Bridal Shower Bites - the Aunts' Watermelon Salsa

Aunt Linda and Aunt Chris both sent me this recipe, so I figured it had to be good! I've been wanting to make it, but had to wait until it's watermelon season. And lo! Tis now upon us! Hurrah!

Yum! I used to not like watermelon, which now I don't understand.

Summer means that it's also farm box time (the most wonderful time of the year!) so my cooking revolves mainly around using up the vegetables that make it in my box every week. So far, we've been really good about using everything and experimenting with new recipes, although I think our track record might slip now that it looks like eggplant season is upon us. But I digress. The reason I bring up the farm box, besides that I love it, is because last week's box was the first to contain hot peppers. And it contained a lot of them! There were a variety, from jalapeños to habaneros and cherry peppers, some obviously more hot than others, and I've been trying to come up with ways to use them. 

Aunt Linda's version

Aunt Chris' version

I decided our excess of hot peppers was a great excuse to make watermelon salsa, especially since we are also in the peak of watermelon season! The farm box also had a white bell pepper, so I subbed that in for the green one and got to chopping. There are a few minor differences between the Aunts' recipes - Aunt Linda likes hers a little spicier than Aunt Chris, based on the amount of jalapeño in their recipes (2 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp, respectively) but Aunt Chris is more forgiving in terms of the chopped herbs added at the end (Aunt Linda says cilantro, but Aunt Chris says cilantro, parsley, or basil all work - this was good news to me since I already had parsley on hand) - but they both agree that the cold salsa should be served with white corn chips. 

All chopped up and nowhere to go - that's the white bell pepper on the left.

The salsa came together pretty quickly, once I started chopping, and it is delicious and refreshing on a hot day! The watermelon I used was very juicy and sweet, and the lime juice and hot pepper were good complements to it.

All set!

Part of a balanced meal

And it looks really pretty, too. We gobbled it right up! Yum!

Watermelon Salsa

3 cups chopped watermelon (about pea size)

1/2 cup chopped green pepper (also about pea size)

2-3 green onions, sliced

2 Tbsp lime juice

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 Tbsp finely chopped jalapeño pepper (or 1 Tbsp if you don't want all the heat)

Chopped cilantro (or parsley or basil) to taste - add at the end!

Combine and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Serve with white corn chips. Aunt Chris rightly notes that it is very perishable, but you can always make a half a batch if you want.