Photo by Sarah Shatz

When we asked for your best ideas for watermelon, we had no idea how many delicious tips and recipes you had lurking up your sleeves! From a citrusy watermelon martini to mint-flecked watermelon ice cream, we think you'll be inspired by your fellow cooks' creativity. At least one of the concepts below is sure to whet your appetite and ignite your imagination (or better yet, your stove!).

Here are some of your favorite recipes, tips, and techniques for watermelon (in no particular order):

Straw-Worthy

• Blended into perfectly pink, jalapeño-spiked margaritas (agree PrimalaniKitchen and MoonlitFarms via Twitter)
• Juiced and shaken with vodka, limoncello, and lime juice, and then poured into a chilled martini glass rimmed in a mix of sugar and salt (from creativeculinary)
• Puréed and topped with sparkling water for a thirst-quenching agua fresca (from darcyeden)

Soups, Salads, and Snacks

• Blended into a savory chilled gazpacho (from PrimalaniKitchen via Twitter)
• In a cubed salad tossed with lime juice, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper, and torn fresh mint leaves (agree SolCuisine and LimeAndMint via Twitter)
• Layered with cucumber, feta, and prosciutto and speared with a toothpick (from MoonlitFarms via Twitter)
• Dusted with fennel pollen or toasted, crushed fennel seeds (from hardlikearmour)
• Panfusine prefers her watermelon showered with chat masala -- a blend of dried mango powder, cumin, black salt, coriander, ginger, black pepper, asafoetida, and chile powder.

Cooling Desserts

• Whipped with fresh mint into a refreshing ice cream (from Negi Lola Amador via Facebook)
• In an icy, lime-brightened granita (from darcyeden)
• Formed into a mock cake: freed of the rind, cut into thick wedges, "frosted" with vanilla yogurt, reassembled into a cake shape, and then studded with fresh berries and almond slivers (from 1bets1)

Like these ideas? See more seasonal tips from your fellow cooks: How to Use Cucumbers.