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Don’t Go in the Water(Melon)! Make Your Own Watermelon Shark Fruit Salad

It’s July 4th weekend. That means lots of cookouts, parties and barbecues and lots of eating, hanging out with friends and family and fun. The last thing you want to do is cook in the hot kitchen while everyone else is out having fun in the sun. As long as your cooking everything outside you want your desserts to be just as easy for you to put together. Sure you can make or buy some pies, get some ice cream (or make your own) or have a big batch of cookies, but one of my favorite things to do when the weather is warm like this is to make a nice fruit salad. There are so many great fruits that you can use that are in season right now that you can get the chance to put something really great together. If you really want to wow everyone this year, skip the fruit cocktail in a can or jar or the prepackaged fruit tray from the grocery store with the unripe melon and do it yourself. As long as you are doing it yourself, have some summer fun and make this great watermelon shark fruit salad too from Tasting Table.

Watermelon Shark Fruit Salad

1 Baby watermelon (about 2-3 pounds)

4 cups watermelon pieces (from the baby watermelon above)

2 cups bite-size mango pieces (2 mangoes)

1 cup melon pieces (cantaloupe, honeydew, casaba, whatever you like)

1 cup sliced kiwi rounds (2 kiwis, peeled)

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup red seedless grapes

1/2 cup fresh pineapple chunks

¼ cup agave nectar

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1½ cups bite-size avocado pieces (2 avocados), optional

½ cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes, optional

⅓ cup toasted and roughly chopped macadamia nuts, optional

Handful of Swedish fish, optional

To make the watermelon shark, take a sharp knife and cut off the wider end of watermelon so it will stand at an angle. Turn the watermelon upright so that it is standing on its base. Draw a half-moon shaped mouth on the watermelon with a marker, beginning at the stem mark as a guideline. Use a sharp paring knife to cut along your outline and remove the watermelon wedge. Save the wedge to use for the fin for the shark. Use a large spoon to scoop out all of the watermelon flesh into a separate bowl. Using a vegetable peeler, peel off about 1-inch of the outer edge of the watermelon skin, exposing the light green flesh underneath. Cut out small triangles in the exposed light green flesh of the watermelon to make the teeth of the shark. Cut a wooden skewer in half and use it to attach the shark fin to the top of the shark. Using toothpicks, take 2 blueberries and attach them to the watermelon for eyes.

To make the fruit salad, in a large serving bowl, combine the watermelon, mango, melon, kiwi, blueberries, grapes and pineapple. Season the fruit with the agave nectar and lime juice, tossing gently to mix. Fold in the avocado pieces, if using. Garnish the salad with the coconut flakes and macadamia nuts. If you are serving the fruit salad in the shark’s head, fill the shark’s head with as much fruit as you can. Place the Swedish fish among the fruit pieces, if using, and serve.

Of course you don’t have to use the shark’s head, but hey, it’s a great centerpiece for the table, looks great and the kids love it. It’s really easy to make and Tasting Table has step by step pictures you can follow in their link. I used a baby watermelon but if you feel ambitious you could certainly use a larger one and the same thing and have much more fruit in it. Use any fruit that everyone really likes so you get a good mix of flavors, but don’t forget to use the agave nectar (or honey if you prefer) and lime juice so you get that added flavor to the fruit. The Swedish fish were just a nice touch at the end.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

A Healthy Start to the Day (and the Week)

09 Jul

Michelle and I both decided that this week we are going to try to eat healthier. No more snacks, cutting back on carbs, more fruits and vegetables all the fun stuff nobody ever really wants to do. What better way to get things started than to have a good breakfast every day. I am really bad about eating in the morning. Normally I only have a cup of coffee and that’s it, but I know that is not the way to go. I decided to try to kill two birds with one stone by having breakfast and having something that will also be good for me and my cholesterol. I had made steel-cut oats before, but I saw a recipe on Saturday by Jamie Deen (Paula’s son) who has his own show on the Food Network now. The recipe looked simple, tasty and would make enough for Michelle and I to both have portions for the entire week.

Steel-Cut Oats with Bananas and Strawberries

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup steel-cut oats

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 ripe banana, sliced

2 cups strawberries, stemmed and sliced

Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the oats and toast, while stirring, until they smell nutty, about 3 minutes. Add 3 cups of water, the milk, brown sugar, and salt. Turn up the heat, bring to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the oats from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Remove the lid and stir in the banana. Cover again and cook for 10 more minutes, stirring on occasion, until the oats are soft and creamy. Stir in the berries right before serving.

Just a couple of quick notes about this recipe. First, I actually cooked the oats for a little longer since both Michelle and I like oatmeal with less liquid. I added about another 5 to 10 minutes to the cooking time. Secondly, you can easily substitute other fruit into this if you don’t want to use bananas or strawberries. Blueberries would be a great alternative or even some diced apple.

Another great breakfast alternative is another recipe from the same episode from Jamie Deen. He made a very good-looking tropical fruit salad. I decided to alter it slightly since neither of us are fans of coconut, so I eliminated that part of the recipe. Of course, if you like coconut, go for it!

Tropical Fruit Salad with Honey and Lime

3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons chiffonade of fresh mint

Zest and juice of 1 lime

2 kiwis, peeled and sliced

1 banana, peeled and sliced on the bias

1 small bunch red grapes

1 mango, peeled, pit removed and chopped

1/2 large pineapple, peeled, cored and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the coconut out on a baking sheet. Toast until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from the baking sheet to a small bowl to cool.

Whisk together the honey, mint, lime zest and lime juice. Add the kiwis, banana, grapes, mango and pineapple and toss, making sure all the fruit is coated with the dressing. Sprinkle with coconut before serving.

Fruit salad is so flexible that you can really do just about anything with it. Any kind of melon at all could be added, you could add some orange slices (I personally prefer mandarin oranges) or apple, or really any seasonal fruit at all will work. Make a cup to have for breakfast and you are all set.

Tomorrow night is going to be some tilapia since I got some fresh to make from the market. I’ll scout around for a good, healthy recipe and see what I can come up with. Check back tomorrow and see what I decide to make. Enjoy the rest of your evening and enjoy your meal!