HOW TO PICK A RIPE WATERMELON

How do you know when your watermelons are ripe?
The best method? Look for the curly tendrils on the stem near where the fruit is attached to turn brown. If they look half dead, it's ready for picking.
You can also check the underside of the melon. A ripe fruit will have a cream- or yellow-colored spot from where it sat on the ground while ripening in the sun.

Did you know? Thumping on the fruit and listening for a "hollow" sound isn't particularly accurate. Sometimes, that hollow sound actually means the melon has turned to mush inside.

History of Watermelon

One of the tastiest ways to keep cool in summer is to munch on ice cold watermelon. No summer picnic is complete without watermelon. There's more to this fruit than its sweet, red center.

Watermelons are in nature an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and B6. They are also a great source of potassium, and extremely low in sodium. Watermelons are a great snack for both children and adults, for the reason that they contain
practically no fat. Historians say watermelons first grew in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. They were a source of water for thirsty traders, who began to sell the seeds in cities along the ancient Mediterranean trade routes.
Cultivation of watermelon spread throughout Africa and, by the 1600s, watermelon made its way to Great Britain, Spain, China and beyond. Watermelon arrived in North America courtesy of European colonists from African slaves.
During the Civil War, the Confederate Army boiled down watermelons as a source of sugar and molasses.

HOW ABOUNT SOME SUMMER SALADS

If there's one food that really captures the essence of summer, it's salad. All kinds of beautiful, ripe produce are overflowing from gardens and orchards. When fruits and vegetables are at the peak of their season, there's no need to do anything fancy with them - they're just begging to be tumbled into a salad bowl and enjoyed in their raw, natural glory. Let's share some of my salad recipes for July.

EASY GRILLED LEMON CHICKEN

I know everyone loves Ribs for the 4th, but I always BBQ some chicken give my Lemon Chicken a try, you will need to double the recipe I found everyone loves Chicken.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS:

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry with paper towels. Stir together the lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, and black pepper in a bowl; pour into a large, resealable plastic bag. Add the chicken breasts, seal the bag, and massage to evenly coat chicken with lemon juice mixture. Place in refrigerator to marinate at least 20 minutes, or up to 24 hours
.
Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat. Lightly oil grill grate.

Drain and discard marinade from the bag, and place chicken on preheated grill about 4 inches from heat source for about 6 to 8 minutes on each side Cook until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear,

OLD-FASHIONED LEMONADE

This is great for a BBQ, I double the recipe and use a cooler and everyone can help them self, this is better than soda any day.

Old-fashioned Lemonade

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
½ cup boiling water
1 ½ cups fresh lemon juice
4 ½ cups cold water
Ice cubes
Lemon Slices

Place sugar, boiling water, and lemon juice in a 2 quart pitcher and stir vigorously with a spoon until sugar is dissolved. Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use. Add cold water, ice cubes and lemon slices. Stir. Pour over ice cubes in a 10 to 12 ounce glass.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.