Rainbow Salad

St. Patrick's Day is March 17. 

 

Wikipedia states that "Saint Patrick's Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick  is a cultural and religious holiday celebrated on 17 March. It is named after Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland.

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early seventeenth century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),^[4] the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland,^[3] as well as celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.^[5] Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.^"

 

There are all types of symbols  associated with this  day:  shamrocks, leprechauns, four leaf clovers, the color green, pots of gold and rainbows.  As a kid we would take green pipe cleaners and twist them into four-leaf clovers.  Then we would pin them to our shirts for the day.  It was quite popular to be pinched if your weren't wearing green on St. Patrick's Day.

 

Rainbow Salad

 

Now, whether or not you celebrate the holiday or not, a rainbow salad is a fun way to brighten up any meal.  You may use any fruit, if it is the color that you want.  For example you could substitute watermelon for the strawberries, cantaloupe for the cutie oranges and honeydew melon for the kiwis.  Just arrange them on a tray in the colors of the rainbow:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.  Then if desired, add cut bananas or mini marshmallows on each end for "clouds". 

 

Why not try this with vegetables too?  Cauliflower would make great clouds! 

 

 I would love it, if someone would send me a photo of a rainbow vegetable salad!

 

Fruit Pizza

 

 

Welcome Spring! 

Today is the first official day of Spring!

A rainbow pattern with bright colors will be the perfect ray of hope

that warmer days and outside fun is on the way.

While you are waiting, bring the fun inside! 

Cooking together is a wonderful family activity.

Making this simple, fun, nutritious "pizza" together will create magical moments, as well as unleash the artist inside of each of your family members. The pattern below is beautiful, but it is only an idea.  Choose your family's favorite fruits and let the creating begin!

 

Additional ideas: 

1.  Let each person decorate their own miniature pizza with their favorite fruits . 

 

2.  Have a contest for your mini pizzas.  Judge the most creative entry, the best blending of flavors,

     the prettiest colors or pattern, etc.

 

3.  Make your "pizza" in different shapes:  a heart, dinosaur or other animal shape, etc.

 

4.  Try a different kind of cookie for your pizza crust.

 

Experimentation is fun.  Remember to laugh at the flops!  That's part of the fun.

 

Fruit Pizza

Source:  http://pinchofyum.com/fruit-pizza   with a few adaptations from the blogger in italics

 

Fruit Pizza

Author: Pinch of Yum via Kristin and America’s Test Kitchen

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 16

Ingredients

 

       FOR THE DOUGH    You could also use refrigerated sugar cookie dough

                                           or a prepared sugar cookie mix

• 1½ cups sugar
• 2½ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 14 tablespoons (1¾ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs

 

       FOR THE FROSTING

• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened - to lessen the calories, use low fat
• 7½ tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1¾ cup powdered sugar

       You might want to experiment with using plain vanilla yogurt instead of the frosting. 

       This would reduce calories and add more nutrients.

 

      FOR THE TOPPING

• assorted fresh fruit cut into slices

Instructions

1. Beat the butter and 1½ cups sugar together in a large bowl until fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs and mix until combined. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt) and mix until just combined, about 30 seconds. Chill the dough.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Roll chilled dough into one big cookie and place on a round baking stone. Sprinkle with 2-3 tablespoons sugar. Bake for 17-20 minutes. Let cool; chill in fridge.
3. Mix frosting ingredients together and spread on chilled cookie. Chill again to set and thicken the frosting.
4. Top with fresh fruit. Cut into slices and serve!

This recipe calls for the dough to be slightly underbaked, but if that’s not your thing, bake the dough for an additional 5-10 minutes.