Marvelous Melon

The dog days of summer have arrived in the upper Midwest.  Hot, humid days broken up by the occasional thunderstorm that, while promising a break, just brings more heat.  I’m not a huge fan – give me cool and rainy over warm and muggy any day – perhaps in keeping with my natural disposition?!

These sticky days can make cooking a challenge.  It’s too hot to turn on the oven and even though I love my “regular” summer salad repertoire – fresh mixed greens, grilled chicken or shrimp and lovely farmer’s market vegetables, by this time of the summer, I’m ready to mix it up.

Enter the always wonderful watermelon. Cool and sweet, juicy and full of flavor, it begs to be the star of the summer show.  This Watermelon Salad with Basil and Feta is a KilKenney Kitchen twist on the traditional watermelon salad – mostly due to what was in my garden.  A girl’s gotta be flexible, right?

I grabbed some fresh Feta cheese along with two kinds of basil growing in the backyard.

I added a squeeze of lime juice and a touch of olive oil to create this sweet, salty and completely refreshing summer salad.  Bring this wonderful Watermelon Salad to a party, serve it to your family or just enjoy it by yourself – I think you’ll be happy to add this one to your summer salad repertoire.