Watermelon Salad

• 1 orange, juiced
• 2 limes, juiced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 cups arugula (or microgreens)
• 1/4 watermelon, balled or chopped into bite-sized chunks
• 12 oz feta cheese, crumbled or diced to 1/2 inch
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• Optional: red pepper flakes
• Optional: nuts or pumpkin seeds

1. Juice citrus into a large salad bowl. Add olive oil and whisk with fork to combine.
2. Add arugula to bowl and gently toss to coat.
3. Use a melon baller to carve watermelon; add to bowl.
4. Crumble feta and add to bowl; add pinch of salt and pepper and, if using, red pepper flakes.
5. Using a rubber spatula or a big spoon, toss the salad until everything is coated with citrus juice and olive oil.
6. Taste for salt, add nuts or seeds if using, and serve.

Watermelons are entirely edible - including the rind. In China, rinds are often stir-fried or stewed. In the American south, watermelon rinds are often pickled. You can even dry and toast the seeds for a snack!

Watermelons are 92% water.

There are more than 1200 varieties of watermelon. They are grouped into four main categories: seeded (aka “picnic”), seedless, icebox (aka “mini”), and yellow/orange. “Crimson Sweet,” a seeded melon with deep red sweet flesh, is one of the most popular varieties. Some unusual varieties include the “Golden Midget” whose rind turns yellow when ripe, and “Cream of Saskatchewan” whose flesh is cream-colored.

The heaviest watermelon on record weighed in at 350.5 pounds!

Watermelons are a great source of lycopene, an antioxidant that’s been shown to reduce the risk of several types of cancers.

Farmers in Japan have been growing cube-shaped watermelons for more than 40 years.

Watermelons are the official state vegetable of Oklahoma.