Just One Thought: Summer Hacks
This way of cutting watermelon will change your life… or not. Either way, you should try it. Photo credit: Lindsay Wiser; Food styling: Matt LOL
Welcome to an occasional series I’m calling Just One Thought. It’s a chance for me to share one missive on a given topic, big or small, in attempt to be better/smarter/more thoughtful about life. My sincere hope is you will add your Thought on the topic in the comments, too, and we can all learn from one another.
Watermelon spears! Are amazing!
That’s it. That’s the post.
KIDDING. But not really? Because I am on the hunt for things that will simplify my life in even the smallest ways. I’m talking about little hacks that can make a big difference. As part of that never-ending quest, I keep coming back to this watermelon slicing technique.
Watermelon reminds me of growing up in the Midwest, of summer nights on the deck with my mom. My feelings on this fruit are so strong that when my dad wanted to make my first New York City studio apartment feel more like a home he bought me, yes, a watermelon. It was so large it wouldn’t fit in my tiny refrigerator — and it meant so much.
But how best to slice it and eat it? In all these years of loving watermelon, I’ve never known!
Until I was introduced to the magic of watermelon spears. My friend Jessica served them up on the Fourth of July and I was blown away. The simple genius of it all! A spear lets you keep enough of the rind on the melon to serve as a handle — allowing you to forgo any utensils and eat with your hands. Plus, it’s a smaller portion size, meaning you can likely eat it all without having to set it down between bites. But best of all, the spear shape eliminates the messiness that comes from eating the usual watermelon triangles. If you’ve ever tried to polish off a three-sided slice, then you know the way the sticky rind hits your cheeks like a big watermelon smile. Not cute!
Trust me: try watermelon spears (or, as I think of them, for reasons I cannot explain: watermelon fingers) for your next summer picnic. Not sure how to slice it just so? YouTube is chock full of videos explaining different spear-cutting techniques.
Ok, your turn: What tips and tricks, big or small or somewhere in between, do you have for making life better this summer? Please share your seasonal hacks in the comments!