Back when I was a child, sitting on the porch with a big wedge of watermelon, juices spilling over my fingers and seeds littering my perimeter, I never thought I would be standing here today, with a glass of watermelon granita in hand, saying thank you to the watermelon. And my, what a big watermelon it is. You don’t realise how heavy it is until you’re standing up here, holding it. This one is going into the display case, right next to the eponymous melon-baller. Ah, the melon-baller. I recall at the tender age of ten, being quite enthralled at a party, by a watermelon carcass filled to the brim with it’s balled innards. This was the ultimate in chic, in my mind. Not long after, I was back home spending a whole watermelon trying to get perfectly round melon balls with my mom’s yellow plastic melon-baller. Not much success, but plenty of leftovers to chew on.

At just a few silver coins per kilo, this refreshing fruit is one for everybody. I would like to thank it for it’s ability to soak up vodka like a sponge (just keep feeding it until the day of the party, then slice it open and serve). I would like to thank my partner B, for being such a supportive watermelon connoisseur. Thanks also to my parents who, when I was growing up, were obsessive about buying fruit; especially my dad who could never purchase a single apple when he could buy a kilo for slightly cheaper.

Thank you also to all the other fruits in the melon category : the honeydew, canteloupe, musk and rockmelon. You have all done a wonderful job in keeping me hydrated.

Harumi Kurihara’s ‘Suika no Sherbert’:
(with a few adjustments)

3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons water
1kg watermelon flesh
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Kirsch liquor (I used Pimm’s instead)

Mix together the sugar and water in a heat resistant container. Put in a microwave and cook for 3 minutes (500w) without covering. Leave to cool.

Take the watermelon pulp and remove the seeds. Blend in a food processor with the cooled syrup, lemon juice and Kirsch to taste.

Pour into a stainless steel square mould and cover with cling film. Freeze for a couple of hours.

To serve, scrape the granita into icy granules with a fork. Divide the granita between 6 glasses. Pour over some more alcohol if you wish.

For further coverage of the Culinoscarpies 07…

Lucky B got to go to Singapore for work last week. He took these photos. I love the One Price Store – reminds me of $2 shops here in Sydney – and the “Big Lost” special at the Ah Meng Cafe.

Let me just go on record as saying that I absolutely love leftovers. We tend not to have too much of it lying around these days, because when I cook, I cook enough for exactly three, so that B can have it for lunch at work the next day.

But there is often so much potential in discovering a little bit of this and that in the fridge (as long as it’s not growing colonies of mold). Even if it’s just cobbled together, heated up, and eaten with some sort of rice, pasta or potato.. it always tastes good because all the work that went into making the original dish, was done ages ago.

In celebration of leftovers, I made these curried vegetable puffs recently. They don’t look like a product of leftovers, but rather deceptively, they were composed from ingredients that were given a second breath of life : scraps of pastry that had been rerolled for a second use, an opened jar of chilli and ginger Masala paste, and odd bits of vegetables that were lying around. Paired with a cucumber and yogurt dipping sauce, they were quite well received by the friends I served them too. Thankfully, each pastry was eaten, as I can’t imagine what I would then do to the leftovers!