Summer has arrived! My apologies for the lack of posting this past week, but the warm weather and some fun events have stolen away any recent computer time. It has been time well spent though. I’ve catered a wedding party, planted a garden and spent a day celebrating my incredible grandfather as a member of the first graduating class of Queens College. Of course, a girl’s got to eat in between all of this. Inspired by all of the watermelons in the markets and planting some myself last weekend, I decided to make a salad out of one. As it may be well known by now, I’m a sucker for sweet and savory so I created a classic dish of watermelon and feta, tossed on some shallots and a little homemade dressing. There’s nothing like a warm summer breeze and that first bite of a delicious fresh salad, and this dish certainly hits the spot. I headed up to Connecticut last weekend to visit my parents where they run a childrens summer camp. Thanks to my mom and a very special friend, the gardening and cooking program at camp has grown over the years and this year, the garden got a makeover. I was lucky enough to be visiting  while all of the planting was taking place and I quickly tossed on some gloves and dug right in. I always look forward to that first weekend up at camp in the garden, and even more so the last weekend at camp where I get to collect all of the leftover veggies and herbs from the summer.

Planting mesclun and arugula

Planting fresh basil in the pesto bed

Radicchio!

Mom and Cathy in the garden

You can be certain this weekend of gardening left me pining for my own garden back in Brooklyn, but with the incredible access I have here to local food, I can’t complain. Here is the watermelon and feta salad recipe inspired by a beautiful weekend of planting fresh fruit, veggies and herbs…

1/4 of a watermelon
1 4 oz container of feta cheese
1 medium shallot chopped
2 tbsp sherry vine­gar
2 tbsp extra vir­gin olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice

Cut watermelon into small pieces and combine with feta and shallots. Mix remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over watermelon, feta and shallots