Cantaloupe Salsa for Dad’s Day Grilling!
Children in this country consume an estimated 12 percent of their calories from fast food and 20 percent of all American meals are eaten in the car! The consequences are predictably unhealthy. Competing schedules in the day-to-day lives of a busy modern family make it difficult to share a home-cooked meal together, but not impossible. In fact, with a little planning, cooking together can become a fun family event and learning opportunity. This feature will focus on providing a child or a group of children, working together under the supervision of an adult, with one uncomplicated, healthy and delicious side dish recipe. The dishes will be centered on seasonal fresh produce items; the recipes will always contain tasks will allow even the youngest kitchen helper to contribute to the family meal. Parents should always read through each recipe carefully to judge the division of labor based on age and ability as well as to identify where adult attention might be especially needed.
Many of the recipes presented here will seem very basic, this is by design. It is hoped that these simple preparations will provide the culinary foundation and confidence to inspire kids to try more challenging recipes as their experience and confidence in the kitchen develops. Melissa’s encourages parents to find the time to gather as a family unit at least once a week for a dinner that everyone pitches in to prepare. It’s a wonderful way to teach a child some basic culinary skills and, more importantly, cooking with your children will build memories in all your hearts forever. Enjoy your kids in the kitchen, they will be grown & gone before you know it! “No one is born a great cook; one learns by doing” – Julia Child.
This Cantaloupe Salsa is the perfect topping for grilled meats, salads, burrito bowls, and everything in between. It would also make a tasty and much more practical gift than the traditional BEST DAD cup, mug, socks or T-shirts. In this unbalanced world mom usually gets to sit back to be served on her special day in May; dad’s day comes during grilling season, so he gets a card, tie and a nod, but usually cooks up his own meal of choice on the BBQ and would not have it any other way. Here’s a delicious way the kids can really help in celebrating his day and learn a few culinary lessons in the process!
Salsas are another culinary gift from those pre-Columbian foodies – the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas – who all developed sauces using indigenous ingredients like tomatoes, chilies and herbs as condiments for meats and fish. This is one of the simplest recipes to appear in this blog. For a novice cook, the easy prep will provide some practice time on specific knife skills, as well as learn a version of an ancient dish that young cooks will carry forward into their own kitchens. While it takes little experience to simply rough-chop any of the ingredients in this recipe, the criterion for a good salsa is to capture as many flavors as possible in one bite. This calls for a step up in knife skills to diced or minced components that blend seamlessly on the fork if the pieces are small enough.
Though this easy recipe calls for the practiced knife skills of an older child, a younger helper can be tasked with measuring out each ingredient as it is prepared. Since this salsa can be refrigerated for a few days and, in fact, improves as the few ingredients have a chance to blend, make it the day before dad fires up the barbie. That should be enough time to figure out how to giftwrap a salsa!
Cantaloupe Salsa
Ingredients
2 cups Cantaloupe (diced)
1/4 cup Red onion (diced)
1/4 cup Cilantro (minced)
1 medium Jalapeño (minced)
2 tablespoons Lime juice
salt (to taste)
What the supervising adult should do
Closely oversee and instruct helpers with prior knife skills, focusing on the more precise cuts of “diced” and “minced” as specified in recipe instructions.
What the kids can do
Prepare all ingredients before assembly.
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and toss to combine thoroughly. Salt to taste, then chill at least a few hours while the flavors meld [overnight is best as it gets better]
Plating: Bring back salsa to room temperature before the fire is started. Once the meat, fish or fowl comes off the barbie, smother each serving with this salsa, garnished with slices of lime.
