Watermelon Sherbet

Watermelon sherbet

My babysitter left us an enormous watermelon in our refrigerator the other day. Huge. Even with my four watermelon-loving children, there is no way that we can eat all of that in a timely fashion. Our sitter also expressed a slight concern that this watermelon wasn't as sweet as she likes it - perhaps it wasn't ripe enough. I assured her that we could experiment a little bit and make good use of this monster fruit.

As I was cutting up the watermelon into large chunks to fend off my hot and hungry children, I immediately thought that watermelon ice cream would probably be really refreshing. I handed the kiddos a big bowl of watermelon and immediately set about trying to make some ice cream. Unfortunately, I took a quick glance in the fridge and realized that I had no eggs. No eggs, no ice cream. Although I haven't made sherbet yet, I had heard that making sherbet is just like making ice cream except that you don't use eggs. And so the experiment began...





Ingredients:

About 4 cups of watermelon chunks

3 to 4 cups of watermelon chunks
1 pint half and half (I had Organic Valley half and half in the fridge)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk



Directions: 

Q straining the watermelon puree

Using about 1 to 2 cups at a time, puree the watermelon chunks in your blender for about 15 seconds until there is beautiful pink watermelon juice. Strain the juice through a sieve. It took less than 4 cups of watermelon chunks to get about 2 cups of strained watermelon juice.

Combine the half and half, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk in a saucepan. Heat it gently over medium heat. Almost bring it to a boil, remove from heat, and gradually add the watermelon juice.


Put the saucepan back over medium heat. Bring it almost to a boil, stir well, for about 3 to 4 minutes.

Let the mixture chill for a few hours - we let it chill overnight - and then put it into your favorite ice cream maker. I always like to let the freshly churned ice cream set in the freezer for a bit before I serve it. For this project, we used our LL Bean ice cream ball as well as our simple electric Cuisinart ice cream maker. The results from both were delicious!

A sherbet is a little less creamy than an ice cream although I didn't find it too "icy" or hard to scoop. In fact, making an egg-less custard was so easy that I felt like I was doing something wrong. The kids could not believe how much this actually tasted like watermelon!! The perfect treat for these hot, hot days.

Turkey Chili

Turkey Chili

Chili is a great example of simple and easy food that is gluten free without even trying. For this chili, I used ground white turkey meat from our local Earth Fare, some beans and diced tomatoes, and a handful of chopped peppers and onions from our garden.  The secret ingredient for this chili was the Chili 3000 spice blend from Penzey's Spices! My friend recently brought me this as a gift and I've been waiting to test it out.  The Penzeys website suggests 1 tablespoon per quart of chili - I went with 2 tablespoons or so.

When I am making chili, I always season the meat that I am precooking because it gives the chili so much more flavor as it simmers all day.

Ingredients: 

About a pound of ground white turkey
2 cans beans, drained (I used pinto beans)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1 or 2 small peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons Chili 3000 seasoning (or a combo of chili powder, cumin, and cayenne)

Directions: 

Seasoned turkey meat ready to brown

1. Season the turkey meat and brown it well.

2. Combine the browned turkey, beans, tomatoes, onions, and peppers in a crockpot.

3. Cook on low for about 4 or 5 hours. 

Serving the Chili: 

My kids love any meal that they can decorate! For fun, I set out a bowl of frozen peas, diced onions, and shredded cheese so they could serve themselves some "toppings!" Chili works really well as a party meal for kids or adults - get creative, make 1 or 2 chilis and set out an array of toppings. Enjoy! 

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Black bean and corn salsa ... a few key ingredients

This simple appetizer will be a huge hit at summer barbecues and picnics. The simple combination of a few canned ingredients that you probably have on hand in your pantry plus a few fresh local veggies and herbs will create a super tasty treat for all!

Ingredients: 

1 can black beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles
3 or 4 cloves garlic, mashed with a little bit of kosher salt to make a slight paste
3 or 4 scallions, chopped
Handful of fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
Sprinkle of salt to taste

Directions: 
Combine all the ingredients in one large bowl - I used the same size cans for all three main ingredients - about 14 ounces. Gently stir to combine. Taste. Add a little bit of salt if necessary. Serve with tortilla chips! So easy!

Steamed Lobsters in a Turkey Deep Fryer

Rory's first lobster ... a local one, of course!

My parents own a turkey deep fryer but they really would never even consider using it to actually fry a turkey. They purchased a turkey deep fryer for steaming lobsters, of course. We converted to this style of lobster steaming a few years ago once my children actually started eating their fair share of this delicious shellfish and there were simply too many lobsters to steam on the stovetop.  We can fit about 10 to 12 lobsters at once into this "steamer."

The "lobster steamer"

Many, many years ago, we used to boil lobsters but the flavor of steamed lobsters is actually much tastier and it is harder to overcook. Whether you are using a turkey deep fryer or a big pot on your stove, you only need about 2 inches of water to steam the lobsters. You can add some sea salt if you wish. Bring the water to a boil, add the lobsters head first into the boiling water. Once all the lobsters are in, bring the water back to a boil, cover and steam for about 14 to 15 minutes. Your lobsters should be bright red when they are done. Carefully remove the very hot lobsters from your pot using tongs and place on serving trays - the lobsters will continue to cook a little bit after you have removed them from the pot. (If you are only cooking one or two small lobsters you will need a little bit less time - more like 8 - 10 minutes.)

My dad ... the chef

Steaming lobsters is really an easy endeavor. Cracking them open to eat them can be a little more of a challenge, but practice makes perfect so eat up! 

Lobster tips: Lobsters need to be alive when they are cooked! If you are selecting lobsters from the lobster pound, look for feisty ones. There is no need to take off the rubber bands around the lobster claws unless you would like to get pinched. If you need to keep your lobsters for a little while before you cook them, keep them in paper bags in the bottom of your refrigerator.

My kids are crazy about lobstah!

When you serve your lobsters at home, it might be helpful to have a large plate for preparing your lobster - watch out for the water that might come out when you start to crack it open - and a smaller plate for actually eating your lobster. A large "discard" bucket for shells and such in the middle of the table also helps keep the mess to a minimum.

We keep our lobster meals very simple - melted butter is a must-have but you don't need to get too fancy with the side dishes. Potato chips, fresh corn on the cob, or potato salad all go very well and don't require much preparation.

Cod with Kale and Tomatoes

Cod with Kale and Tomatoes

My parents enjoy buying local produce just as much as I do, so while visiting them up in Massachusetts, I had to check out the Scituate Farmers Market because it is within walking distance of their house! How lucky! There was no farmers market down the street when I was growing up so it made me thrilled to see about a dozen or so tents set up on a hot Wednesday afternoon. Since the kiddos and I made an impromptu stop there at the end of a very long day out and about in the hot summer heat, I first spent 6 of the 20 dollars I had in my pocket on frozen Del's lemonade. Delicious. Happy kids meant mama could check out all the stalls. Happy kids also meant that mama had 6 fewer dollars to spend on produce. (There's always next week...)

The curly kale ... delicious raw or cooked

With my limited dollars I purchased some amazing hummus that barely made it back up the street before being devoured and I also managed to bring home some beautiful produce from the fabulous farm stand of Sweet Georgia P's - an organic farm located right down the street here in Scituate. Wearing one mildly fussy baby, trailed by three small children slurping lemonade, I handed over $10 and asked to get whatever amount of kale and tomatoes that could buy. I was instantly rewarded with a gorgeous bunch of kale and two enormous tomatoes and we promptly headed home.

The original recipe

One of the perks of visiting my parents is that my dad is a fantastic cook! I laid out the kale and tomatoes on the counter and politely asked if he would make some of his world-famous cod simmered with tomatoes and, just for fun, let's add this beautiful kale. He instantly agreed. My dad is the kind of cook that likes to follow recipes word-for-word every single time he makes something and, if he alters the recipe in any way, he instantly takes a pen from his pocket and notes it right on the card. How I wish I had such discipline! This recipe is a slight variation from a recipe he tore out of a newspaper years ago - either from the Patriot Ledger or the Boston Globe - there is no date on the recipe or any other markings that might give us a little clue as to its true origin. With that in mind, consider the photo my attribution. My dad changed up a few ingredients and roughly doubles the recipe every time so that it feeds about 6 people.

Ingredients: 

2 cups rice, prepared

2 lbs. cod, cut into about 6 to 8 pieces
A few tablespoons olive oil
2 vidalia onions, chopped
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes, do not drain
2 teaspoons sugar
Crushed red pepper flakes - 3 to 5 shakes
1 bunch of kale, leaves stripped from the stems, chopped if you wish

Directions: 

1. Salt and pepper the cod. Set aside.
2. Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the onion first because it needs to cook a little bit longer.
3. Add the diced tomatoes, sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
4. Gently place the piece of cod on top of the tomatoes. Spoon a little bit of tomato over the top of the cod and cover. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until the fish is white.
5. Remove the cover and place the kale over the top of the fish. Don't stir or it will break up the fish. Put the cover back on and let the whole dish cook for about another three to five minutes until the kale has wilted.
6. Gently spoon the fish and the delicious tomato sauce with kale over a bed of rice. Enjoy!