Every time I take this Fruit Salad with Citrus Poppy Seed Dressing to a party or potluck it gets rave reviews. It’s a simple fruit salad, but the dressing makes it extra special. This salad is so good, the recipe even made it into our cookbook, w…
Every time I take this Fruit Salad with Citrus Poppy Seed Dressing to a party or potluck it gets rave reviews. It’s a simple fruit salad, but the dressing makes it extra special. This salad is so good, the recipe even made it into our cookbook, which has our very best recipes. This salad includes…
The hottest days of the year are here and so are mojito watermelon wedges! Just in time! I’m back with one more embarrassingly easy recipe for you before the 4th! I know we already discussed sheet pan s’mores, but if you haven’t soaked your watermelon wedges in mojito syrup yet, are you really living? No. […]
The hottest days of the year are here and so are mojito watermelon wedges!
Just in time!
I’m back with one more embarrassingly easy recipe for you before the 4th! I know we already discussed sheet pan s’mores, but if you haven’t soaked your watermelon wedges in mojito syrup yet, are you really living?
No. I think not.
And wait! Just and FYI that you don’t really NEED the rum for this recipe to be so refreshing and incredible. Leave it out if you don’t drink or want to make this for the kids. It’s still just as good because it’s loaded with fresh mint and lime!
Here’s how it goes down.
Slice your watermelon into triangles. Well, honestly? Slice the watermelon however you want! However is easiest for you. You could do cubes or even melon balls. I’m doing wedges because right now at this moment in my life I find them the cutest.
That is what 2020 has turned into… me deciding that watermelon wedges are cute.
You’re also going to make a quick mojito syrup. This is just water, lime juice, maybe rum, sugar, lime zest and fresh mint. All simmered together and then poured over the watermelon.
YES.
We’re going to soak the watermelon in the mojito syrup. Throw a sheet pan in the fridge and let the watermelon hang out in the syrup.
Honestly can’t even tell you right now how much I’d like to be a wedge of watermelon just relaxing on a platter of mojito syrup.
Sounds heavenly.
I’ve seen people soak watermelon wedges in tequila before (I mean, OMG, yes please) so I figured the mojito flavor would be a huge winner. And it totally is!
These are SO good on a hot summer day. They are cold and fresh with hints of lime and mint. And easy! And cute. Of course.
These mojito watermelon wedges are soaked in a fresh mint and lime syrup then sprinkled with flaked sea salt. They are so refreshing!
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 25minutes
Cook Time 5minutes
Resting Time 30minutes
Total Time 1hour
Servings 12to 16 wedges
Author How Sweet Eats
Ingredients
1small seedless watermelon,cut into wedges (12 to 16 wedges)
1cupsugar
3/4cupwater
¼cupwhite rum,optional, leave out/replace with water to make kid friendly
2tablespoonsfresh lime juice
1big handful of fresh mint
2limes,zest freshly grated
flaked sea salt,for sprinkling
Instructions
Cut the watermelon into wedges and place it on two baking sheets in a single layer.
Place the water, sugar, lime juice, rum, mint and the zest of 1 lime in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, whisking so the sugar dissolves. Cook until just simmering then remove it from the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Pour the mixture evenly over the watermelon in the baking sheet. Move the watermelon wedges around so they are submerged in the syrup, then flip them.
Refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. I like to flip the watermelon once while it’s in the fridge.
Remove the watermelon from the syrup and place it on a platter. Sprinkle on the remaining lime zest. Sprinkle on a bit of flaked salt and serve!
As a note, you can do this on an as-needed basis. Just use a few slices of watermelon and pour some of the syrup over top, storing the rest in the fridge until ready to use.
I was astonished when I was eating a sandwich at Mokoloco, which I can pretty confidently say makes the best sandwiches in the world. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit of hyperbole, but every sandwich I’ve had there has been spectacular. From the Cuban sandwich made with pulled pork, ham, pickled vegetables, spicy mustard, and griddled on house-made bread, to a Katsu Meatball “burger” served with…
I was astonished when I was eating a sandwich at Mokoloco, which I can pretty confidently say makes the best sandwiches in the world. Okay, perhaps that’s a bit of hyperbole, but every sandwich I’ve had there has been spectacular. From the Cuban sandwich made with pulled pork, ham, pickled vegetables, spicy mustard, and griddled on house-made bread, to a Katsu Meatball “burger” served with anchovy mayonnaise on a toasted brioche bun, it’s always a tough decision to decide which to have. The menu changes daily so you never really know what’s going to be on offer, but lately they’ve been doing an excellent Fattoush salad, the best I’ve ever had, which I guess I should be glad is a seasonal thing because I’d be in there every day they’re open, all year round.
The restaurant is owned by Moko Hirayama and Omar Koreitem, although calling Mokoloco a restaurant is a bit of a misnomer. (The couple owns the nearby Mokonuts, which became so popular that they created Mokloco sandwich bar to offer more casual fare.) It’s a sandwich bar in the best sense of the word, with the friendly staff making sandwiches and salads to order, handing them off to customers who either get them to go, or to enjoy perched on a stool in the sparse, modern space.
Watermelon Salad – an unexpected concoction of watermelon, mint, feta cheese, and red onion. This watermelon salad is surprisingly perfect in every way, blending sweet and savory in one delicious bite! Watermelon is probably my favori…
Watermelon Salad – an unexpected concoction of watermelon, mint, feta cheese, and red onion. This watermelon salad is surprisingly perfect in every way, blending sweet and savory in one delicious bite! Watermelon is probably my favorite thing about summer. I eat it every day without fail. I think I have an obsession. I love eating…
Welcome to the summer house salad! I mean, isn’t she pretty?! I’m calling this my summer house salad for multiple reasons. First, it’s no secret how obsessed I am with the how sweet eats house salad. Because that bowl is incredible. I make a version of it almost every single day. It’s classic and traditional […]
I’m calling this my summer house salad for multiple reasons.
First, it’s no secret how obsessed I am with the how sweet eats house salad. Because that bowl is incredible. I make a version of it almost every single day. It’s classic and traditional with a few twists.
So naturally, I wondered, could I make it better? No. I always try to do that, then I fail. But I can make a summer version. Yes.
Second, summer house salad. Doesn’t it sound like you’re having a salad in your summer house? Yes. All dreamy and romanticized and maybe there is a beach involved. I certainly don’t have a summer house and doubt I ever will, so I like the dream.
Summer house salad it is!
You may remember a few years ago when I made this spicy rainbow salad. It’s based on one of our favorite local restaurants here and it’s incredible. It’s also a little spicy and has a few not-so-easy to find ingredients for everyone, like papaya and plantains. And it’s not so much of a greens salad, but more of a chopped salad.
And we all know I looooove a good chopped salad.
This one also kind of reminds me of that, but this one here is easier to throw together for dinner. Or a big summer cookout!
It’s also SO satisfying – in the way that it fills you up and the way that it looks.
It all starts with a base of greens! Use a spring mix or baby spinach or honestly whatever greens you like the best. I segmented this into what looks like a fancy salad, but it’s honestly not.
We have:
Tomatoes
Corn
Cucumbers
Avocado
Radish
Red onion (you could use pickled!)
Mango (adds the perfect sweetness!)
Peas
Herbs (mint and basil!)
And feta (use whatever cheese you’d like).
Oh oh and I also threw in a few of my chive blossoms! My chives are going insane and I can barely control their growth. I love to use the blossoms for garnish in salads and other dishes, plus you can totally eat them!
The dressing here is an herby vinaigrette – specially a MINT vinaigrette! Mint and basil. However, you could always sub in herbs of your choice.
See, I love the consistency of this cilantro lime vinaigrette, like how it almost becomes creamy when blended, but isn’t creamy at all. That’s what this is like! And it’s SO good. And so fresh.
I could drizzle it on bread alone or potatoes or shrimp or even use it on another salad – it’s very summer friendly.
I encourage you not to worry about the particulars here. Take these ingredients and create a salad you love.
Really enjoy summer corn? Throw in an extra ear. Don’t like cucumbers (hi Eddie), leave ’em out.
What makes the salad is the refreshing crunch of the product and the minty basil dressing, all mixed up.
I know this salad looks rather fancy, but that is just how I organize it in the bowl. I probably wouldn’t even have the time to make it this pretty if I was taking it to eat with friends, so don’t be afraid to toss everything together.
Because it doesn’t matter! The flavor is great. The crunch is wonderful. Add beans or chicken or shrimp if you’re feeling it. I can’t handle how much we love it!
This summer house salad is loaded with crunchy fresh veggies, fresh herbs, feta cheese and drizzled with a mint vinaigrette.
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 30minutes
Total Time 30minutes
Servings 4people
Author How Sweet Eats
Ingredients
6 to 8cupsspring greens
3roma tomatoes,chopped
2radishes,sliced
2ears of sweet corn,kernels sliced from cob (I like to keep them raw!)
1mango,peeled and chopped
1avocado,chopped or sliced
¼red onion,thinly sliced
⅓cupsweet peas
⅓cupcrumbled feta cheese
1/4 cupfresh herbs,like mint, basil and chives, for sprinkling
salt and pepper
herb vinaigrette
3tablespoonsfreshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2tablespoonshoney
2tablespoonsfresh mint
2tablespoonsfresh basil
1tablespoonfresh chives
2garlic cloves,minced or pressed
salt and pepper
pinchof crushed red pepper flakes
1/3cupextra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Place your greens in a large bowl and toss with salt and pepper. Add on your tomatoes, radish slices, corn, mango, avocado, red onion, peas, feta and mint. Toss everything well. Drizzle with the herb vinaigrette and serve!
As a note, you can prep this ahead of time by washing and chopping your vegetables then storing them separately. Wait to add the avocado and feta until serving.
herb vinaigrette
In a blender or food processor, combine the lime juice, honey, garlic, cilantro salt, pepper, pepper flakes and olive oil. Blend until combined and smooth (some pieces of cilantro may remain). Leftovers stay great in the fridge for a few days! Store it in a sealed container.
The melon mosaic is everything I want on a plate in summer. Seriously, I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s light and refreshing on a super hot day. It’s easy to serve to friends and family (… if we can ever see them again) and the combination of melon + cheese tastes […]
The melon mosaic is everything I want on a plate in summer.
Seriously, I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It’s light and refreshing on a super hot day. It’s easy to serve to friends and family (… if we can ever see them again) and the combination of melon + cheese tastes wonderful. And it’s a great starter “salad” for a heartier dish and it’s also a really delish lunch if you aren’t in the mood for something more filling.
I used to make a version of this salad all the time back when Max was two years old. He actually loved it because he could pick up the chunks and eat them. He also loved playing melon tetris with the cubes and it was so cute. I actually forgot about that until I made this last week and Emilia started grabbing for bites.
She loves spicy stuff, so she even went in with the hot honey. How is she my child?! It’s amazing.
In the past, I also made this melon mozzarella salad with watermelon and cucumber. I love using the cucumber instead of the honeydew. It’s unexpected, a little more savory and refreshing and adds a pop of freshness without the sweet.
For this version, I threw in some avocado, huge feta chunks and cherry tomatoes!
The dressing is simple and amazing. Lemon, hot honey, champagne vinegar – all flavors that I love so much. Tons of herbs like fresh mint and basil and get showered all over the salad taking the flavor up another notch. It’s no secret I’m obsessed with hot honey. I usually make my own but you can even buy it now!
It’s easy. Almost embarrassingly so.
But the flavors together are JUST SO GOOD.
The other great thing?! You can make this ahead of time and marinate it all. I actually threw the chunks in a bag to marinate them with the dressing while testing this. It also makes it easily transportable! I would just skip the avocado and add it once you’re ready to serve the whole thing.
Definitely considering making a small batch melon mosaic for lunch every week.
If you’re chopping everything yourself, be sure to chop the cubes roughly the same size. If you’re buying something pre-chopped, use that as the guide to size and chop everything else to size. Use the most of what you love! For instance, I like to use watermelon and cantaloupe the most, then cucumber, then fill in with avocado and tomato.
As a note, you can also crumble the feta or do smaller cubes. You can also leave the cherry tomatoes whole and not slice them.
Assemble the cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumber and feta cubes on a dish. Make the dressing as directed. Chop the tomatoes and the avocado, stick them in between a few of the cubes. There is no right way to do this! You can throw everything in a bowl, spread it out on a plate or layer it. Whatever you’d like.
Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the dressing and cover with the fresh herbs. Serve!
Leftovers of this are delicious.
hot honey vinaigrette
Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice, hot honey, garlic, salt and pepper until combined. Stream in the olive oil while whisking the entire time. This dressing stays great in the fridge for up to a week.
I usually keep a few canned things on hand. Sardines, tuna, and tomatoes, are constants you’ll find in my cupboards. I also have oddities that I’m not sure what I’ll use them for, but keep them around anyways, like smoked sugar, butterscotch chips, coffee-flavored salt, Vietnamese coconut syrup, and a kit someone gave me for making queso blanco which does, indeed, work. I’ve discovered the…
I usually keep a few canned things on hand. Sardines, tuna, and tomatoes, are constants you’ll find in my cupboards. I also have oddities that I’m not sure what I’ll use them for, but keep them around anyways, like smoked sugar, butterscotch chips, coffee-flavored salt, Vietnamese coconut syrup, and a kit someone gave me for making queso blanco which does, indeed, work.
I’ve discovered the joy and deliciousness of fresh dried chickpeas, which sounds like an oxymoron. But most dried chickpeas are old and not as delicious as when you buy dried chickpeas from a local source, which are fresher and better-tasting. However canned chickpeas will certainly do in a pinch, or if you’re in a hurry, and I have a few tins in my larder for “just in case” moments, like this one, when I wanted to make a hearty version of Shakshuka.
During the lockdown, I found myself with all sorts of things that needed to get used up sooner than I expected. I would buy too many lemons, thinking I’d need them. Then realize I had too many and make lemon curd. The grocery shopping delivery service that I use inexplicably had jalapeño peppers on their website (and a few times, padrón peppers!) and I couldn’t…
During the lockdown, I found myself with all sorts of things that needed to get used up sooner than I expected. I would buy too many lemons, thinking I’d need them. Then realize I had too many and make lemon curd. The grocery shopping delivery service that I use inexplicably had jalapeño peppers on their website (and a few times, padrón peppers!) and I couldn’t not buy those, since those are very rare around here. And because I’ve been doing Instagram Live apéro hour videos, I was concerned about running out of fresh mint, so bought them by the bundles (plural), until one day I realized I had way too much.
Would you look at those colors?! This roasted beet side dish is the prettiest recipe I’ve made in a long time, and the leftovers look like an abstract Easter basket.
This recipe comes from a new cookbook called Eat What You Want by Gaby Dalkin. You may know Gaby from her blog, What’s Gaby Cooking. I love Gaby’s fresh, California-style cooking and boundless enthusiasm for all things food-related!
The funny thing is that I’ve never met Gaby in person, but I feel like I know her after watching her on Instagram over the years. We share an affinity for fresh herbs and flaky sea salt, and I turn to her blog and cookbook for inspiration often. When she offered to send me a copy of her cookbook, I said yes, of course.
Her newest book features “125 recipes for real life” and I had a hard time choosing just one to share with you. I’ve been on a beet kick lately, so beets won the draw. This recipe also gave me an excuse to make Gaby’s go-to basil vinaigrette, which I’ve been meaning to try for ages.
This dish features roasted beets over thick yogurt (I used Siggi’s “skyr” instead of labneh), with fresh basil vinaigrette, avocado wedges, and a heavy sprinkling of fresh herbs. Even my husband, who’s not a fan of beets, went back for more.
Soups are one of our favorite meals. And curry powder + chickpeas is one of our favorite flavor combinations (exhibits A, B, and C). So it was only a matter of time before the two collided in one dish!
This 1-pot soup is inspired by Alison Roman’…
Soups are one of our favorite meals. And curry powder + chickpeas is one of our favorite flavor combinations (exhibits A, B, and C). So it was only a matter of time before the two collided in one dish!
This 1-pot soup is inspired by Alison Roman’s The Stew and is easy to make using ingredients you likely have on hand right now. Consider it your kitchen secret for those “haven’t been to the store in days” kind of dinners!