A Little Slice of Summertime
Published June 2, 2020
It was a watermelon everything kinda weekend! The pool is open, and the kids are enjoying some sunshine and time together outside. Summer is officially in full swing. Grilling hot dogs and hamburgers gets old quick, though. So, it was time to get creative to keep the kids (and adults) fed, hydrated and entertained.
Watermelon Water – The perfect refreshing drink to serve on a hot sun-filled day. This is summer staple in our house. It’s delicious, healthy and incredibly easy to make. I enjoy it so much that I decided to incorporate it in a couple of the recipes noted below.
Seedless Watermelon
Spring Water
Ice
Use a large 90oz+ pitcher and fill the bottom with 4-5 cups of cubed watermelon. Top with about a half-gallon chilled spring water and set in the fridge for an hour or two. The longer the better. Serve over ice in a fun plastic margarita glass with pink paper straw. For larger gatherings, I use a 3-gallon clear plastic beverage dispenser and fill the bottom 4 inches with watermelon cubes and top with chilled spring water.
Watermelon Cocktail – Omit the vodka for a kid friendly version, which has been kid tested and approved!
1 ½ Cups Watermelon Water (recipe above)
12 oz Can Frozen Lemonade
5 Cups Seedless Watermelon Cubed
1 – 1 ½ Cups Vodka
Ice
Mint
Watermelon Slices
Blend watermelon water, frozen lemonade and watermelon in a blender until well blended. Finely strain into a pitcher half full of ice. Add vodka to taste (about 1 – 1 ½ cups) and stir well. Pour into ice filled glasses and garnish with a sprig of mint and watermelon slice.
Watermelon Jell-O Shots – Omit the vodka for a kid friendly version.
There are a lot of watermelon looking Jello-O shot recipes out there, but most of them use a strawberry puree base. I wanted my shots to be bursting with watermelon flavor and color to go with the watermelon themed weekend by the pool I had planned for the family. So, I decided to create my own recipe by adding watermelon infused water and pureed watermelon to a watermelon flavored Jell-O mix. You will be hard pressed to find watermelon Jell-O in the local supermarkets. But, you can find it here on Amazon.
3oz Watermelon Jell-O
1 Cup Less 3 TBL Hot Watermelon Water (recipe above – microwaved for 1 min 25 seconds)
½ Cup Vodka (or replace with ½ Cup Cold Watermelon Water)
1 tsp Extra Fine Sugar
1 Cup Cubed Seedless Watermelon
5 Limes
Black Sesame Seeds (optional)
In a small bowl mix Jell-O with Hot Watermelon Water. Mix until dissolved. Add to a blender along with vodka (or watermelon water for the kid friendly version), extra fine sugar (to balance out the sour rinds) and cubed watermelon. Mix until well blended. Finely strain into a medium bowl.
While Jell-O begins to settle, place in fridge to cool. Cut limes in half lengthwise and run a paring knife between lime flesh and rind. Turn the limes inside out and peel the lime flesh out. Use a paring knife to further peel and remove the pith from the rind to ensure the Jell-O will adhere to the rind when set. Return to its original shape, right side in, and place each half in a muffin tin.
Remove Jell-O mix from fridge and remove any foam at the top with a large spoon. Carefully pour into the lime halves and return to fridge until set and firm, about 3 hours.
Remove from fridge, place limes flat side up on cutting board. Carefully cut in half with a large sharp knife to make a wedge shape.
Sprinkle with black sesame seeds, if desired, for a true seeded look.
Summer Steak Salad – Once you make your own homemade dressing you will never go back to store bought dressing again. Not only is it better for you, it is so much more flavorful and fun to experiment with. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the base to every dressing that comes out of my kitchen. I then add complementary ingredients, from fresh squeezed orange juice to pureed pears, and, in this case, lemon juice to add a touch a brightness in flavor.
Flank Steak
Seedless Watermelon Cubed
Spring Greens or Arugula
¼ Small Red Onion Finely Chopped
½ Cup Crumbled Feta
½ Cup Herbed Croutons
2 TBL Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp Ancho Chili Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Kosher Salt
¼ tsp Ground Pepper
¾ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
¼ Cup Balsamic Vinegar
½ tsp Lemon Juice
½ tsp Sugar
Set the grill on med-high heat. Mix Brown Sugar, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, Kosher Salt and Pepper in small bowl and rub all over Steak. Grill 5 minutes each side and let rest 5 minutes. While steak is resting, whisk together Olive Oil, Balsamic, Lemon Juice and Sugar. Plate Watermelon Cubes. Slice Steak and plate next to watermelon. Quickly toss salad greens in dressing, shaking off excess dressing. Place on top of steak and watermelon and top with red onion, croutons and feta. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Watermelon Cake - This Watermelon and Lime Curd cake looked too delicious not to make, and it went perfectly with our summer infused weekend. I used a cake decorating turn table I had on hand to ensure an easy frosting experience as well as an icing smoother to create smooth side edges. I decided to leave an organic top edge as I didn't have time to fuss too much. Michael's Crafts carries a Wilton Icing Color pack of 8 colors. I mixed the red, orange and pink until I had the desired shade of Watermelon and used the leaf green color for the light and dark stripes to resemble the peel. I keep a stack of these very affordable piping bags on hand for all my icing needs. The lime juice from the limes used for the Watermelon Jell-O Shots did not go to waste, and was used to make the homemade lime curd filling that was layered between each cake and frosting layer, adding an unexpected delicious contrast of flavor. This recipe is a keeper! I might even experiment altering the flavors to create an orange flavored cake. Stay tuned....
Enjoy!
Renée Meuse Lovley