As I write this, it’s 90+ degrees in Boston, which is too hot to do much of anything except turn on the sprinklers and run through them with your kids. Forget about turning on your stove or oven to make dinner. This recipe for watermelon, cucumber, and feta salad is perfect for a day like today. It’s cool and refreshing, it’s ready in about 10 minutes, and you can farm out much of the work to your kids — even toddlers!

Watermelon, Cucumber, and Feta Salad

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups watermelon, cut into small cubes
  • 2 cups sliced cucumber (I like the mini or Persian cucumbers, which don’t have the waxy coating you find in the grocery store, and they tend to be more crisp.)
  • 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
  • 1 cup mixed herbs, chopped (I use basil, mint, and cilantro. Dill and parsley would also be nice, or even a bit of oregano, but you can use anything you have on hand.)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar (White wine, cider, or champagne vinegar would also work here.)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

Add ingredients to a large bowl, and mix!

See, I told you it was simple! Most everyone likes this combination, and there are at least 100 ways you can customize this salad to make it your own. Want to see more green? Add some arugula. Looking to add some protein for a standalone lunch? Add a can of white beans. Want to add some spice? Add a thinly sliced serrano chile. For my 3-year-old daughter, who is the pickiest of picky eaters, I reserve some chopped watermelon and sliced cucumber and put them on her plate separately. She has a thing about “salad dressing,” even when it’s just olive oil and vinegar, as it is here.

I simplify the process by purchasing pre-cut watermelon from the grocery store, but I like to get a little bit of each ingredient in every bite, so I cut them smaller. If you trust your kids with a kitchen knife, they can cut watermelon, slice cucumbers, or chop herbs. Serrated lettuce knives made of hard plastic are great for toddler use, so even the smallest hands can get involved. You can buy your feta in a block, and kids can squish it up, creating the crumbles for the salad. They can also measure the vinegar and olive oil — just have them do it over a small bowl or large measuring cup so you can pour any spills back into the container or save it for another use.

Make this part of your family’s dinner menu, or serve it to guests at a backyard barbecue. I promise it won’t disappoint!

Rachel Wilson
Rachel is a native of the West Coast and didn't know that her straight hair could frizz until she made the move East! After earning a Master of Environmental Management from Yale, she moved to Boston for a job opportunity and, on her first Saturday night in the city, met the man who would become her husband. They married in 2012 and are learning more every day about how to be parents to daughters Annabel (2013) and Eleanor (2016). Rachel and her family recently relocated from Charlestown to the Metrowest suburbs and are enjoying their yard, but dislike shoveling snow from their driveway. Rachel currently works as an energy and environmental consultant, and wore Birkenstocks before they were trendy. Likes: her family, her in-laws, cooking ambitious meals and leaving the dishes for someone else, hiking, running, yoga, climbing mountains, reading books, farmers' markets and her CSA, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, the sound of her daughters' laughter, and coffee Dislikes: running out of milk, New England winters, diaper rash, wastefulness, cell phones at the dinner table