Peachy

This was a photo from the wedding we attended this weekend. It was pretty and full of wonderful food, which I find to be rather rare at weddings.
Made me want to be a caterer.

Yesterday we had a "family" day and went to miniature golf and the new movie Ponyo. A film by Hayao Miyazaki, it was wonderful. Magical and way beyond what is normally in a kids movie. It is full of all the things you want in a movie and none of the things you don't. No bad humor, no innuendos, not too intense. Loved it.

A bit down in the dumps wondering if I am doing life all right or all wrong.
Definitely a day I would be laying in bed depressed if I could. Instead I will be cleaning the bathrooms and fishtank, folding laundry, driving M from school and pretending everything is just peachy. Peachy peachy peachy. If I say it enough times I think it will come true.

Pizza Night

Last night was pizza night. We buy our pizza dough at a local fine foods store. They have a freezer filled with home made everything, and pizza dough is included in that.
D made a wonderful mixture he topped on the pizzas of olive oil, red pepper flakes and fresh crushed garlic. It really added a lot of flavor to the pizzas. He had a helper as you can see in the photos, and my sister (is visiting this weekend) and I drank Prosecco while we watched. We drank this prosecco at Delfina a couple of weeks back. It is fantastic. Really amazing. Crisp and creamy, vanilla and flowers on the nose. Our local wine merchant sells it for $17 a bottle. Prosecco has lower alcohol content than most wines, so drinking a glass does not make me sleepy like a lot of wines can. I put up a picture so next time you are shopping for wine and remember prosecco you can buy this bottle!

Tasty Kitchen

I am starting this post by pausing and going outside to chase a big, fat wild turkey off the hood of my car. I am now wondering if turkeys, and not my cat is the cause of the scratches on my hood that I swear at every time I see them.

On another note. Does anyone read The Pioneer Woman blog? I do, and she is famous in the blogging world. Ree has a very very successful blog. She is beautiful, talented and funny. The perfect combination that might make you very jealous of her blogging life if you did not love her so much and want her to be your friend, like I do. She has started a website called Tasty Kitchen, which is a online recipe site with a little social networking mixed in. Of course I joined. I have submitted three seaweed snacks recipes so far, and today, my Broccolini and Goat Chevre Crostini is on the home page as a featured recipe of the day!! There are maybe 5 recipes featured like a slide show. So, if you check it out you may have to remain patient (like I had to) to see mine scroll through. Very exciting stuff in my world.

Mango Salsa

Last night I had guests. A bunch of fun crammed into a couple of hours.
A wonderful platter of smoked salmon, roasted beets (tossed in balsamic syrup and olive oil) with baby potatoes and dill. I am happily waiting for lunch so I can eat leftovers.

Tonight we have another special guest coming for dinner and we are having tacos. In honor of that, I will be making Mango Salsa. It is a versatile side dish that can be made a day ahead, (bring to room temperature)and is guaranteed to add lots of flavor to grilled fish and chicken. I used this salsa with salmon and coconut rice a month or two back and really enjoyed it.

Salsa
2 cups mango flesh chopped into small pieces (1 1/2 mangos)
juice of two limes
1/2 cucumber diced, seeds and skin removed
1/4 cup red onion diced
1 heaping tsp. fresh mint diced
salt and pepper to taste

Carpools and Trucks

I had a questionable morning.
Besides having a questionable interrogation from another carpool mom...
I yelled at a truck driver in the carpool parking lot.
His flatbed semi was taking up THE WHOLE parking lot where carpool drop is. His truck was turned off, so I parked behind him. The spot where there was room for my car. Mid switch of children into the carpool car the truck suddenly sputters to life and starts reversing. There is about 5 feet between the back of his truck and my car. I push my daughter towards the carpool car and start yelling for her to get away. But she follows me. I am yelling trying to get my car on, and moved before the truck crunches my car. I move my car a couple of feet, and his truck stops.
I get out, and walk over to the truck driver and just let him have it. A 10 second stream of "what are you doing, there are children behind your truck you ass!" But, I should have never parked behind a semi-truck my inner wisdom is calmly whispering in my ear....
He gets out and tells me he needs to move his truck.
"When I am done, I will move my car" I say.
But I kinda yelled it.
Meanwhile M. had gotten in the carpool car.
We all shut our doors and are on our separate ways.
I am feeling sick inside though.
Ever have a situation you wish you had handled differently? Today was that day. M was out of my sight for some seconds while I was getting the car moved. That means she could have run behind the truck if she was confused. That is weighing so heavily on me. That I was so concerned with moving my car and thinking she would follow my directions to go to the other car, but really she heard me yelling and got scared and sort of froze not knowing what to do. This was a 25 second event, but I am questioning all aspects of my mothering skills at this moment. Sucks. Sucks bad.

In the Clear?

Lice is a pretty expensive problem......my bill for this was around $60






Good Pals......




I think we may be in the clear. After a coconut oil treatment, a homeopathic treatment and four 30 minute inspections I have found nothing on M's head. I got checked twice yesterday and I am in the clear as well. That is not to say my head is not itching any more, because I am itchy due to thinking about lice. I find it very strange that I found a lice on M but nothing else. I am deciding that it was just perfect timing and remaining vigilant on daily checks. Seems doing weekly checks on a kids head is really a good idea since a bad infestation of lice is much much more work than a small one. I think it is a miracle I never had lice growing up in florida. That state is just filled with bugs and the humid, warm air is a perfect breeding ground for all things icky. I am shuddering thinking about it. No wonder I fled the day after I graduated high school.

Our close call was a good excuse to vacuum and steam clean my floors. And wash windows, flip the cushions on the sofa, re-arrange M's room and do 8 loads of laundry. Today the cleaning continues on. I have guests this week and I really excited to start planning menus and grocery lists.

Meanwhile, enjoy some photos from this past week. Last thursday was a dress-up marathon for these little ones!

L I C E

Having a moment.
A few of them.
I cut about 5 inches off my hair, and I feel like I lost some of my identity. Insecurities are seeping out of my skin like sweat.

Then, I find a lice bug in M's hair last night. Our very close friends have been fighting the lice battle all week and I have been checking us everyday. Last night I saw a little bugger behind her ear. I have spent an hour today looking very, very closely at her hair and could not see any eggs or nits. Its giving me a complex. But we are treating ourselves anyway, and now our house smells of coconut oil and rosemary.
Thats it. A bit gloom and doom.

The bright side is that lice is better than pinworms. That caused a slight moment of insanity for me when we battled that a half year ago. Many moments of slight insanity. And, some moments with our pediatrician when I demanded to have the pinworm medicine ON HAND just in case I needed it again. She does not do that. Except for me. They got sick of me calling the office. You know, the squeaky wheel thing? Yep.

Elderberry Extract

Elderberry Extract also know as Sambucus nigra if you would like to get technical about things. The berries have been used to make jelly and wine for centuries. Lucky for us, elderberry has also been used as a medicine for about that long too. Safe for children and adults alike and widely available. The bottom line with Elderberry extract is that it works with the flu, but you have to use it the right way. A study done in 1995 and 2004 both showed no side effects and the shortening of symptoms by 4 days! Elderberry seems to work by lessening the viral load thereby giving your immune system more efficient fighting the virus. This especially seems relevant since the CDC released a warning of giving cold and flu medications to children under the age of two.

1. take it as soon you start feeling unwell but not before
2. if you do it lessens the duration and severity of influenza A and B about 4 days
3. it is not a preventive, so it primary effectiveness starts once you are feeling ill
4. adults 2 teaspoons every 4 hours
5. children 1 teaspoon every 4 hours

Another remedy for you to file away in your library. This weekend I will cover more homeopathic remedies for the flu.....

Grilled Eggplant & Radicchio with Mustard Vinaigrette

A little banjo before bed....


I think adjusting to waking up early for school will feel a little like jet lag. The first few days you are just excited, so who cares if you are tired. After that, you are cranky and then finally, adjusted.

Grilled Eggplant & Radicchio with Mustard Vinaigrette

Sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbls olive oil
1 tbls heaping chopped parsley
1 tbls capers drained
mix together and set aside

Eggplant
2 medium sized eggplants
Slice into 2 inch pieces long way
lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill each side about 5 min (depending on how hot your grill is)

Radicchio
1 head
Cut into 3 inch pieces (it will somewhat fall apart..this is ok)
lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt

Pine Nuts
3/4 cup raw
Toast in a skillet on med. heat until lightly brown

To assemble, Place piece of grilled eggplant on dish, and put 2 tsp. of sauce (or adjust on how you like it) on eggplant, spreading with a spoon. Top with a large wedge of grilled radicchio and a handful of pine nuts.

Foam of Unknown Origin

If you look behind M, and behind the boy, you can see a small bit of the brown foam....


Right where M is standing in the above picture is where the child fell in.


Can you see how black the water is??



This fountain is by the Ferry Building downtown SF. This weekend we walked by it on our way to the Ferry Building, and it was running. It is like a mix of a jigsaw puzzle and air conditioning ducts made into a fountain. There is a cement paver path crossing the water that was filled with kids. A park surrounds this sculpture and I noticed that it was definitely filled with quite a few homeless people. And, the water in the sculpture has a mysterious foul odor, and copious amounts of what my sister and I called "mysterious foam". Brown foam of unknown origin. But, M. could care less about any foam, she was delirious with anticipation from stumbling unknowingly onto a wonderful play sculpture she could conquer. Aunt wanted no part walking the path through the water. I said ok, and just held my mouth tightly closed so no splashing bits of water would get on my mouth. I wondered (while M. was squealing with delight) if that was perhaps a big bathtub for a large number of this city's homeless population, or even perhaps (due to the smell) a big toilet too. Looking down at the water it was pitch black. I could not see a thing peering down. It was a true abyss. I went across the sculpture 5 times. Our second to last run we turn around and a little boy (maybe 6 years old) who was with his dad, had fallen in. "Oh for the love of Pete! The kid fell into the sewage pit!!" I say. My sister comes over after hearing this unfortunate child screaming bloody hell and we just stare. Feeling helpless. A couple of minutes later his grandmother appears out of nowhere with dry clothes. I would have bathed him in rubbing alcohol if I had any on me.
And of course, my daughter completely unphased, wanted to go again. She ain't afraid of no stinkin brown foam sewage pit. Not at all.

The Fair

These were taken last friday night. Good old fashioned fun going to the fair. I absolutely love the top photo. It is slightly out of focus, but says so much!

Think we are heading back home to our smoke filled town. The fire that started on friday is now 3500 acres and only 25% contained. Only about 8 miles from our house, this is a serious problem. This means terrible air quality for us. With no air conditioning and no open windows at night to let cool air in, I am dreaming about a portable swamp cooler that our off-grid house could support.

I will try to take photos and upload them tonight!

Just reporting the facts

There is a storm brewing. At least I am thinking one is. The swine flu vaccine. I read this morning on CNN that the vaccine is two shots. The second shot comes three weeks after the first, and it is expected to be released to the general public sometime in October. Cue the conspiracy theory music.

Will you be getting the swine flu shot? I can see the news headlines now. Local reporters covering lines out the door at the drug stores to get the vaccine. The elderly and young getting ushered to the front. Reassurance not to worry. There is enough to go around. The mad rush. Guess where I will be at that moment. Probably the grocery store. Any of the three I frequent. Hopefully buying another case of organic chicken stock that will hopefully be on sale.

Last time I had the flu my biggest complaint was I had no frozen chicken soup to take out of the freezer. Well, that is not all together true. It was hellish. It was a 5 day migraine with the worst body aches and snot thrown into the mix. But surely not bad enough to warrant a new fangled vaccine with a cocktail of preservatives I care not to inject into my body. I am going with my own immune system and stacking all my cards in that pile. I do have a disclaimer though. We are a healthy family. There may be instances I might even recommend the vaccine. Our immune systems are in good health, but for those whose are not, this vaccine may be something to consider.

I am not minimizing the seriousness of this whole situation. In fact, I may be more prepared than the average citizen. I have my Gelsemium. I have my undenatured whey protein (I take it every day) and I have my industrial strength probiotics. I have my cinnabar complex for fevers. I still need to stock up on Reed's Ginger Brew (the best for upset tummies) and finally I have Motrin.
And, if CNN is interested in a different kind of news story, my schedule is open for interviews.

Beet Greens Lasagana with Bechamel Sauce

I sneaked this photo. It was a playdate day. These two are such good friends. I love how they sat together trying to shoot sunflower seeds out of the straw. Until I found out and told them to stop because it was a choking hazard...



I think they would have rolled out pasta all day if I had not wrestled it from them

I cooked the noodles they each rolled out for an afternoon snack


I was so proud! The cooked noodles ready to go


half way assembled


Fresh out of the oven


Seriously good. I would have had each of you over tonight for dinner had I know it was going to turn out. Really. I had never made this before, so the outcome was questionable. But, it was a keeper. I usually don't follow recipes either, but today I mostly did. David Tanis formerly of Chez Panis wrote a cookbook called A Platter of Figs and this was from that book. I worked on it a good part of the day because making lasagna dough from scratch takes some time. I used beet greens from our farm share in the noodles, and sauteed red chard inside the lasagna. It also was filled with ricotta cheese, parmesean and bechamel sauce. It was very easy, just more steps than dinner usually is. I used King Arthur Organic White Whole Wheat Flour. Sometimes that choice questionable (like when I used it in pound cake last week), but it worked fine in the dough today. When D. got home I put him to work right away. I am really looking forward to leftovers tomorrow. The greens really kept it light and it was not too heavy even for a summer dinner.
The recipe is soooo long I decided not to reprint it. Unless you tell me otherwise!

Halibut over Cannellini Beans with Gremolata

This was a good dinner. I soaked the beans while we were at the fair because I forgot to do it last night. I will post pictures from the fair tomorrow. I am bone aching tired from our adventure, but it was really great fun!
And, because I was so tired I wanted a fast dinner. While the beans were cooking in the pressure cooker (do you have one yet?) I washed the dishes in the sink, straightened up the house and made the gremolata. Here goes:
Makes 3-4 servings

Cannellini Beans
1 cup dried beans (soak overnight, but at least six hours) rinsed
1 large shallot diced
1 tbls olive oil
1/4 cup white wine
1 tsp butter
pinch salt
2 1/2 cups water
Sautee the shallot in olive oil and butter. Add white wine and less reduce for 2 minutes. Add salt, water and beans. Put lid on pressure cooker and cook at high for 1 hour. I do all of this in my pressure cooker because all you have to do is put the lid on which means less mess. I also run cold water on my pressure cooker to release all the steam so I can open the lid right away.

Gremolata
2 cloves garlic minced
3 tsp. lemon zest
4 tsp parlsey chopped fine
pinch of salt
stir together and set aside

1 cup sun gold cherry tomatoes sliced in half
(you can use any tomato you like however)

Halibut
2 six ounce pieces of halibut
pat dry and sautee in olive oil each side 5 min.
*when your fish is patted dry, it is easier to brown each side to a nice crispness

Spoon 1/2 cup beans into dish, top with hailbut, tomatoes and gremolata

Bon Appetite!

Why does it have to be so ugly?

Damn ugly boots. Like what the girl from scooby doo used to wear. My child practically started crying tears of joy when she saw these online at Zappos. I bet she would give away her whole Polly Pocket collection for these damn ugly boots. This was her first choice for school boots of the 15 pages of boots on Zappos. See what kind of trouble I can get into on a hot summer day with a 5 year old who likes to shop online as much as I do?



Her second choice. She thought I would go for them because they do not have a heel. I actually laughed at these.



My daughter loves to shop. Oh yes. Loves to. Does not matter if it is at a thrift store, consignment shop or Kmart. Well, we do go to the mall sometimes too. But, the above mentioned are in town, so that is where we go the most. The promised land of Target and "The Mall" are a 90 minute drive, so we just make due. And, let me say that our Kmart might be the worst on the planet. I feel panicky when I step foot inside due to the grossness of it all and my own childhood memories. Today we went to the Kmart to replenish her underwear supply. After 8 or 9 tries of different underwear at the Kmart (I like to call it "the Kmart") we finally hit gold. If you had to take a guess if the Kmart still had those fantastic undies we bought on our last visit there, do you think they would still have them?
Nope.
M. kept annoyingly drifting off while I searched the underwear wall. I could hear her talking under her breath about all the Hannah Montana outfits she wishes she could have among other things. Finally out of sheer desperation for something to buy she said "mama, lets see if they have the retarded pajamas!" But no, sadly the Kmart has very slim pickings for non-flame retardant pajamas. The sales lady who was helping me got a good laugh out of that.
So we left the Kmart with nothing but a monthly calendar for my datebook and one moping kid. But, tomorrow will be a better day for her.

Gelsemium...and the Flu

In anticipation of the school year starting, I have begun to think about the "must have" remedies for my family and the season of the virus. I read that 4 cases of swine flu have been reported in my county just this week. And, without buying into the hysteria, I just want to be calmly prepared. So, in honor of being prepared (my capricorn self) the one remedy I will have to treat the flu if it pays a visit to our house is Gelsemium. Think of it as the homeopathic version of Motrin. This remedy was the most prescribed homeopathic remedy during the 1917-1918 flu epidemic.
The primary symptoms you may have that indicate Gelsemium:
Lethargy
Stiff neck and body
Muscle soreness
Worse from movement
Weak and dizzy
Feeling heavy in body and extreme weakness
Fever and vertigo
Anxiety with illness
Pain in eye sockets
Lack of thirst
Headaches
I buy the 6C dosage. Remember that coffee, mint, alcohols and other strong flavors can cancel a remedy. I use my anise flavored homeopathic toothpaste while on a remedy, but you can also use baking soda. But when I had the flu I don't recall even brushing my teeth due to the pounding in my head. I just shuffled back and forth from the couch, tub and bed.

This will be in my remedy kit, but I am also taking undenatured whey protein and green superfoods daily for general strengthening. Undenatured whey protein to protect and strengthen the lungs. Influenza attacks the lungs. When lungs are attacked they are more prone to pneumonia.

Tick bites and Farts

So I removed a tick from M's ear last Wednesday at camp. It was not engorged, but I did have to dig a bit with my fingernail to get it out. I did not even realize it was a tick at first glance, but it had a tiny chunk of her skin in its mouth and was moving. Ticks always make my stomach drop. An immediate gurgle of anxiety and acid in my stomach. Along with the usual swearing. Because I HATE TICKS. The little blood suckers I wish would just silently leave the the planet without fuss or fanfare. It is a part of country living that I absolutely reject of every level.
Fast forward 5 days. Her ear is red, swollen and painful. Oh here we go. Lymes Disease is pretty much up for grabs depending on who you talk to or what literature you read, and treatment options are equally confusing and pretty much a guessing game. The poor doctor in our treatment room was cornered and questioned for almost 30 minutes by me. My husband had his sunglasses on, so I couldn't see all the "please shut up and stop annoying the lady" looks coming my way. All the while M. was laying these old man farts stinking up the whole room. Way worse than normal kid farts. I kept silently hoping the doctor was a mother who gets the whole "when you smell fart in a room with a child in it, you know who is the culprit". D conviently had to take a work call outside on his cell and escape the interogation I was conducting and the polluted air.
We got antibiotics. We are giving her two doses.
Our life is going to be filled with random tick bites and 3 weeks of antibiotics each time she gets one is not a realistic option. We are going to trust our intuition and take each bite as it comes and decide each time what we want to do.
Meanwhile, M. is bummed she is 0nly getting one more dose of medicine because as she told her daddy last night "boy dad, I sure am lucky to get such great tasting medicine".

Boysenberry Sangria and Friends

Last night was dinner for 15 of us. A family oriented affair complete with two cute little girls belonging to the under 2 crowd. My favorite kind. I made a massive amount of pulled pork and we ate sandwiches on white Sara Lee buns. Only white will do the job of soaking up the bbq juice properly. Of course I added smoked paprika to the bbq sauce and it added such a nice smokey flavor it made me excited for my next Ferry building trip to get more.
M. held her own with the 3 boys that were here. I kept seeing her with different shoes on as she raced around the yard and house, which is always a mystery to me. There was a big splinter in little B's foot he let me carefully poke and prod out with a needle. I am always impressed with his pain threshold. At the end of the night he tripped on someone's knee while running, and hit his face on the floor. A bloody nose ensued, and I only heard a small whine from him!
It was all over by 10pm, and like always, I feel incredibly lucky for friends (who are more like family) like the ones we have.
Today I am venturing out solo to see Julia & Julie. Somehow I am fitting frozen yogurt into that scenario as well. M. is going to get some solo daddy time and I am thinking about how next week is our last full pre-k week left. The county fair starts, which will spice things up, totally annoy me and make me complain about how expensive low quality fun costs.
I made boysenberry sangria last night, (the same ones that are in my blog banner photo) and I was happy how it turned out. My boysenberries were picked at our local CSA farm just about a month ago.

Boysenberry Sangria

1/2 cup torn mint leaves
1 tsp. orange blossom water
4 cups frozen boysenberries
2 bottles sparkling water (750ml. size)
2 cups watermelon
1 lime thinly sliced
1 lemon thinly slices
1/2 cup sugar (or less, so taste it)
2 bottles of wine (I used a sauvignon blanc and viognier)
2 cups of ice

Art Camp Week

It has been art camp all week. Our local cultural center has had an art/dance/music camp for the last couple of years, and this year M. is old enough to attend. I was a bit worried she would have some separation anxiety from the amount of kids attending, but on the second day during our drive home she said "mama, I really like this school you are sending me to".
And although most of the organizers are my friends and I might be bias, it is truly fabulous. Professional dancers and artists are guiding 49 kids through a week of lovely activities. Tomorrow is the potluck and I am thinking I may try to the pound cake from Smitten Kitchen. It looks dangerously good.

In 1 1/2 weeks is the first day of kindergarten. A.k.a the big change on the horizon. I have no idea how it will be driving 45 minutes each way to school, but I am so thrilled about the school itself, I am putting aside my apprehension. Unfortunately, it makes me want to have an apartment in town to sleep at one night a week to make things easier and the drive shorter.

I have no good food to report this week. Well, at least nothing I thought worthy of a post. This week I have made:
Cucumber salad with lime juice and mint.
Penne pasta tossed with a sour cream and smoked paprika sauce
Plum chutney with carmelized onions and figs (ate it over grilled chicken)
Goat chevere with sea salt, olive oil, fresh herbs
Raspberry and loganberry pie
Cranberry bean soup with bacon and tomatoes
Everything was good, but not crazy good. Thats why no post or photos. It is fun to write it down and share it with you. Now you have a good idea about what was cooking on my stove this week.

Just now I had to chase away a young deer that has been terrorizing all the herbs I am trying to grow on my front porch. Don't touch my tarragon or I am going to start have a serious problem with you and will stop putting water out for you. Don't tell my husband...he might have issues with me assisting the wildlife.

One more thing...have you read Michael Pollan? I just read his article in the NY Times this past Sunday. He also authored the books Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense Of Food. He is a hero of the Slow Food Movement, and quite a revolutionary. I like him because everything he says makes sense, he is a very good writer, and he represents everything I feel about food and culture but am not gifted enough to express like he does. Which brings me to the last thought; If I did not have to drive 3 miles down my dirt road to my mailbox, I would get the NY Times Sunday edition. Unless someone wants to drive it to me. I will make you breakfast if you did. Maybe cinnamon rolls or coffee cake. Any takers?

My Spy Kid

M. and her daddy played spies the other night. A pre-bedtime event. They were hiding all over the house uncovering clues, talking in hushed whispers. I was laughing pretty hard at this picture. She is so serious. That is a walkie talkie hooked onto her pants. I asked her if she figured out how to use it yet. Maybe the dad helping her out made a difference. Nope.

Grilled Watermelon Salad

I know, I know. Grilled watermelon is the flavor of the moment. But, in my defense, I was recreating a dish we had in Paris.
But, I did not know how well it would go over in our house due to the fact that my husband wants to be mostly vegetarian now. He does very well being vegetarian; he feels great. Me on the other hand have type O blood, and just plain old feel better eating meat. Our daughter too, shares a love of all things meat. I have embraced his new found vegetarianism, and even made him pecan crusted tofu a couple of nights back. And M. really likes tofu as well as meat so I think all will be well. So, I told him last night that I was making a salad with bacon, and should I leave it out of his? A quick "no, you can leave it in" makes me believe some things may be too good to give up.
About the recipe: Watermelon and bacon are very good together. The sweet smokey taste of the grilled watermelon and the salty crispy bacon are wonderful partners. I did a very light coat of olive oil on the watermelon before grilling it. About 5 minutes each side depending how hot your grill is. You are looking for good grill marks. Surprisingly, the watermelon did not stick at all to the grill. I used a heavy duty stainless steel spatula to turn it on the grill.

Grilled Watermelon Salad

1 small seedless watermelon cut into large chunks (about 4 inches long, almost 3 inches thick)
1/2 fennel bulb slices paper thin
5 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled
1 tsp lemon juice
1 glug olive oil

Toss fennel with a small bit of olive oil and lemon juice.
Place grilled watermelon on plates, top with fennel and crumbled bacon

*note: I used local bacon, free of any nitrates, additives or preservatives.