Current obsession: spiced watermelon

Last summer, I had regular access to a Mexican fruit cart. On a daily basis, I got an enormous bag of chopped fruit doused in lime juice and chili pepper. My favorite was a combination of watermelon, mango, cantaloupe, pineapple, honeydew, cucumber, and jicama.

I'm missing the fruit cart these days, but I'm too lazy to buy, wash, and chop all that fruit, so I'm making do with the watermelon only.

Laziness alert: mobile phone picture

It's super easy. Wash and cut the watermelon into slices, squeeze lime over the top, and then sprinkle chili powder to taste. Eat. Repeat.

July-aholic

I loooove pumpkins and Halloween, but July and the BBQing festivities are a close second in my heart. Here's what I made for July 4th.

White Sangria

I was only recently introduced to Sangria by a friend of mine, and now I'm hooked! Here was my no-recipe white sangria.

White Sangria

1 bottle white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

1 each orange, lemon, lime, de-seeded and sliced into rounds

5-6 fresh strawberries washed, hulled, and split

1-2 oz lychee vodka

2 cans Hansen's Mandarin Lime soda

Combine the citrus, vodka, and wine. Let sit overnight. Just before serving, add the soda and strawberries. Serve. Drink.

It was a bit sweet, but I like sweet, so that was okay with me.

My dessert contribution for July 4th was an American staple - Oreos.

Homemade Oreo cookies gussied up to all 'Merican. I didn't change the ingredients one bit, but I did roll the dough in my hands before putting it on the cookie sheet. Observe:

Left: rolled into a ball and set on the sheet Right: dropped and flattened (per the directions)

I like the way the rolled cookies look better - the smooth top seems more Oreo-like.

It was totally gratuitous, but a little melted white chocolate, some blue nonpareils, and a happy red heart - they were all ready for a party!

I hope to post more soon. I got a SodaSteam and it's rocking my flip-flops right now with this heat. I've made a few soda syrups, but nothing worth sharing yet. I'm also gearing up for - what else? - pumpkin dinner! I've got lots of ideas so far. Like pumpkin brownies, pumpkin gelatin (but I already made pumpkin panna cotta once)...basically I never like to repeat myself.