Hwa Che (Simple Watermelon Dessert) Korea…..page 299
We leave for vacation tomorrow but since I have restarted work on the Extending the Table experiment, I feel like I need to make a little progress in the kitchen. Honestly, this recipe is so basic, I hardly think it merits inclusion in a cookbook. You cut up watermelon, you sprinkle some sugar, you eat. This seems akin to a recipe for drinking water and listing the directions as finding a cup and turning on the faucet.
There’s just one problem. I hate watermelon. Actually, it’s more complicated than that – I like watermelon-flavored things but not actually watermelon. Jolly Ranchers = yes, watermelon slice = no. (By the way, I looked up the ingredients of watermelon flavored Jolly Ranchers and was disappointed that they do not include ANY watermelon. I guess that’s not so surprising really…In the process of my research, I discovered a recipe for a watermelon martini – now that might be the way to start enjoying watermelon more!)
The challenge begins...
I know this seems bizarre but it is one of the things that has resulted in this recipe being left incomplete. However, it must be addressed and I have taught myself to like foods in the past – I converted myself into a tomato connisseur my sophomore year of college. I find myself thinking about that watermelon martini again….
Luckily, the sous-chef is a fan of watermelon and we decided to have a watermelon showdown. Lately the sous-chef and I have been travelling around New York City sampling artisanal popsicles so we decided to see what we could do with watermelon. We divided the watermelon piece that I purchased and both of us got to work. I prepared this oh-so-complicated recipe and the sous-chef made watermelon popsicles and we tried both.
The Hwa Che entry
And then I started thinking….I was pretty clear from bites one and two that I was not loving the Hwa Che and it seemed very un-Mennonite to waste food. So I decided to innovate….if by innovate you mean turn to the Cocktails 101 book we got for Christmas and break out the martini glasses. And suddenly, I think I could really get into watermelon!
The popsicle entry.
A new scheme unfolds.
The CLEAR winner.
how was it? Some neighbors we had made margaritas with watermelon grown in their yard one evening. It was really good.
By: jennifer blackwell on August 24, 2011
at 4:24 am