FoodieTots.com

It’s melon season! The foodie tots and I can’t get enough of melons in every size and color — we’ve enjoyed cantaloupe, honeydew, sun melon, a melon that looked like cantaloupe on the outside but was green like honeydew on the inside, and of course, watermelon. Now, I consider myself something of a watermelon expert, having been quoted on the subject in the Washington Post (cough), but I was still shocked to spot orange watermelon at the Reston Farmers Market this past weekend.

After tweeting a picture, a friend suggested sprinkling fennel pollen on the melon. I couldn’t find fennel pollen at Whole Foods (uh, where else would it be?), but remembered that Cypress Grove‘s Purple Haze chèvre is made with lavender and fennel pollen. And so this quick summer appetizer was born: extremely thin slivers of watermelon, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, a heavy pinch of sea salt, and topped with crumbled Purple Haze chèvre. It’s not really a recipe as a suggestion: you could mix it up with flavored vinegars, use plain chèvre to keep it local, and/or top with fresh mint or basil or any other herbs from the garden.

The kids were intrigued — the boy asked for a helping of “my” watermelon alongside his straight-up slices, and the bebe nibbled a few crumbs of chèvre before turning her attention back to the melon. What’s your favorite watermelon recipe? (And you do buy seeded melons, right? Remember, Seedless is Soulless. ;-))