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Dear everybody,

Today is the observance of Independence Day here in the U.S., so it’s a day off for Team MDK, all of whom we hope are lounging on inflatable animals in the stock tank pools of their dreams.

Traditionally we share a recipe. What with the heat and all, we are declaring a mandatory reduction in word count to conserve energy: no recipe shall exceed 4 words in length.

Constraint leads to creativity, so this recipe is a good one:

WATERMELON

FETA

MINT

DRIZZLE

Four bonus words: Cool. Refreshing. Salty. Sweet.

Need more details?  The internet abounds with watermelon/feta/mint recipes.

Here are but a few:

Ina Garten (Arugula alert!)

Serious Eats (Lemon zest!)

New York Times (Cucumbers? OK, Mark Bittman.)

Ottolenghi (Olives, preserved lemons, and an Ottolenghish assortment of herbs.)

And up top:  Nigella Lawson, with olives and—eek!—onion.

You get the idea. Watermelon, feta, and whatever else you’ve got, and it will be delicious.

What’s your favorite 4-word summer dish?

Love,

Ann and Kay

96 Comments

  • gin, tonic, ice, grapefruit

    • A fine recipe!

      • These are so great! Here’s one my dad used to make. It sounds disgusting but is actually weirdly good.

        Triscuits
        Mayo
        Peanut butter
        Pickles

    • Gin, tonic, ice, lime

    • That’s what I was going to write!

  • Tomato, bacon, mayo, bread

    • Pistachio pudding, whipped cream, cherry

  • Potatoes, eggs, mayo, mustard.

    • Bread oil garlic rosemary

  • Bread, butter, marmalade, tea

    • My go to snack! Loads of ideas in this thread too sound divine

  • sourdough, cheese, fruit, nuts

    • This is a very traditional South Indian dish called Sundal (soon-duhl). A little more than 4 words. Amazing, I promise.

      Chickpeas, unsweetened coconut flakes, serrano, lemon, mustard seeds, crisped lentils.

      • This sounds delicious!

  • Coca Cola, ice cream, glass, spoon

  • Cantaloupe. Honey. Lime. Cayenne

  • Tomatoes, salt, herbs, extra virgin olive oil

  • Tomato, mozzarella, basil, vinegrette

  • Pasta, olive oil, garlic, hot pepper

    • So good!

  • Pasta, cannellini beans, canned tomatoes w/Italian herbs, grated parm (someone has to do the heavy lifting)

    • Tomatoes, green onion, pickles, olive oil

  • Canned salmon, canned roasted corn, Mayo, minced onion.

  • Avocado, lime, garlic salt, smash

    • This is the one.

      • Agree!

  • Tuna, canellini beans, oil, pepper

    • Add some lemon juice to make this combo heavenly

      • This was my planned addition, in our house we call it pasta, tuna and beans. The sauce is half lemon juice, half olive oil.

        • And any green herb, parsley, chives …

      • Or basil, but I ran out of words

  • Ice cream, chocolate sauce

    • Microgreens atop all foods!

  • Orzo, tomatoes, zucchini, chimichurri

  • May I please order…..

    • 😀 😀 😀 <3

  • hard boiled eggs, mayo, horseradish, paprika

  • Sloe gin, simple syrup, lemon juice, club soda.

  • This is breaking the rules a tiny bit, but I recently discovered Trader Joe’s 3 ingredient meal ideas. (You can find more on the Google.)

    Argentinian red shrimp + asparagus shears + lemon
    Spinach tortellini + baby spinach + jar of artichoke antipasto
    Colorful carrot coins + farro + garbanzo beans
    Cheese tortellini + package of seasoned Brussels sprouts + prosciutto
    Sweet potato gnocchi + sweet Italian chicken sausage + kale cashew basil pesto
    Mediterranean salad kit + farro + falafel

    (Do you want me to keep going? I can … !)

    • Cantaloupe prosciutto balsamic salt

  • Tomato, basil, mozzarella, drizzle

  • Cream
    Berries
    Lemon zest
    Sugar

  • Vodka
    Lemons
    Ginger ale
    Lillet

  • chicken
    salt
    herbs
    grill

    • Cheese, fruit, bread, wine

  • Berries, balsamic, honey, roasted.

  • Broccoli, apple. pecans, coleslaw dressing.

    • My go-to chicken salad with 2 descriptor words for completeness, but once you know what I meant, they can be removed. Chicken (rotisserie), Grapes (green), Basil, Mayo

      • Omg- I LOVE chicken salad with green grapes! Sweet & savory is my favorite (ask me about the liver & raisins in my turkey stuffing)

  • Squash rounds, Hidden Valley Dry Ranch Dressing Mix, Parmesan Cheese, Butter (optional)

  • Cucumber, red onion, feta, dressing

  • Bread & butter pickles, on bread, with butter!

  • Pesto
    Mayo
    Bread
    Grilled chicken

  • waterrnelon gin blender lime

  • Coffee
    Biscuits
    Creme fraiche (counts as one word if you say it fast)
    Jam

  • Simple syrup, cantaloupe, freeze, whipped cream

  • Brown rice, cauliflower, pepitas, EVOO

    • Coffee, ice, more ice, mint sprig

  • Mango, strawberries, ginger, biscuits

  • unsweetened Greek yogurt, fresh cherries, sliced almonds, drizzle with a little honey

  • Zucchini, butter, onion, cheese

    And also tomatoes, mozzarella (fresh), basil, balsamic

  • Flour, sugar, butter, roasted cacao nibs

    That’s MDK’s own 411 Shortbread, which is the best ever according to the many people I’ve served it to. The cacao nibs are my own addition, and I’ve gotta say they bring a lot to the party.

  • Tuna, boiled egg, Mrs. Renfro’s Hot Chow Chow Relish, Miracle Whip

    Watermelon, watermelon, salt, fork! (Shade tree and napkins optional)

  • Tomato, cucumber, red onion, basil

  • Wasa, pimento cheese, tomato

  • Almond blueberry crumble, cream.

    Made with 2 quarts of local blueberries that I picked up Saturday, and I’m ready to get another 2 quarts or maybe a gallon!

    • Toasted marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers, campfire

  • Squash rounds sliced zucchini or yellow, sprinkle with grated parmesan, toaster oven till golden. (When really hot, plug toaster oven in outside.)

  • Cucumber, feta, onion, dressing
    (Sliced/cubed/red/Italian)

  • Flour + Water + Salt + Yeast

  • Lobster, butter, butter, butter!

  • Oatmeal berries banana walnuts

  • ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, nuts (the last two optional–easy peasy just make it 2 items)

  • Cantaloupe.
    Lime wedges.

  • Lets have a picnic 🙂

  • Oysters
    Shrimp
    Corn on the cob
    Beer

  • Cucumber
    Onion
    Rice vinegar
    Sesame oil

  • Wine, nibbles, friends & music

    • Goat cheese, pepper jelly, pita crackers

  • Baguette
    French Ham
    Butter
    Cornichon

  • Pizza Beer Netflix Knitting

    • Love it!

  • Old school farm type bread, tomatoes, olive oil, capers

    But the bread must be sliced thick, the tomatoes must be red and ripe because you cut them in two and smush the insides on the bread to make it red…. And then you chop the toms up and dunk the tomato side of the bread in the olive oil with capers and maybe a bit of extra vinegar, put your bread on a plate and pile the chopped up bits on top. Oh. My. God. I eat this most days in our hot summer in Malta (Mediterranean). When it’s really hot and humid and I can’t think of food, this is it. It’s a traditional way of doing it here, pure peasant food, our thick crusted loaves are amazing, and men used to hollow then out and fill them with tomatoes etc to take to the fields.

    Our bread is a bit like thick crusted sourdough with lots of holes, most other breads will fall apart with this treatment…

    • This sounds fantastic!

      • It is, believe me! If you want to fancy it up you can add torn up mint or basil leaves, and if you want to protein it up you can dump some canned tuna on top. Do try it!

  • Chex, butter, Worcestershire, peanuts

  • Add lime juice, fresh ground black pepper to the watermelon, feta, mint and serve it on a bed of lettuce then drizzle olive oil on top. This is our favorite summer salad.

  • Cantaloupe, fresh basil, lime, huckleberries (picked while out walking the dog during your house-sitting gig!)

  • ice cream, cone, walk

  • I have a one wordrecipe: watermelon.

  • Peanutbutter lettuce Mayo on bread

    • I grew up on pb/lettuce/mayo sandwiches! and no one will believe me how good they are

  • tangerine slices, freeze, dark chocolate, tea

  • bread(Wonder), Duke’s (mayo), tomato, S&P

  • Just read through all of these recipes and they sound delicious. Here’s mine:

    Simmer:
    Black beans
    Fire-roasted tomatoes
    Garlic
    Onion
    Cumin/chili powder

  • Vodka tonic with lime is the only thing that I will drink. My first date with my first husband he took me to dinner and when I was asked what I would like to drink I drew a blank. He ordered a vodka tonic for me and that has been my cocktail since 1981

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