Triple Dog Dare - Horned Melon

Toontz over at Okara Mountain has started a new monthly challenge called Triple Dog Dare.

The challenge is to try something new each month in a chosen category & broaden your food horizons. This month's theme is fruit.
Matt & I decided we were going to make a fruit salad last night so it was a perfect opportunity to try a new fruit. There were quite a few things at the market we had never tried but Matt was most attracted to this little creature, the horned melon.

When we checked out the cashier asked us what it tasted like & we had to laugh when we told her we had no idea. And we really didn't have any idea at all what to expect. We thought it would have a melon-like texture inside but were we surprised when we cut it open to discover this...

...a green jelly-like substance. Matt instantly went to the internet & we found out this melon is also called the jelly melon. Oh that explains a lot! One site told us to just suck out the inside & spit out the seeds. So we tried that first. For a bold looking fruit it has a very delicate flavor reminiscent of a cucumber with a touch of lime.

Another site told us to go ahead & eat the seeds. Since they were quite soft (not unlike a cucumber) that's what we did.
We actually liked the flavor & didn't mind the texture at all, so we scooped the remaining fruit into a salad with strawberries & peaches. We dressed the salad with some honey, lime juice & mint.

I really think it came up quite pretty with the green, yellow & red. It tasted wonderful! The horned melon flavor was especially good with the peaches. Would I buy it again? Maybe. It has a nice refreshing flavor & is certainly something different to add to a fruit dish.

Now, its your turn. Pick up a strange new fruit & get in on the Triple Dog Dare!

Weekly Menu 6/9 - 6/13/08

San Francisco was fun but its nice to be back home & cooking in my own kitchen. To make things even better I was greeted with a wonderful new box of vegetables from our CSA farm to play with this week.

(some of the beautiful spring greens we got last week sautéed up)

Menu Planning Monday...

Lots of new recipes coming this week. The CSA deliveries seem to really inspire us.

Grilled Shrimp with Honey, Lime & Mint Glaze - The shrimp recipe is from Mastering the Grill. We'll serve it with a fruit salad using the same glaze as a dressing. - Result - Super fast & easy to make & so tasty. Loved the fruit salad with this glaze on it.

Asian Steak Salad - RESULT - The same sauce is used as a marinade & dressing in this perfect hot weather meal.

Hamburgers - With fresh broccoli on the side.

Spring Greens Pizza - RESULT - A fresh pizza on a wonderful homemade crust.

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Lemony Greens

This week's cupcake will be inspired by a Tin Roof Sundae. - RESULT - Salty & sweet, yum!

As usual I'll be posting the recipes throughout the week so please stop back.

Ravioli with Pea Tendril & Green Garlic

As I mentioned earlier this week, we received pea tendrils in our CSA box. Since we've never cooked with them before some experimentation has been in order. I used them on Thursday in a chicken peanut stir-fry which was good but I felt the sauce overpowered the delicate pea flavor. I wanted to come up with a dish that would let that flavor shine through. Most things I found online were stir-fries but I was thinking more the pasta or risotto route. I think risotto would be wonderful but as it was in the 80's & humid I just couldn't see standing over a pot stirring hot rice for 20 minutes. Instead I came up with this pasta dish which came together in no time at all. The flavors are very fresh & light with the pea tendril as the sweet star ingredient.


1 package fresh cheese ravioli (2 servings)
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
3 - 4 c pea tendril, chopped
1 green garlic, chopped (you can substitute 1 clove regular garlic)
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes (more if you like heat)
fresh grated Parmesan

Cook pasta according to directions. Heat the oil & butter in a sauté pan over med-heat. When the pasta has about 1 and 1/2 minutes left to cook add the garlic & red pepper flakes to the oil. Sauté until the green garlic is tender. When the pasta is cooked, drain it & return it to the pot. Add the pea tendrils to the sauté pan with the garlic & cook until just wilted. Stir into the pasta & serve with fresh grated Parmesan.

Serves 2

Radish Sandwich

This week we got our second bunch of radishes in our CSA box. The first bunch made a great Thai salad & I figured this bunch would most likely also go the salad route. Then I was reading Eating Out Loud the other day & he made a Spicy Radish Sandwich which inspired me to make one of my own.

Where he went a little South Asian with his sandwich flavoring it with garam masala, I took mine on a more Eastern European path.
I toasted some slices of my homemade buttermilk bread then added some light sour cream. I sprinkled a generous amount dill on top of the sour cream. Then I thinly sliced my radishes length-wise & added a layer of those with a pinch of salt. Finally I added a layer of spring salad greens.

Yum, this was such a crisp, flavorful lunch. I love the flavor of the sour cream & dill with the slightly spicy radishes. There is one thing that would have made this sandwich perfect, a really good dark Russian or Latvian bread. I have plenty of radishes left so maybe next time.

Chicken & Spring Green Stir-fry in Coconut Peanut Sauce

Our new CSA box was full of lovely spring greens perfect for stir-frying. It was perfect timing because I wanted to use the leftover coconut peanut sauce from last week's satay. I used two greens that were new to me in this, pea vine & hon tsai tai. Raw the pea vine had a wonderful pea flavor but I don't think it came through very strong with the peanut sauce (I'll try it again this weekend in something a little milder). The hon tsai tai had a slightly sharp mustard flavor which did hold up well to the sauce. These two greens can easily be substituted for other more readily available greens such as spinach.


Coconut Peanut Sauce
from Mastering the Grill

3/4 c lite coconut milk
1/2 c peanut butter
1 T Thai fish sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1t sriracha hot sauce
2 T fresh mint leaves, minced
2 T lime juice
2 T rice vinegar

Combine all the ingredient. Sauce will last 1 week in an airtight container in the fridge.

Chicken & Spring Green Stir-fry with Coconut Peanut Sauce

2 T vegetable oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 c coconut peanut sauce
2 green garlic (or green onion)
1/4 c chopped red pepper
4 c chopped spring greens (hon tsai tai, pea vine, spinach, etc..)
4 oz whole wheat linguine
peanuts (optional)

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain & set aside.
Coat the chicken pieces in about 2 T of the sauce. In a large skillet or wok heat the oil over high heat. Add chicken & stir fry for 2 minutes. Add green garlic & red pepper & continue stir-frying for another 1 -2 minutes until chicken is cooked. Add in the greens & stir-fry until almost completely wilted. Add remaining sauce & cooked noodles. Stir until heat through. Serve immediately with peanuts sprinkled on top.

Serves 2