Watermelon-Blueberry Salad

The market continues its steady climb. I had 5 showings this week and 1 offers. My reputation precedes me now — the Greek agent who tells the truth about roofs and brings food to open houses. Worse reputations exist.

Mama called at 9 PM to tell me she sold out of baklava. She reported this with the urgency of a woman who considers every piece of information critical and every phone call an opportunity to also critique my cooking from forty miles away.

Mama is 86 and still at the bakery at 4 AM. I do not know how much longer she will do this. I do not ask. You do not ask Voula Papadopoulos about endings. You stand next to her and roll phyllo and trust that the beginning continues as long as the hands are moving.

I made a massive horiatiki tonight — tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, Kalamata olives, a slab of feta. No lettuce. Never lettuce. I served it with bread and olive oil — always too much olive oil, because in this family there is no such thing as too much. We ate and the conversation was easy and the evening was warm.

Sophia told me this week that she is proud of me. I was not expecting it. We were in the car, driving to Tarpon Springs for Sunday dinner, and she said Mom, I am proud of you. I said for what. She said for everything. For the bakery. For the houses. For making dinner every night even when you are tired. I gripped the steering wheel and blinked and said thank you, koritsi mou. She said do not cry. I did not cry. Much.

We had already eaten the horiatiki — the tomatoes and feta and too much olive oil, the bread torn into pieces the way it should be — and Sophia’s words from earlier in the week were still sitting quietly in my chest. When a moment is that full, dessert should be light. I put together this watermelon-blueberry salad because it asked nothing of me and gave everything back: cold, sweet, the colors of a Greek summer, exactly right for an evening that was already more than enough.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

6 cups seedless watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, torn
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions

Combine the fruit. Add the watermelon cubes and blueberries to a large serving bowl and gently toss together.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice and honey until the honey is fully dissolved.
Dress the salad. Drizzle the lime-honey mixture over the fruit and toss gently to coat without breaking up the watermelon.
Finish and serve. Scatter the torn mint leaves over the top and finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 30 minutes before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Watermelon-Blueberry Salad — The Simple Sweet After a Week That Asked Everything of Me