One of our favorite things when Summer comes around is heading down to the park by the Hudson, spreading out a big blanket and having a picnic-or as our daughter calls it, “a pig-nic“. That means that we are always scouting for good picnic foods, foods that pack and move well along with the cars, soccer balls, baby dolls, watering cans, and other little things that seem to always find their way into our stroller.
With picnic-ing opportunities in mind, the Yummies made this salad a couple of weeks back. Using watercress along with so much sweet watermelon is the perfect way to get your mini-chef interested in eating greens if they are resisting. Watercress is light and mild for sensitive for little palates, and it also high in Vitamins A and C. When you’re serving this to a crowd, try also adding baby spinach leaves to add a bit of bulk without compromising the flavor. (In that case, you might want to make a bit more of the dressing.)
For me, this is the way to do picnic food: fresh, juicy, beautiful, and with seasonal ingredients. The mini-chefs chowed. Happy 4th of July, and Happy Pig-nicing!
Watermelon Salad with Tarragon, Mint, and Feta
For the dressing:
*Juice of half a lemon
*1/4 c. olive oil
*a tablespoon of chives, finely chopped
*salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the salad:
*6 cups watermelon, cut into one-inch cubes
*2 T. tarragon, finely chopped
*1/4 c. mint
*2 T. parsley
*2-3 scallions, chopped
*2 bunches of watercress
*3 handfuls (or 6 mini-chef handfuls) of baby spinach leaves
*1/2 c. feta cheese
To make the dressing, help measure out all of the ingredients with your mini-chef and whisk them together in a large measuring cup. Set aside the measuring cup aside while you assemble the salad so that all the flavors can meld.
For the salad, you could have an older Yummy help cube some of the watermelon by cutting away the skin for them and showing them how big an inch-sized cube is. Don’t worry if the cubes aren’t perfect. As we always say in cooking class, “It eats just as well.” If they are getting adept with scissors (usually by age 4 1/2), you could help them cut the scallions as well, standing behind them and doing the cutting together.
For smaller Yummies, simply assemble all of the ingredients and let them place everything in a large bowl. Even small Yummies will enjoy tearing the mint and parsley into little bits, crumbling the feta, and throwing them in with the rest of the ingredients.
First, use your hands to do a gentle mix of the salad ingredients. Then, pour the dressing over the salad and toss again. Enjoy!
