The Favorite Fruits

Warning: amazing recipes ahead. With the warmer weather’s arrival comes the flavorful fruit, vegetable, and flower stand on the corner right outside my neighborhood. It’s actually right across the street from where I found the yard sale furs if you read last week’s story. As the multiple folding tables and large tent make an appearance at Easter’s end, I get as excited about what’s in store as a kid on Christmas. For me personally, it means I can start buying fresh watermelon, peaches, and tomatoes from local farmers. What a delicious gift!

When I think about warm days in the South, I am reminded of summer moments spent at my grandmother’s home in Taylorsville, Mississippi, running around barefoot while noshing on freshly sliced watermelon. I would almost always turn my freckled nose up at the adults who salted theirs. For those who do not know, Taylorsville is only about eight miles down the road from Mize- a tiny town of about three-hundred residents and the home of the Mississippi Watermelon Festival. It is also the home of the most delicious watermelon I have ever tasted in my life. I don’t know what they put in the soil down there, but there is a distinct difference in their melons. Just know, if you’re ever around Mize, Mississippi during the spring or the summer, take note of those selling watermelons on the side of the road from the back of their pickup truck. You will want to buy enough to feed ten growing teenage boys or else you’ll find yourself driving back for more. And, if you’re planning on being in the area July 15 and 16, be sure to check out this year’s festival and see the Watermelon Queen and her court make their debut. Don’t you know that watermelon queen is sure to be a top rushee at the southern college of her choice? Oh- and be prepared for extreme heat.

I also think about the unbelievable homemade peach ice cream my grandmother would have for us upon arrival in Taylorsville. It was best served with her buttermilk pound cake and a cup of coffee on a Sunday afternoon following church or during a weekday visit. These visits in the South usually occurred late afternoon and were an excuse for delicious dessert with a side of the town’s fresh gossip. Some older bitty was always disappointed in one of the preacher’s recent sermons or the choir director’s choice of songs during the service. Nonetheless, I knew it was going to be a good day when I saw that box of rock salt, a brown paper bag full of fuzzy peach remnants, and a jar of heavy cream next to the wooden bucket with a metal hand crank on my granny’s kitchen counter. Peach was always my favorite flavor she made, but you had to wait until they were soft and pungent at the local fruit stands or farmer’s market. A rock-hard peach will never do.

Finally, nothing screams warmer weather in the South like fresh, ripe tomatoes. I honestly didn’t love them as a kid. I would gag as my childhood friend, Robert, would slice them up and sprinkle a touch of salt on them, then pop them in his mouth like they were Lay’s potato chips. All the while, I was confused as to why he would rather have the tomatoes than sneak Hershey kisses from the candy bowl in the “fancy” room with me. However, as I aged, my taste for tomatoes changed for the better. Now, when the thermometer creeps above eighty, I find myself craving a delicious tomato pie, fried green tomatoes topped with remoulade, or a mixture of Heirloom and Cherokee Purples loaded with the most incredible Chinese dressing. I have yet to find the perfect tomato pie recipe, but I have no problem trying them all out until I do. I have also yet to find a fried green tomato I don’t like. Sometimes I say that my strong appreciation for fried green tomatoes is one of the only good things I got from a less than stellar college boyfriend. In fact, my favorite ones come from the lovely restaurant, Maison de Lu. This gem can be found on a sleepy, shaded street in Ocean Springs, Mississippi- right down from the Walter Anderson Art Museum. Trust me- if you’re ever in the area, stop in and enjoy a few…they are divine!

So, as we head from spring and start into the warm, long days of the summer, run by those fruit and vegetable stands and load yourself up. I’ve attached some of the best recipes that are sure to take any lovely soirée from drab to fab in no time and may just have you going back for more.

Y’all- this watermelon margarita recipe is the ABSOLUTE best. I’m thankful my dear friend, Libba, introduced me to these and shared her recipe below.

Spring House’s Watermelon Margarita with Basil Salt

Ingredients:

Watermelon Margarita

2 oz. Cabo Wabo silver tequila

3 oz. Watermelon juice (see below)

1 oz. Margarita mix

Basil salt to rim glass (see below)

Basil Salt

1 cup Kosher salt

2 cups Basil leaves, packed

*add both to a food processor and pulse until basil has diminished and salt is bright green.

Watermelon Juice

Remove melon from rind. Puree in a food processor until smooth. Strain.

Directions:

In a cocktail shaker, place 2 cups of ice, tequila, watermelon juice and margarita mix. Shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass rimmed with basil salt.

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