Tuesday, August 25

Cerwin came home with a delicious watermelon he bought at a roadside stand.

It has been a long time since I had watermelon that was as sweet and delicious as this one. It was like eating candy.

Some fun facts about watermelon from the internet:

Watermelon is an ideal food if you want to lose a few pounds or maintain a healthy weight. Watermelon has only 40 calories per cup and 0 grams of fat. Since it is 92 percent water and contains 0.6 grams of fiber, one cup of watermelon will fill you up and reduce cravings for something sweet.

Watermelons have been cultivated in Egypt for thousands of years. Egyptians depicted watermelon in drawings on the walls of tombs.

Watermelons spread from Africa to China in the 10^th century. Today, China grows more watermelon than any other country. In China, guests offer watermelons as gifts to a hostess.

The U.S. ranks fourth in the world for watermelon production. Top watermelon growing states include California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and Georgia.

We think of watermelon as a fruit because of its sweet flavor, but watermelon is actually a vegetable. It belongs to the cucurbit family, and is related to pumpkins, cucumbers and squash.

Old-timers like to sprinkle watermelon with a dash of salt. In Egypt and Africa, people often pair watermelon with salty feta cheese. The salt brings out the juice and flavor of watermelon.

Watermelon is a health food! It has more lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant which can reduce inflammation and destroy free radicals. Watermelon is high in vitamin C and a good source of fiber.

Watermelon producers in America grow more than 4 billion pounds of watermelon annually.

Mark Twain loved watermelon. He called it the food of angels.