H is for HAWAIIAN DIP (coconut, pineapple, and cherries)

Sorry for the long time between food posts, folks, but I have been a busy bee with all of the traveling and coming home and working and not feeling food-inspired.  But something finally kicked my butt in gear!  Yesterday, we bid farewell to the one who is really in charge of the advising center, our friend Erin, and we I had to bring a dish.

We had a potluck to honor Erin's departure, and I had considered bringing some Fourth of July cookies, but I figured we would have more sweets than we could handle (we usually do), so I settled on something semi-healthy:  Hawaiian Dip.  You have probably seen this on Pinterest, and let me tell you, it is easy-peasy to make and sooo light and tasty!

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 small package of sweetened coconut (I think the bag has 2 1/4 cups)

1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple (with 1/3-1/2 cup of pineapple juice drained from it)

chopped nuts

maraschino cherries

Beat cream cheese until creamy.  Add extracts and beat them in.  (These weren't in the original recipe, but I thought it added more flavor.)

Pulse coconut in chopper or food processor (or blender?) until chopped into finer pieces.  Pulse can of pineapple in chopper, if desired.

Add coconut and pineapple to flavored cream cheese and mix until combined.

Scoop into serving dish and top with your desired nuts and some chopped cherries.

Serve with cinnamon chips (which is what I did), crackers, pretzels, pita chips, etc.

This was just sweet enough without being too heavy.  The only problem is that people couldn't tell what it was; Zach says we don't work with adventurous eaters.  ;)  I had considered making a food label flag, but I thought everyone would make fun of me for being a nerd.  *lol*  I heard so many people ask what the dish with the cherries and nuts were (I'm afraid the cherries sometimes looked like chopped peppers despite the whole cherry I used to garnish it), and I answered many of the questions.  They would then say something along the lines of, "Oh, that sounds great!" and would try it and agree.

Next time, I'm making my food flag and let my nerd flag fly with it.  ;)

H is for HONEYDEW

This weekend, I really wanted to make a fruit salad because I have been craving fruit like crazy since summer is right around the corner.  However, since we are going out of town to Fort Smith to visit Zach's best friend Kevin and his wife Bree for Memorial Day right after Meeting tomorrow,  we won't be able to transport it in the heat without tons of ice and such.  Zach suggested I just make it at their house, but their apartment has a tiny kitchen, and I hate crowding someone's kitchen with my dish when they are hosting dinner.  As such, we decided to bring a surprise dessert (but more on that later this week!).

We still bought some fruit to munch on until we leave, including our first honeydew of the year!  Zach thumped on one, thought it sounded hollow enough, felt dense, and swooped it up.  :)  I was too tired to recall how to pick out a melon, so I let him do it, and I think he did a great job!

When picking out a honeydew, you want to look for one that is yellower than paler.  Feel the stem end and see it gives a bit when you push.  Try the opposite end as well.  Thump to see if the melon sounds hollow.  Then compare it with a similarly sized melon to see if it is fairly dense.  You can also shake it to see if you hear seeds moving around; it's good if you do.  (I have bad hearing, so this doesn't work for me.)  Finally, sniff the stem end for a melony smell--one that is not too strong.  If all of these things line up, then you probably will have a good, ripened, and sweet honeydew on your hands!  The only thing ours was missing was the melony smell.  :)

Since honeydew is in the same family as cantaloupe, I am assuming it is high in folate, Vitamin A, and potassium, which is very important for your health (though the others are as well).  The thing I love about this melon is its slight honeysuckle flavor.  I served mine cut into larger bite-sized pieces with a dash of lime juice, a sprinkle of salt and sugar each, and some mint leaves.  It was very delicious and light for breakfast!