Fruit Fight, or The Return of the Sword in the Watermelon

Even a 22-Pound Melon Cannot Defeat My Mighty Chef's Knife

Photo by Bob Benenson

It started a few years ago when I ordered delivery of a watermelon from my friend Tracey Vowell at Three Sisters Garden in Kankakee, Illinois. When I went downstairs to pick up my order on the dropoff table in the lobby, I discovered it was a fruit of immense size.

It was so big that I was struck by the idea of plunging my chef's knife into it and, borrowing from Arthurian legend, decided to call it the Sword in the Watermelon. The bold person who succeeded at extracting my Kitchen Excalibur from the mega-melon would be crowned as King of All Ginormous Produce.

So I hope you enjoy it too, or at least can tolerate my habit of laughing at my own jokes.

So my chore for today was to process the 22-pounder that I received on Wednesday. It's worth it because the watermelons that Tracey grows are invariably delicious. It is a challenge though. A melon that big takes up most of my apartment kitchen counter. Pretty, it's not. Big piles of rind. Watermelon juice everywhere. Not for the faint of heart.

Photo by Bob Benenson

A 22-pound watermelon frankly is a lot for a two-person household, but it also provides the opportunity to burnish our reputation with friends in the building who know that every year around this time, we'll be sharing containers of tasty, tasty fruit.

So, to continue all of this excitement, maybe we should have a pool on how big our next watermelon will be? Last year's monster melon checked in at 27 pounds, and Tracey sent me a photo of a watermelon on a scale registering 33 pounds (she sold it to a restaurant).

The adventure continues. If you live in the Chicago area and want one of these beauties for your very own, click the button below to see if you're in Tracey's delivery area.

VISIT THREE SISTERS GARDEN'S WEBSITE

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