That’s why my recipe is just a tad different, like the addition of lettuce, dressing, red onions, and balsamic reduction.

I started with a bed of romaine lettuce that I lightly dressed with some white balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I topped it with the spiralized cucumber that I cut into smaller noddles to make it easier to serve and eat. Next came the watermelon balls and the chucks of feta. I kept my feta pretty big because I wanted everyone to get a big hunk of cheese with every bite. I then topped it with thinly sliced red onion, mint, and the balsamic glaze (from Trader Joes).

All of these flavors go so well together. The sweet from the watermelon, crispness of the cucumber, saltiness from the feta, bitterness from the onion, and tangy-ness from the balsamic. It reminds me a lot of one of my favorite (and super easy) appetizers. It’s so refreshing and flavorful. It’s a great salad to make during these hot and muggy dog days of summer.

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Watermelon Jello Shot Slices

June 6, 2016

I would love to tell you that my friend, Michelle, and I spent our Memorial Day weekend laying out in the sun and with a drink in our hand. Sadly, the weather had other plans and we were pretty much rained in all weekend. But we didn’t let the weather totally derail our fun – we still got to snack on these yummy watermelon Jello shot slices!

Since it rained all day Sunday, we spent the morning on the couch watching the Food Network show (of course!). On one show, they made these very same watermelon Jello shots and we just knew we had to try to make them! It seemed like the perfect treat for Memorial Day!

We started by slicing the watermelon open and taking out the just about all the melon inside. We also cut the “bottom” of the watermelon halves so that they sat relatively flat and wouldn’t wobble around when we moved them from the counter to the fridge.

To make the Jello part, we pretty much followed the proportions for making “Jello jigglers” which requires more gelatin. To make sure we were filling the watermelon up all the way, I actually filled up the halves of the melon with water and poured it into a measuring cup. Of course we wanted to make these alcoholic (although that is totally not necessary, and these would be just as great without it if you wanted to make a non-alcoholic version for the kids) so I poured out some of the water and replaced it with vodka. In the end, we had 4 cups of the liquid (3 cup water, 1 cup vodka) and 3 packs of watermelon Jello for both halves of the watermelon.

We let the Jello set overnight then sliced right into it the next day.

I would also recommend using the smallest watermelon you can find. The Jello just won’t be strong enough to hold if you have a huge watermelon. You could also cut them into quarters if you can’t find a small watermelon.

Man were these good! And so dangerous! The Jello really masks the flavor of the vodka and it’s not like this is a tiny Jello shot. It’s a whole watermelon slice of a jello shot. These can get you in trouble pretty quickly.

This may be the most fun use of a watermelon since the watermelon keg.

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Summer Sangria

August 7, 2014

Sangria is one of my husband’s and my favorite drinks to make during the Summer months when we are either hosting or attending a party. It can be as simple or as complicated as we’d like and very easily scalable to however many people we are making it for.

For this batch of sangria, we chose to use lots of fresh Summer stone fruit, like peaches, plums, and cherries. Peaches are wonderful in sangria because the really give off a lot of flavor, making the finished product sweet, yet still a bit tart from the wine.

To make this drink even more Summery, we added watermelon ice cubes. We stole this idea from a bar in Raleigh we visited a couple weekends ago, but I will probably be adding watermelon ice cubes to all my drinks for the rest of the Summer. It’s genius! And they are super easy to make: 1) cut up some watermelon into cubes; 2) freeze.

There is no real rhyme or reason to chopping up fruit for sangria. I like to leave the pieces relatively large so they don’t get too mushy sitting in wine for a couple days, but not so large that you can’t fish a piece of fruit out of your glass and eat it, in all its drunken glory.

And for the wine…well, again, there are no standards (at least none that I am aware of). I prefer to use wines that are a little bit sweet and fruity already. But not too sweet. I stay away from Chardonnays and Rieslings. Somewhere in the middle, like a Savignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. For this batch, we used a Spanish wine (I can’t think of the grape variety for the life of me), which seemed pretty appropriate.

We also like to throw in a splash of whiskey, like Crown Royal (or the Kirkland equivalent, as in our case). Partly because we like the added flavor, and partly because my husband will only drink a fruity drink if there is whiskey in it.

We let our sangria sit for at least two days. My husband wanted me to emphasize TWO days (he literally walked in as I was typing and said, “please put on your recipe that we let ours sit for at least two days”). You definitely could make this the night before and serve it the next day. However, you won’t be doing your sangria any favors. All the flavors from the fruit will not be as fragrant. After two days, the fruit has gotten a chance to break down and release its juices and the bite from the wine is a bit less noticeable.

I think sangria is just the perfect drink for the Summer. The Spanish really knew what they were doing when they came up with this idea. It is just so refreshing and flavorful. However, I can sometimes forget that I am drinking wine…which can be a problem. So pace yourself! One batch can last you a while. If you don’t think you can finish it off after about four days, strain out the fruit and store the rest in the fridge. You can add back in fresh fruit when you are ready to serve again.

What is your favorite Summer drink?

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