In today’s Recipes from Around the World, we’ll travel to New Mexico and make Watermelon Agua Fresca for kids.

Good cooks know the word:  Garnish. To decorate something, usually food. In this easy to make Watermelon Agua Fresca for Kids, we will use mint as our garnish.

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup of cold water

6 cups of cubed watermelon

1 lime

1 Tablespoon of Honey (sugar can also be used)

I can of club soda or other sparkling water

Optional Ingredient: Mint Sprigs

TOOLS:

Measuring spoons

Liquid and dry measuring cups

One blender

One citrus juicer

Mixing spoon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Have your adult cut the watermelon into 1- inch slices and remove the rind.

2. Cut the watermelon slices into 2- inch cubes or chunks.

3.Have your adult cut the lime in half.

4.Juice half of the lime and set the juice aside.

5.Have your adult cut the remaining lime into slices.

Add the ½ cup of water, lime juice, honey and watermelon chunks to the blender and blend until smooth.

Add ice to each glass.

Pour the watermelon agua fresca into the glass until it is ¾ full. Add sparkling water to fill the glass.

Garnish with a lime slice and mint sprig.

Makes 6 servings.

PS- Today we are using use mint as an optional ingredient. This means that if you have mint you can add it to the recipe, and if you don’t have mint you can leave it out of the recipe without ruining the drink.

Mint is fun and easy to grow in your garden. Make sure you plant your mint in a pot because it is a very bossy plant and will take over your entire yard if you are not careful!

Top of the Morning to You on St. Patrick’s Day!

Today my friend Finnegan and I are sharing the recipe for Golden Carrot Coins

GOLDEN CARROT COINS

Good cooks know the word: Roast

To use dry heat and hot air, often from an oven or open fire, to cook foods like meat and vegetables.

INGREDIENTS:

¾ pound of carrots (This will be 3-4 carrots depending on their size.)

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

1 Tablespoon of butter, melted

1 Tablespoon of honey

½ teaspoon of grated orange zest (the colorful outer part of the peel)

2 Tablespoons of orange juice

Salt and pepper to your taste

TOOLS:

One vegetable peeler

Measuring spoons

One roasting pan or cookie sheet with raised sides, greased

One small saucepan

One zester or grater

One hand-held citrus juicer

Mixing spoon

DIRECTIONS:

Step 1:

First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Next, wash and peel the carrots.

Pour a bit of olive oil in the palm of your hand and rub it over each carrot until they are covered with oil.

Place the carrots on the roasting pan or cookie sheet. (Line the pan with foil if desired to make cleanup easier.) Roasting the carrots will make them easier for you to cut.

Roast the carrots uncovered at 400 for 12-15 minutes or until they soften and begin to brown at their edges.

Remove carrots from the oven at let them cool.

Step 2:

While the carrots cook, make the carrot coin glaze.

Zest the orange.

Juice the orange.

In a small saucepan, mix together the honey, melted butter, and the zest and juice from the orange. Cook over medium heat 3-5 minutes or until the glaze begins to thicken. Remove from heat.

Step 3:

When the carrots are cool enough to touch, slice them so that they look like thick coins. Some of the coins will be as round as a quarter. Others will be as round as nickels and dimes! All of them should be about ¼ -½ inch thick.

Add the carrots to the glaze in the saucepan.

Stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until carrots coins are heated. Watch to make sure the glaze does not burn.

Makes 6 servings.

PS- Golden Carrot Coins are great when served as a side dish for your St Patrick’s Day dinner.

ORANGE YOU GLAD I MADE THIS SALAD?

Good cooks know the word: Hull which is a word that can be used as both a noun and a verb. The green leafy top of a strawberry is called the hull (noun). You also hull (verb) strawberries when you remove the green and leafy top. Have an adult use a paring knife to cut the hull from the strawberry. Or, if you want to have fun, use a drinking straw to hull the berry yourself. Take the straw and push it up from the bottom of the berry until the hull is pushed out. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 (11-ounce) cans of mandarin oranges drained and patted dry (or 6 fresh mandarin oranges peeled and divided into sections)

6 strawberries, hulled and cut into sixths

2 Tablespoons shredded coconut

¼ teaspoon almond extract

TOOLS:

1 cutting board

1 paring knife

1 drinking straw

1 small mixing bowl

1 wooden spoon for stirring

Measuring spoons

DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash your paws.
2. Read your recipe.
3. Gather your ingredients and tools.
4. Sing a little song and start to cook!
5. Place drained orange sections into a mixing bowl.
6. Hull each strawberry. Cut each berry into sixths. First, cut them in half the long way. The strawberry half will look heart-shaped. Next, cut each half berry into three slices. Add the strawberry slices to the mixing bowl.
7. Add the shredded coconut and almond extract to the bowl.
8. Stir gently to mix the coconut and almond extract with the fruit, and serve.

Serves 6