Watermelon - Tomato Salad

With summer here, tomatoes are ripening.   This little yellow heirloom cherry tomato (sun sugar) has been a particularly good producer so far (and a really tasty one).

After spending WAY too much time over the years watching Top Chef and Chopped and seeing them use watermelon in ways I hadn't thought of, I decided to experiment a little (and resort to google).  Turns out watermelon and tomato make an awesome combo.   So, recently I've been making variations of this salad/chutney a lot and pairing it with grilled chicken or steak.

Watermelon-Tomato Salad

• 3 or 4 small to medium heirloom tomatoes cut into chunks (or 7 or 9 halved cherry tomatoes)


• (optional) 1 small English or regular cucumber, peeled,  cut into cubes


• An equal amount of seedless watermelon flesh, cut to the same size as the tomatos and cucumber


• 1 tablespoon (preferably fresh) herb of choice (basil, tarragon, cilantro, or mint)


• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


• 2 tablespoons white balsalmic vinegar


• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine in bowl, toss together, best served cold (so it's quite nice on a hot summer day)

You can add avocado if you want to make it richer and heavier to be a meal on its own.

Star Wars Casting Call

(it's all very vague).

From i09.com:

 Lucasfilm verified casting call for Star Wars: Episode VII has finally leaked. And now we have a vague grasp of just what kind of characters Disney wants to cast in the next Star Wars movie. And it's a very "fit" future.

Bleeding Cool uncovered the first official casting call for Star Wars: Episode VII, and while the general descriptions are fairly vague, we think it's important to note the presence of strong, late-teenaged females.

Late-teen female, independent, good sense of humour, fit.

Young twenty-something male, witty and smart, fit but not traditionally good looking.

A late twentysomething male, fit, handsome and confident.

Seventy-something male, with strong opinions and tough demeanour. Also doesn’t need to be particularly fit.

A second young female, also late teens, tough, smart and fit.

Forty something male, fit, military type.

Thirtysomething male, intellectual. Apparently doesn’t need to be fit.

The Force double confirmed the authenticity of the casting call with Lucasfilm, so this is 100% the real deal. Our heart would soar if the earlier rumors about Episode VII featuring a strong female lead were confirmed by this call. But then again, it's way too early and these descriptions are entirely too vague to be certain, so we'll just be hopeful.

Cool

i09 has a map of the U.S.where the original meaning of the state names have been translated.  It's like something out of GRRMartin or Tolkien.

Examples:



Nebraska: Land of the Shallow Water
Minnesota: Land of The Cloudy River Water
Utah: Land of the Sun
Idaho: Light on the Mountains
Missouri: Land of the People with Dugout Canoes
Alabama: Land of the Thicket Clearers
Indiana: Land of the Flowerland People
Iowa: Land of the Palefaces
Tennessee: Land of the River
Kentucky: Meadowland
Nevada: Snowy Land
Florida: Blooming Land
Michigan: Land of the Big Lake
Mississippi: Land of the Great River
Alaska: Lands Towards Which The Sea Flows


Oddest?
New Mexico: New Navel of the Moon
Illinois: Land of Those Who Speak Normally


Also fun landmarks:
* Sibling Love
* River of the Coffin Makers
* Pit Dweller's Town
* Castle of the Peaceful Ruler
* Men Defenders Town
* Son of Mercygod
* Hair People
* Strait of the Tattooed


and best of in the comments:

The French took the Peoria word for the area, thinking it sounded like their word for monk, making it "Of The Monks." Though actually the Peoria translation was "shitface." Making the actual name "Of The Shitfaces," and the Des Moines River is actually "Shitface River."

There's a similar map for Canada and Britain