From 265 pounds to $6300 each... it is National Watermelon Day

Just a few varieties out of the 1200 or so...

Hey, Mango is back! Sorry for the time span... There was an opportunity that could not be passed up. Then my laptop crashed while out on the road.

One thing about summer, besides being hot, is that a ton of our produce is at it's peak! The one fruit that is real a summer time treat is the watermelon. There are many varieties of watermelon... in fact, there are more than twelve hundred varieties of watermelon ranging in size from less than a pound... to more than two hundred pounds with flesh that is red, orange, yellow, or white. From your Carolina cross (This variety of watermelon produced the current world record watermelon weighing 262 pounds) to Densuke Watermelon, which by the way, cost about $6300 each, making it one of the most expensive fruits to date (the Yubari cantaloupe melons sold for $23,500 last year). As you can see, you have every type of watermelon from the largest in size to the largest in PRICE!

Watermelon does the body good! It is packed with vitamins A (to give your bleary morning eyes a boost), B6 (which helps your brain manufacture “happy” brain chemicals like seratonin and dopamine) and C (to bolster your immune system against the viruses and bacteria that lurk around doorknobs and handshakes). Lycopene, the pigment that gives watermelon its red color, has been linked to a lowered risk of many types of cancer, heart disease and even cataracts. No wonders that today is National Watermelon day.

So as you can "see"... watermelon not only taste good but it is good for you, too! Now, if you don't want to be so good, you can soak your watermelon with a bottle of vodka and then serve it at a party! Whooa, Nelly, you better behave yourself... you don't want to get too intoxicated, now do you?

Watermelon has a cousin too and you will never guess who it is... it is the "cucumber". Yes folks, the cucumber and the watermelon are from the Cucurbitaceae family. Many dishes that you use cucumber you can substitute watermelon for an equally if not sweeter flavored recipe.

Today we will explore a nice marinade and barbeque sauce. The sweetness of the watermelon balances the soy and vinegar and adds a great contrast in flavors. You can use this as a marinade for things like chicken, pork or even Tofu. Next you can use it as a finishing sauce. Here is a recipe for Watermelon Barbeque sauce...

Watermelon Barbeque sauce...

1/2 cup watermelon juice
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes or to taste

Preparation:

Stir the watermelon juice, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, oil, Dijon mustard, garlic and pepper flakes together. Let sit overnight (optional), to blend the flavors. Next, pour enough sauce over vegetables, chicken, pork, fish or shellfish to marinate. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Baste with additional sauce while grilling or broiling. Sauce not used for marinating or basting can be spooned over cooked vegetables and meats.

We are talking some good tasting stuff there! It is also really great brushed on some salmon filets or steaks towards the end of its cooking time... this way your fish won't burn on the outside because of the sugars in the sauce.

This has been quite an interesting past week. Many lessons have been learned in the last few days. It has been talked about here before but it seems to keep coming up... CHOICES! Many of us have "things" in our lives where we have needed to make a choice a long time ago. A choice to improve our health or physical conditions. Choices like "should I quit smoking" or "eat less food". Maybe it is to stop drinking too much or maybe it is just to be kinder to YOURSELF. No matter what the choice "IS", don't you think it is about time to make the "RIGHT CHOICE" and start improving that situation? If you were handed a "LIVE" hand grenade... you would have two choices. One is to throw that grenade as far as you can... or you could choose to hold on to it. You know what would happen in that case! But the interesting thing in life is... that when we make a decision (in this case to throw that grenade...) we keep on holding on to it! Why? You have made the decision that you don't want to blow up... so why keep holding on? Make the decision and just DO IT! Yea... Just DO IT! But Mango, my arm hurts... well just DO IT anyways! Hey Mango, I can't throw good... Hey that's great, JUST DO IT! Hey Mango, my friends want me to hang out... Wow, that's cool, but JUST DO IT! That's right folks, JUST DO IT and DO IT and DO IT! Just DO what ever it is that you need to do to change. Now is the time... JUST DO IT! You will start to see your life change in so many ways, that you will probably start saying to yourself... "(Wo)man, why did I wait so long!!!

We only have one life to live, so you better start making some good choices and PRESS ON to a new and wonderful experience. Until next time my friends... may the life you life be the life you love! Your friend on this glorious journey called LIFE ...

P.S. BE GRATEFUL!