Booked by the Cover - Where the Watermelons Grow
Welcome to the Book by the Cover Blog(cast), a spin on a podcast I'm currently able to record again! Please look forward to new podcasts this month-find the older ones on YouTube.
Today's book is: Where the Watermelons Grow by Cindy Baldwin.
[ This book was searched for online-not in a local bookstore or library-because of the Watermelon Festival in Richmond, VA. It is on Sunday, August 10th this year. ]
The cover of this book blends the red to white to green color scheme of watermelon within a sky-laden landscape view. The teardrop-shaped seeds make the cover look more like a slice of watermelon than a snapshot of the great outdoors. On the green skin/grassy ground, stands a person and their shadow. From what I can see, the person is a young woman. She is paired with her shadow. Both are running through an open field. She is tiny compared to the cover and placed in the bottom left corner with a white shirt and light blue shorts. Her feet frolic through the tall green grass.
Text on the cover includes the author's name and the title. They house a mix of capitalized words and words in all caps. The whimsical font still maintains a sense of structure. Words in the title are large and stacked close to each other. The t in watermelon underlines the word the; both words are highlighted without either needing to compete for emphasis. The same wavy whimsy of the font is found in the horizon line. Also wavy, is a caption next to the lady. The text states: Sometimes magic is found where you least expect it. The lady, running in the opposite direction, provides a sense of mystery and playfulness.
We'll find travel bookings, first to capture the essence of the lady running freely through the field.
Turf Racing for horses-not humans, is an option. Foxfield Races near Charlottesville, VA has what they call steeplechase races on grass-another way of describing turf racing. Additionally, Foxfield Races sponsors an annual Women's Four Miler race. This year the women's race is on August 30th. Details and registration for the women's race and spring and fall equestrian races are available online.
Charlottesville is the present tour location while writing this post. Richmond is very close-reminding me of the Watermelon Festival this weekend and a new watermelon pie recipe I'd like to share. I've only made it twice. It's a new recipe, so please take it with a grain of *sugar*. Please leave a comment with thoughts about the recipe if you have the time.
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INGREDIENTS:
ripe watermelon, crust (butter and flour); optional: fresh berries, whipped cream/Coolwhip
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Slice up watermelon so the "chunks" are like small, thin irregular tiles of slate instead of cubes of cheese. Use just the red meat of the fruit. Be sure not to include any rind. (There is no need to remove the seeds. After cooking, seeds add texture and are a nice surprise.)
2. Drain any excess watermelon juice. Do not crush the watermelon slices; there will be some remaining juice. Over medium-low heat, cook the watermelon until the remaining juice creates a dark syrup. Stir occasionally. ( You may add as much sweetener as you like, but I suggest trying the finished pie without any added sweetener first. )
3. While the watermelon is cooking down, prepare the pie crust. I highly suggest making your own. Take a stick of butter or butter-flavored butter substitute. I love the taste, look, and texture of a thick crust with Blue Bonnet and all purpose flour. Melt a stick of your choice of butter and mix it with about 1.5 - 2 cups of flour. In the end, the dough should not be dry or sticky-but instead moist, golden, and feel like play dough.
4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
5. Let the watermelon filling cool.
6. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin or anything you have that'll work like one until it is about 1 - 1.5 centimeters thick. There should be enough to line the bottom and sides of a regular or deep pie pan with extra around the edges to trim off. There is no need to let the dough rest or proof. Carefully place the rolled-out crust into the pan and trim off the extra. For best results when trimming the crust, use a sharp or serrated knife.
7. Place the crusted pan (without filling) into the fully-heated oven for 5 minutes.
8. Remove the crust from the oven and immediately pour the filling into the crust.
9. Bake the pie for 15 minutes on the lowest rack then remove and cool. The pie can be served warm or cold. Feel welcome to cool it in the refrigerator after it comes to room temperature.
10. Shortly before enjoying, top the cooled pie with whipped cream or Coolwhip and fresh berries.
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Now let's return to the itinerary by focusing on the caption: Sometimes magic is found where you least expect it.
An article titled "Hidden Gems in the US that are Straight out of a Fairy-tale" and posted at goanniewhere.com, lists Storybook Castles in Fairhope, Alabama. It has various magical castles of different sizes to tour and rent. According to the site, Storybook Castles is working on adding more pictures to their picture gallery. One example, a castle made of cobblestone, is absolutely regal. The mystery of the missing photos adds to the magical-ness. And for the watermelon-ness: the cobblestones are like... seeds. Seeds lead to growth as do cobblestones. Seeds are incubators and stones are building blocks-both holding the purpose and power of growth. What's more magical than that? The fact that this lovely town is near the water-water recreation for the win!
Also nearby-in Fairhope-is McKenzie Farm Market. McKenzie produces watermelons and other fruits and vegetables. They also sell produce from other local farmers. To add more to the watermelon theme, the location has a red building, luscious green grass, and a very light hue of concrete that's almost white.
That's it for this watermelon-focused take on the cover of Where the Watermelons Grow.
Start with a run out in nature in central Virginia. Read the book on your way to Southern Alabama. Stay in your rented magical castle where you'll maybe bake a watermelon pie with fruit from a local market. And, perhaps, find a way to enjoy the body of water out there.
Please take care and do reach out for help planning added travel, study, and right bookings to your excursions.
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