Watermellon, Feta, Mint and Pistachio Salad

Summer, summer everywhere; but not a bite to eat. Okay, I may have gotten ahead of my self posting Summer Fun and Dole Whip in March... but it was March in Hawaii, and here, that IS summer. It is practically May, and shy of my friends living in Alaska who have been experiencing "break up" (where the winter snow melts, freezes, melts a teensy-bit with the one day of sun, refreezes, semi melts and refreezes into something that doesn't even resemble snow; but is more like a pebble filled sludge) for 3 months, May is practically summer! So drum roll please. In saunters summer salads. And few things scream summer more than watermelon. And just in case watermelon doesn't wet your appetite for fresh summer foods, we have some vibrant and refreshing mint. Lets top it off with some crunchy, salty pistachios and some creamy, salty feta. What about the dressing you say. Two shakes of a rabbit's tail. Or two shakes in a Mason Jar. Which is it? It has been a long day. Incorporate a rabbit if you like, but I will stick with the Mason Jar.

So we have addressed how quick it is. Lets double down and let you in on a not-so-secret-secret. It is easy too! Like dime store hooker easy. If you can identify the shape of a cube, are confident that you know basic imperial measuring skills (or in case you're a metric bloke 1 inch is equal to 2.54 centimeters), and if your eye sight permits you to operate sharp objects (hint: knife) then I am fully confident that you can make this salad. Oooohhhh, literate. I forgot to mention literate. If you're illiterate then all of this senseless rambling is probably a moot point anyway.

Salad. Squirel. Salad. Squirel. Salad?

Serves 6-8 as a side salad

Serves 3-5 as an entree

Ingredients/Instructions:

1/2 a small watermelon (give or take)

8 oz chunk of feta cheese (crumbled is okay, it will just look different, and taste ever so slightly different)

1 cup pistachios (no shell, duh)

1/4 cup finely chopped mint (it was about 5-6 full sprigs from my garden)

arugula (optional, but I loooooove arugula. In fact, a fellow Food Network Star contestant often joked about my obsession with arugula. I mean, it goes with everything! Maybe even cereal. Maybe not.)

1. After removing the rind from the watermelon, cut it into 1/2" to 1" cubes. Add the watermelon to a mixing bowl (with a lid).

2. Remove the feta from its container, and cube it into 1/4" to 1/2" cubes. If you are using crumbled feta, you can just add it to the bowl.

3. Add the pistachios.

4. Chop your mint fairly fine and add it as well.

5. If you want to add arugula, because, why not, do so at this point.

(I like to wait to dress salads until serving so everything doesn't get soggy. If you're planning on eating it all in one setting, you can dress it right away. If not, dress to order. Watermelons have a high water content. Anything acidic, like the dressing, will draw out the water from the melon.)

oh hey mint

For the Dressing:

(soooooooo simple)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

3 tbsp honey, honey (Lord Honey)

1) Add ingredients to a Mason Jar. "Shake, shake your money maker. Like you shaking it for some some paper. It took your momma 9 months to make ya. Might as well shake what your momma gave ya." -Luda (And I mean, if you can get your ass involved, that's like cardio too.)