Watermelon Salad - 2 ways

Summer means watermelon! I like it...but just plain watermelon gets boring fast. (At least it does to me...) Here are a couple quick and easy ways to bring some extra flavor to fresh watermelon.

Watermelon with Feta & Seeds/Nuts

Ingredients
4 C watermelon, small diced
½ C crumbled feta
¼ C sunflower seeds*
3 C torn/chopped lettuce

Optional: lemon poppyseed vinaigrette

* Walnuts are often used here, but I'm allergic. Sunflower seeds are great, but I've also used toasted pine nuts. Walnuts or another nut will do -- anything that adds a crunch and a little nutty-umami flavor.

Directions
Make a bed of the lettuce on serving dishes (or one large platter). If desired, gently toss diced watermelon with vinaigrette. (It adds extra zing for sure, but with the feta and seeds, this salad is delicious without any dressing!) Scoop diced watermelon onto bed of lettuce; top with feta and sunflower seeds.

Watermelon with Lime Dressing

Ingredients
4 C watermelon, small diced
1 lime
¼ C sugar

Directions
Zest the lime, then juice it. Place lime juice, about half the zest, sugar, and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat but continue boiling until liquid is thickened and reduced about ¼ cup. Let cool.

Gently toss watermelon in lime dressing. Divide into serving dishes (or serve from one large bowl); garnish with remaining zest.

Sea Glass Candy

Heading to Lincoln City on the Oregon Coast for a family vacation...so, just for fun, I made some "sea glass candy" to take for everyone to share.

Ingredients
2 C sugar
¾ C water
½ C light corn syrup
1-2 tsp flavored extract*
few drops food coloring, if desired
2-3 T powdered sugar

* I used mint in my green candy, and raspberry in the blue...but any flavor will work.

Directions
Combine the sugar, water and corn syrup in a saucepan; heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, to 300° F. While it's heating line a baking sheet (or pizza pan or 9x13" baking pan) with parchment, lightly coat with non-sick cooking spray.

When sugar, water and corn syrup reach 300° F, remove from heat. Working quickly while candy is still very liquid, add flavor and color -- carefully, it may spatter a bit as the candy syrup is so hot. Stir to incorporate. Pour onto prepared pan. Let cool completely (15-20 minutes).

Use a clean meat mallet to crack the cooled candy into bite sized pieces (or gently drop it on the counter). Place powdered sugar in plastic bag and gently toss candy pieces to coat. Rub off excess sugar.

Bread Pudding ...with berries

The original recipe called for blueberries, but acknowledged other berries or chopped fruit would work; without berries you'd have a perfectly good plain/basic bread pudding recipe -- which, honestly, I might prefer; but I had blueberries I wanted to use up, so this was perfect! My first choice would be blackberries. Raisins are the most traditional. Use what appeals to you...or whatever you have on hand!

Ingredients
6 C cubed bread*
1½ C whole milk
¼ C butter
1 C sugar
¼ t salt
5 eggs
1 T vanilla extract
½ t cinnamon
Optional:  2 C fresh berries or chopped fruit; turbinado or other coarse sugar

* Any bread will do, but if you have brioche or french bread or even croissants it's a bonus!

Directions
Preheat oven to 325° F.

Lightly coat a 2 qt casserole dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
Place cubed bread in baking dish.

Heat milk, butter, sugar and salt in saucepan just until butter melts and sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly. (Or temper in the egg mixture...)

In a separate bowl, beat eggs with vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk in milk mixture. Pour over cubed bread and let stand 12-15 minutes. Gently fold in berries (if desired), turning bread in baking dish so all cubes are soaked. Top, if desired, with coarse sugar.

Bake 45-50 minutes until golden brown on top and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Delicious as is, or...serve with blueberry syrup or crème Anglaise.

Easy Peach Hand Pies (or..."Peach Pie-lets")

My friend Teresa has asked me (...'encouraged me') more than once when I am going to start teaching cooking classes. I think she just wants to get more experience and learn some new recipes and tips! :) (Besides...though it could be fun to teach cooking classes occasionally, I already have a full time job, and a second part-time -- VERY part-time -- side hustle. I don't need a 3rd job!) Last time she mentioned it, I invited her out to bake and told her we'd call it a "pilot" class. She's been experimenting with baking pies; we decided try a hand-pie recipe and call it our "pie-let pilot" baking day! 

We used a Cooking Light recipe as a guide. It called for store bought dough, but I had some of my own in the freezer -- whole wheat even, which is what was recommended. Whole wheat is not as pliable, however, and produced more cracks in these folded over half-moon pies. I'd play with the recipe or use less whole wheat. And the fruit-to-crust ratio is slight on the fruit side, in my opinion. That's probably inevitable with this style and size, but again, this was our first try with "pie-let" hand pies.

Teresa had saved something on Pinterest that showed glazed pies...so I whipped up some powdered sugar vanilla glaze we drizzled over our pies to dress them up a bit (and hide some of the cracks). Fun day! :)

Ingredients (for 8 hand pies)
1 9-inch frozen whole wheat piecrust, thawed*
¾ C chopped peaches
3 T light brown sugar
1 T unslated butter
¼ t ground cinnamon
1 egg
turbinado or other coarse sugar

* I used my own dough, made with this recipe but using 2 C whole wheat and 1 C all purpose flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F.

Peel, pit and chop peaches. In a medium bowl, mix chopped peaches with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon.

Roll out pie dough; use a 4" round cookie cutter to cut circles; gather scraps and re-roll as needed to cut 8 circles. (Or...divide dough into 8 equal portions; roll each into a 4" circle.)

Spoon about a tablespoon of chopped peach mixture onto each dough circle. Moisten dough edges with water; fold circle in half over peach mixture. crimpe edges with a fork to seal securely.

Place pies on parchment lined baking sheets. Pierce with a fork (or make a small slit with a sharp knife).

Beat egg in a small bowl; brush on pies. Sprinkle generously wiht coarse sugar.

Bake at 400° F until golden brown (about 14 minutes). Let cool slightly before serving...or glazing.

Simple Powdered Sugar Glaze: ½ C powdered sugar, pinch salt, ½ t vanilla and just enough milk to achieve a drizzling consistency.