Besides just eating them? We always have a melon-in-residence in the refrigerator all summer long, sometimes that's the only thing I can keep down in the stifling heat. Does anyone have any ideas how to vary the monotony? I've made a kind of watermelon sorbet, tried mixing the melon chunks with other fruits, that kind of thing, but I'm often stuck with a huge honkin' melon and think oh, not again.

I went to a new Malaysian restaurant in New York called Fatty Crab and they had a lovely salad with watermelon, scallions and warm chunks of pork belly. It's a great combination.

I like cantaloup with prosciutto. Also there's a savory pasta recipe using shell pasta, ham and cantaloup chunks I've been wanting to try.

I could imagine a white gazpacho using grapes and honeydew.

One could also extract the juice and mix the juice with vodka.

Nigella Lawson's Watermelon Daquiries

100ml (or to taste) Bacardi

juice of 1 good-sized lime

1 heaping tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

approx. 10 x 5cm cubes of frozen watermelon

Mix in a blender, pour into glasses.

Chunks of melon are good in all kinds of smoothies, with yogurt and the like, if you don't want to go the alcohol route (Nigella's concoction sounds good!) My grandmother loved to have slices of salted cantaloupe for breakfast.

It's never a problem at our house. I love melons and am on my second watermelon of the season now!:-)

I've seen a recipe for watermelon chunks, feta cheese and mint. I think that was in Gourmet magazine, but you could easily google it. Also at the now defunct Pollo Rey, they used to have big pitchers of Horchata, and in the summer there was always a watermelon one. I don't know how to make horchata, but I know its a drink with rice in it? and often found at Mexican restaurants.

Good luck, melons esp watermelons are full of antioxidants:-)

I think I posted this before, in a thread about Khus Khus (vetiver). It's a very simple recipe for a sharbat, an Indian-style fruit drink.

4 small or 2 large honeydew melons
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
4 drops Khus essence (you could use any other flavoring, like vanilla, almond, etc.)

Just process all the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. You can add a sweetener if you want. Serve very cold.

Have you ever tried dehydrated watermelon? Yum. Tastes like sweet sweet candy. :-)

Fortunately, the fine folks at the Watermelon Promotion Board have the answer to your question:

Watermelon Board Recipes

SALSA! MIX WITH TOMATOES, MANGO OR PINEAPPLE, CHILE, ONION, CILANTRO AND LIME...DRESS FISH; PORK CHICKEN FROM THE GRILL...PUREE AND MIX WITH TEQILLA OR GIN AND LIME AND OR BERRIES AND QUAFF.. HAVE IT AS GAZPACHO WITH TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS ETC...AND THERE ARE ALWAYS MELON DAQUARIS!

Thanks for the suggestions.

You could also try wrapping thin slices of prosciutto or serrano ham around the melon slices -- nice contrast between salty and sweet. My kids love this.