Watermelon Salad

Watermelon Salad

The other day I saw a Tweet from Mike over at Verses from My Kitchen about a Grilled Watermelon Salad - I was instantly intrigued.

I popped over to his site and instantly knew that I had to try the dish....stat!

I am not a fan of feta so I substituted goat cheese for it and what the heck...everything is better with bacon right?? So I threw that in as well.and seeing as how it was close to 100 degrees outside, I had no interest in grilling the watermelon, so I improvised. I am sure Mikes' Grilled Watermelon Salad was fantastic, and one day I may try grilling it, however I was SO very happy with how mine turned out that it will absolutely be a summer staple for me! Thanks for the inspiration Mike!!!

This dish just transported me to a sandy beach on a beautiful Island in...Fiji I think!!! A-maz-ing. I needed that 🙂

Let me tell you how crazy my life has been lately...let's see...my kids had lice just as school ended...letters just kept coming home saying it had been found.
Can I just say that I am still exhausted - THAT is something you just don't want to go through...ever...not only was it a ton of work, and daily checking for weeks (especially in my daughters long hair) BUT it was expensive...I was so freaked out I threw away every pillow as well as a down comforter and a decorative comforter.

THEN I lost my wedding rings - threw them out I think...while I was doing the whole coating my daughters head with tea tree oil thing.

And now my daughter has Scarlet Fever - This gal needed a dish like this one to take her away!!! I think I will have this Watermelon Salad again tomorrow lol...this time maybe I will be transported to Greece!

Watermelon Salad
-adapted from Verses from my Kitchen

16 cubes of watermelon
⅓ cup Balsamic vinegar
2 TBS finely diced shallots
½ teaspoon grated ginger
3 TBS olive oil
Salt and pepper
¼ cup plain crumbled goat cheese
2 pieces of crispy bacon, crumbled
A half dozen mint leaves

Normally, I reduce Balsamic on the stove, today I attempted it in the microwave (my kids HATE the smell when I do it on the stove lol) I cooked it in a coffee mug, covered with an inverted dish for 2 minutes, stirred it, then 2 minutes more.
Allow it to sit for 10 minutes minimum prior to using. It came out just as it does on the stove and the house was not filled with the smell - so i saved time and my kids were happy - they were none the wiser (wink)!!

Combine the shallots, ginger, oil and salt and pepper in a small bowl, whisking to combine.

Plate your watermelon, sprinkle with the goat cheese, bacon and mint leaves. Drizzle the dressing and balsamic syrup over top and enjoy!! what island does it take you to?

Enjoy!