The best thing about cooking locally is that there is always something to look forward to. I remember eating melons every morning when spending the summers at Camp Comfort (my grandmother’s home on the Withlachoochee River). Melon and ham would have been far too sophisticated for those days (paired with burnt toast and bacon!) – but it is a wonderful treat I’ve learned to appreciate and look forward to.

I bought Smithfield Country Ham sliced very thin at The Fresh Market. It was the only place in town that would cut it that thin – and this was  less-expensive trick (everyone thought it was proscuitto). I actually prefer melon with country ham because it is saltier and dryer than proscuitto. Make this for guests or for yourself while melons are in season – they are all over the Greensboro Curb Market these days.