What do you do with watermelon Rinds?

Recently I got one of those personal size watermelons, organic, of course, and had plans to make watermelon rind pickles with the non-red part of the fruit. Much to my diasappointment, the rinds were quite thin, so the pickles were out of the question. There WAS a thin rind to the watermelon, however, so I decided to make SOMETHING out of it. After much searching online, I saw some other recipes besides pickles, one of which was relish. I decided to try it, but make it a lacto fermented relish and changed some of the ingredients. It came out fabulous!

This is how I made it: I peeled the green exterior off of the rinds and chopped them into 1 " or so squares.

 Next I pureed the rinds in a food processor, till they were a little chunky, but pretty mushy.

Next, I pureed the rest of the ingredients, except for the whey, in the food processor. The recipe is below. I mixed the watermelon, other ingredients and the whey together into a large glass jar and let ferment for 3 days, after which it is stored in the fridge. My bf couldn't believe this tasty relish was made with watermelon rinds!

My boyfriend likes peanut butter; I like the glass jars. I make him buy the big ones. I don't like plastic containers with their BPA and dioxins if you freeze or heat them, I do not like them one little bit.

Recipe:

3 1/2 cups water melon rind, peeled and chopped into @ 1" pieces

1/2 red pepper

1 medium onion

1/4 raisins

2 tbsp. sea salt

1 clove garlic

1 tsp. mustard seed

1 tsp. turmeric

1 small hot pepper (optional)

4 tbsp. whey

Rose Coconut Chicken

This chicken recipe was inspired by a hot chocolate I had in Asheville, NC. It actually doesn't taste like it at all, but that's where I got the idea for the ingredients. Don't be put off by the idea of roses in your chicken! The rose and coconut gives the chicken a sweet flavor without much of a rose taste, although I love the taste of roses, personally. For best results, use a free-range, organic chicken that is fresh, so that you can marinate it for a couple days in the sauce. When you're ready to cook the chicken, save the marinade sauce to make rice with, substituting it for the water. Delish.

Rose Coconut Chicken

1 cup chopped rose petals
1 whole free-range, organic chicken cut into parts
1 cup hot water
3 cardamom pods, crushed
1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
dash salt
1 can coconut milk
1/4 cup fresh whey or yoghurt
1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Soak the rose petals in the hot water for a few minutes to steep. Pour into baking dish or other container to marinate. Add chicken. I use either a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle to grind the spices, then add to dish. Add salt and coconut milk and whey or yoghurt. Mix all ingredients together well; I poke the chicken in several places with a knife, so that the marinade seeps in. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for a couple days. When you're ready to cook it, drain off the marinade, saving it to use to cook rice. Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top and cook chicken in 350* oven for about an hour, check that chicken has cooked through, or for more tender chicken, if you have the time, cook at 275* for 2 to 3 hours or until done.