Watermelon Granita
by Jodie Fitz
3 cups diced watermelon
1 cup pitted fresh cherries
1 navel orange
2 tablespoons PICS honey
1 teaspoon PICS vanilla extract
Place the diced watermelon and pitted cherries in a blender.
Cut the navel orange in half and squeeze the juice from both halves into the blender. Add in the honey and vanilla extract. Blend all ingredients together until mixed well.
Pour the mixture into an 8 x 8 glass baking dish and freeze overnight.
Before serving, shave the iced mixture with a large serving fork, moving in different directions. Scoop and serve frozen.
Watermelon: You can save time and purchase pre-cut watermelon in the produce section of your local Price Chopper/Market 32.
Little hands: Young children can dice the watermelon using a plastic knife- a great way to help develop and strengthen motor skills, control and knife safety.
Pitting the Cherries: It’s simplest to pit cherries with a cherry pitter, but if you don’t have one, you can remove the stem and poke the pit through using a chopstick, toothpick, straw or even a thin pastry tip.
Leftovers: Store frozen fruit shavings in an airtight freezer container.
Alternative: Granita is a perfect, fruit-packed afternoon snack and great alternative to a traditional snow cone.
Cooking with Kids: Every recipe is filled with life skills that encourage a child’s confidence in the kitchen. Here are a few to focus on when making this recipe:
- Dicing and knife safety
- Pitting cherries
- Extracting juice
- Measuring ingredients
- Following directions
- Blending and blender safety
- Freezing
KCC Veggie Bugs
by Jodie Fitz
1 – 14.5 oz. can of PICS chick peas
1 cup PICS baby carrots
1 garlic clove
3 tablespoons tahini paste
3 tablespoons PICS olive oil
¾ teaspoon PICS sea salt
½ teaspoon PICS onion powder
Baby cucumbers
Fresh vegetables ie grape tomatoes, pepper, celery to create bug body
PICS cream cheese
Candy eyes
Drain and rinse the chick peas.
Place the baby carrots in a mini food chopper or food processor and finely chop.
Add 1 clove peeled garlic, chick peas, tahini paste, olive oil, sea salt and onion powder to the carrots. Grind together until a thick, creamy hummus consistency is reached.
Slice cucumbers in half length-wise. Scoop out the center with a spoon. Fill with hummus to make the bug body. Using fresh vegetables like grape and cherry tomatoes, sliced and cut cucumber pieces, create head, tail, wings and other bug body parts.
Add candy eyes using a dab of cream cheese as “glue.”
Bug creation can be deliciously limitless!