Browsing Tag:

watermelon

Appetizers/ ColdApp/ Salads

Avocado Melon Salsa

Love those summer melons!

I came across this recipe when I was looking for a side dish for some Mahi Mahi my husband caught back in June. (His fisherman’s tale to come soon.)

I turned to the internet and with just a few seconds came up with this from Epicurous’ website. I love cantaloupe, especially in the summer when smell of the fresh melons catch you when passing them in the market; and there’s nothing better than a juicy sweet watermelon.

You have probably made mango salsa many times and if you have tried a fruit salsa with cinnamon tortilla chips, that should be on your list of easy summer sweet endings to your meal. I’ve never really thought of using watermelon or cantaloupe in a salsa but why not; and I think avocado goes well with any fruit salsas. At first I was going to just try the cantaloupe but I had some beautiful watermelon left from the 4th so I thought the more the merrier and decided to use both the melons in this fruity salsa.

This Salsa makes a great side dish with fish or just about anything you might want to do on the grill. I mentioned fruit salsa above and I think this salsa would also be good with a bowlful of chips, but maybe a salty tortilla chips because who doesn’t salt their melons?

Hope you enjoy this.

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Salads

Orange, Avocado, and Watermelon Salad

Cool and refreshing to go with my b-b-q ribs!

I was laying in bed this morning thinking about the baby back ribs my husband was going to smoke tonight. I knew they would be delicious because he does the best bar-b-q around. I think my dad taught him well and over the years my husband has put his own spin on smoking/grilling by using all sorts of different woods to get a great smoke flavor to his meats.

So, on with the story. I was trying to come up with a salad that would be cool and refreshing to go along with his hot and spicy ribs. I was thinking about a watermelon that our neighbor, Anne, just gave us and what might go with that to make a delicious salad. Watermelon, orange, maybe some red onions, avocado and some toasted pine nuts. I thought about putting this on a bed of baby spinach for extra color. And, for the dressing, you can’t go wrong with balsamic, maybe a little lime juice and cilantro, shallot, some olive oil and perhaps toss in a little cumin to add a touch of spice to the salad to compliment the ribs.

I remember years ago when we would go to Florida for summer vacations, my grandfather would pull over at local farm stands to buy some produce. Whether it be watermelon, oranges, or peaches, he always wanted to taste the fruit before buying it. Of course, we only bought the ripest and most flavorful fruits. Wonder, why we aren’t allowed to taste our produce in the grocery stores?  Guess they only sample the things they know are tasty OR we wouldn’t be buying all the hard, tasteless fruits and vegetables we get at certain times of the year.

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Dessert/ Ice Cream

Watermelon Basil Mint Sorbet

Beautiful and delicious!

I promised this recipe to go with the Watermelon Cookies I posted yesterday. I didn’t think there was a better way to eat watermelon than with a fork and a salt shaker, but this Watermelon Basil Sorbet takes the prize.

A friend of mine recently made a lemon sorbet that used simple syrup that had been infused with basil and mint. I have made my watermelon sorbet a few times this summer and it is really yummy, but this time I decided to try adding the mint and fresh basil to my simple syrup and it resulted in an even more delicious sorbet.

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I made this last night when our neighbors came over for dinner. We had brined bbq pork chops, a corn, avocado, and cucumber salad, homemade onion rings and to top it off this Watermelon Sorbet with the watermelon cookies.

I used about half a large watermelon. What was leftover I froze to use in watermelon mojitos which I had over the 4th of July and they were fantastic.

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You will need 8 cups cubed watermelon. Cube the watermelon, removing the seeds. Put the watermelon in your food processor and puree.

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To make the simple syrup I used 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Bring this to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and add 24 fresh basil leaves and 12 mint leaves. Let the leaves infuse for 3-4 minutes then strain and pour your simple syrup into a jar and refrigerate until needed.

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You are going to add some lemon juice (2 tablespoons) and 1 cup of the simple syrup.

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Pour this into your ice cream maker and freeze until firm. Pour into freezer container and freeze until ready to serve. Do not make this a day ahead as it may get too hard. I usually make it about 4-5 hours ahead of serving time. If you have the Cuisinart ice cream freezer that is 1 1/2 quarts, you may not be able to use all the mixture. I usually have about 2 cups left over that I can do another small batch.

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Now serve this with some of those watermelon cookies and you have a refreshing summer dessert.

Watermelon Basil Mint Sorbet

Ingredients

  • 8 cups of cubed watermelon
  • 1 cup basil/mint infused simple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Basil/Mint Infused Simple Syrup

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 24 basil leaves
  • 12 mint leaves

Instructions

  1. Cube the watermelon and remove all seeds. Put this in your food processor and puree until you have no chunks. Add the 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and 1 cup of the basil/mint infused simple syrup. Pour this mixture into your ice cream freezer and freeze until thick. Pour into freezer containers and freeze 4-5 hours before serving. I would not do this a day in advance because it gets too firm. I like to do mine in the afternoon and serve it the same night.
  2. For the simple syrup: Put the sugar and water in saucepan and bring to boil, turn down and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Turn off the heat and add the basil and mint leaves. Let them set in syrup for 3-4 minutes, then strain and put in jar and refrigerate until needed.

Cookies/Bars

Watermelon Cookie

Watermelon memories…

Another one of those memories from the past,  and this one is about watermelons. I told my husband as I was making the cookies and writing this blog that one of the many good thing about getting older is that I have all these memories I have associated with food stories.

Back when I was in high school, my husband, then boyfriend, and I went on a date to a watermelon festival in Hornersville, Missouri. I remember eating lots of watermelon, but what I remember most was hearing Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs at an outdoor concert singing “Wooly Bully”. That same weekend we went to a club called Batman a-go-go. We won our first dance contest there. Actually, it was the only dance contest we ever won.

I am making a watermelon sorbet tomorrow to go with these cookies. Can’t wait for you to try them together.

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Doesn’t this dough look bright and watermellony. I used a red food paste that I had in my pantry. This isn’t the grocery store variety. You will never get very deep colors unless you have color paste. You know no matter how hard I try to not get the food coloring on my hands, I always end up with it smeared somewhere.

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Roll about 1/8-1/4″ thick and cut out with 3″ cookie cutter, then cut in half.

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Put these on ungreased cookie sheet or use a silpat like I did above.

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Cool on rack.

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Take the cooled cookies and dip the edge in the green frosting so you have a watermelon rind on the edge your cookie.

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Let these dry on rack. Don’t use the wax paper like I did because it keeps them from drying as well. Put the paper under the rack to catch drippings.

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Watermelon Cookies

Ingredients

  • 1/3 c. butter softened
  • 1/3 c. shortening
  • 3/4 c. sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp. milk
  • 2 c. flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • red paste food coloring
  • mini chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. water or more for thinning
  • green paste food coloring

Instructions

  1. Beat butter and shortening in a mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Stir in egg, milk, and vanilla.
  2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture mixing well. Add a small amount of red food coloring to color dough as desired, beating until blended. Shape dough into a ball; cover and chill at least 3 hours.
  3. Divide dough in half; store one portion in refrigerator. Roll remaining portion to 1/4″ thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough with a 3″ round cookie cutter; cut circle in half. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet or use Silpat on cookie sheet.
  4. Press several chocolate mini morsels in each cookie. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake at 375° for 8 to 10 minutes (do not brown). Cool on wire racks. Combine powdered sugar and water, mixing until smooth. Add a small amount of green food coloring, mixing until blended. Dip round edge of each cookie in green frosting, and place on wax paper until frosting is firm. Yield 3 dozen.

Recipe Notes

Beat butter and shortening in a mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Stir in egg, milk, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture mixing well. Add a small amount of red food coloring to color dough as desired, beating until blended. Shape dough into a ball; cover and chill at least 3 hours. Divide dough in half; store one portion in refrigerator. Roll remaining portion to 1/4″ thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough with a 3″ round cookie cutter; cut circle in half. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet or use Silpat on cookie sheet. Press several chocolate mini morsels in each cookie. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake at 375° for 8 to 10 minutes (do not brown). Cool on wire racks. Combine powdered sugar and water, mixing until smooth. Add a small amount of green food coloring, mixing until blended. Dip round edge of each cookie in green frosting, and place on wax paper until frosting is firm. Yield 3 dozen.