Friday's Featured Food: Maggie's Favorite

It's Maggie's turn! Maggie said her favorite veggie is the pink potatoes, but since we featured those last week, she had to pick again. She chose watermelon.

First off, no, we don't have watermelon right now and won't have it for sale for the July 4th weekend. Watermelon grown in Kansas is usually not ready until late July.

We don't grow too many watermelon, since watermelon grows best in sandy soil, something we don't have. The varieties we do grow, however, are very unusual. This year we are growing:

• Golden Midget: small and yellow, perfect for Miss Mags. I like it because the rind turns yellow when it's ripe, so no more thumping-and-guessing when to pick it.
• Jubilee: oblong-shaped watermelon with a green-striped rind, known for its large size
• Crimson Sweet: tried and true, the old-faithful of watermelons
• Sugar Baby: small, dark-green fruits
• Moon and Stars: dark blue-green rind with yellow spots
• Black Diamond: another old-faithful variety, this one producing dark green fruit with bright red inside

For something new, we are going to try square watermelons this year. How cool would it be to have one of these to enter in the county fair:

Not only do watermelons taste great, they also contain high concentrations of lycopene, an antioxidant that may help reduce the risks of cancer and other diseases. They are also great on hot days, a refreshing snack thanks to all that messy juiciness.

Recipes for watermelon? Sure, why not! I adore, love, crave, need watermelon rind pickles. They are easy to make but time consuming. But, oh my gosh, they are SO worth the effort. Here is a great recipe for these delicious sweet pickles:

1 large watermelon, quartered Pickling salt

2 tablespoons plus

2 teaspoons whole cloves

16 (1 1/2-inch) sticks cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

8 cups sugar

1 quart vinegar (5% acidity)

1. Remove flesh from melon (reserve for other use); peel watermelon.
2. Cut rind into 1-inch cubes.
3. Place rind in a large crock or plastic container.
4. Add water by the quart until it covers the rind; add 1/4 cup pickling salt for each quart water, stirring until salt dissolves.
5. Cover and let stand in a cool place overnight.
6. Drain well.
7. Place rind in a 10-quart Dutch oven; cover with cold water.
8. Bring to a boil, and cook until rind is almost tender.
9. Drain and set aside.
10. Tie cloves, cinnamon, and mustard seeds in a cheesecloth bag.
11. Combine spice bag, sugar, and vinegar in a Dutch oven.
12. Bring to a boil; remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes.
13. Add rind to syrup
    
    
    .
14. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cook until rind is transparent.
15. Remove spice bag.
16. Pack rind into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
17. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw bands tight.
18. Process in boiling-water bath 5 minutes.

Friday's Featured Food: Maggie's Favorite