Surprise salsa looks great on the table--and it does surprise!

It was a surprise, all right—cantaloupe, watermelon, mango, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, mint, and cucumber? All in one salsa?

I was enjoying Southern Living’s recent contest for readers to submit their very best summer side dishes. The contest included a “Best Surprise” category: something off-the-wall and unexpected that took the appraisers by storm.

The winning reader submitted her version of a “Sweet, Salty, and Spicy Watermelon Refresher”. She stated that the dish is a rehydrater on summer days and helps cleanse the palate from barbecue or other picnic fare. I had to try and see.  

We served this with grilled chicken at our July 4th luncheon. It made volumes and literally was as tasty a week later (having been refrigerated in an airtight container) as it was on firecracker day. I didn’t have the jicama called for but was able to locate everything else to toss into this colorful mix. And talk about a beautiful presentation on the table!

A winner by my estimation; I love surprises.

Sweet, Salty, and Spicy Watermelon Refresher

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 jalapeno or 2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced

1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 small red onion, diced

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint

1 small seedless watermelon

1 small cantaloupe

2 English cucumbers

1 jicama

2 mangoes

Combine lime juice and next 5 ingredients. Place red onion, cilantro, and mint in a large bowl. Dice watermelon and cantaloupe into 1-inch pieces; add to bowl. Peel and dice cucumbers, jicama, and mangoes; add to bowl. Stir in lime juice mixture. Cover and chill 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes 10 to 12 servings. (Source: June 2012 Southern Living)

Good job, cantaloupe and bacon. You brighten up what otherwise would have been a most ordinary salad.

Something had to be done with the cantaloupe half that remained after I made melon balls for Ruby Fruit Salad and its dressing (earlier blog) that I had served at Easter.

A recent issue of Southern Living magazine had featured bacon as its “wonder” dish and demonstrated scads of ways to use this Southern food staple. But Cantaloupe-Bacon Relish? Whoever heard of pairing cantaloupe with bacon (as well as with cucumber and mint) as the magazine suggested?

Guess these cooks figured that if you ever had eaten fruit alongside bacon and eggs for breakfast, you would have ingested this type of mixture anyway. The magazine suggested that the relish be served over fresh salad greens topped by sliced grilled chicken. I had set aside some romaine lettuce from our garden and thought this would be a great way to use it. The recipe also suggests that you could try the relish as an appetizer and serve it atop grilled crostini with goat cheese.

The article from which I borrowed the recipe said pork-lovers playfully refer to bacon as “God’s bookmark” and notes that its sweet-salty-smoky flavor lends a heavenly touch to a variety of foods. Even turkey bacon, which we always use, still qualifies in the “bookmark” category.

Bottom line was, we adored the salad. The flavor combination was intriguing. To quote Hubby, “I’ve never had a salad like that before.”

Better yet, three of the 10 recipe items were plucked straight from our garden (make that six in a few more weeks when our cucumber and cantaloupe crops are ready for harvest). And all the rain we’ve received lately is making that happen sooner than later!

Cantaloupe-Bacon Relish with Grilled Chicken and Salad Greens

1 1/2 cups finely diced cantaloupe

1/2 cup seeded, diced cucumber

5 turkey bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1 green onion, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 to 3 teaspoons red-wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon pepper and pinch of salt

6 cups romaine lettuce, torn

1 1/2 pounds (about 3) boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, grilled and sliced into strips

In a small bowl combine first eight ingredients. In a salad bowl place torn romaine leaves and grilled chicken strips. Top this with relish. Toss and serve. Serves 4.

Out-of-order watermelon patch continues to inspire creative use, such as this Melon Salsa

Back to that watermelon again--that out-of-order surprise that cropped up, not in the midst of summer but just as fall was arriving. We're out of picnic season; July 4th celebrations have passed. Watermelon-seed-spitting contests don't accompany fall festivals and Halloween carnivals. Yet here we are with a fall bumper crop of a summer wonder.

In a treasure-hunt for watermelon recipes, I hit the jackpot with Melon Salsa. A more oddball combination of ingredients I've never seen (I know I say that every time, but read this list and tell me if I'm not correct at the oddity of it), but Melon Salsa was a true winner.

It took a cup of our watermelon, finely chopped, along with cantaloupe, onion, mint, and . . . cucumber? Then jalapeno?

The recipe (from "Celebrating a Healthy Harvest"--my dependable source for the healthy but offbeat) called for letting the melange chill for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors absorb into each other, but I was fortunate to be able to let it meld for 24 hours. By the next evening when we sat down to our meal of homemade chicken nuggets and piled the salsa onto our plates, the flavors were as though they had been joined at the hip forever. Outstanding!

The recipe for Melon Salsa suggests that it be served atop chicken or fish. The chicken I had on hand happened to be nuggets, which I was preparing in advance for the visit of grandkids a few days from now, but I've saved some behind to use atop baked salmon for tonight's meal. Or it could be a salad served by itself and not as a relish or condiment.

Beautiful, colorful, unusual . . . you'll never see or taste anything quite like Melon Salsa. Thank you, watermelon patch, for arriving out-of-order and for giving us a reason to search out melon recipes and to avoid relying on the obvious usage.

Melon Salsa

1 cup watermelon, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh mint or cilantro, chopped

1/2 to 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped, or hot sauce to taste

1/4 cup lime juice or lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

In a medium-sized bowl stir together all ingredients. Taste and season with more lemon or lime juice or honey, if desired. Add salt and pepper if desired. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve over grilled or broiled fish or chicken. Makes 5 1/2-cup servings.