SOS and AFAM - Watermelon

SOS - Share Our Strength, invites us all to join them in their effort to end Childhood hunger ....all you have to do is organise a bake sale anytime till 31st of August 2007 and donate the proceeds to the organisation.

I thought of posting about this event because there are so many people who cook , bake and blog everyday . I may not know a lot of them as i have just joined the blogging world but if "you" know, you could spread the word, for details please click here.

Now for the AFAM- Watermelon event hosted by Bee and Jai from Jugalbandi (got to know about the event through Asha's blog Aroma).



Watermelon is one of my favourite fruits. Nothing compares to taking a big bite of a fresh, juicy sweet watermelon on a hot sunny day. Take it with a pinch of salt (or black salt), pepper or squeeze some lemon on it ...

I thought of many options for this event , milkshake, sorbet and many recipes on the net etc... finally this is what i came up with .....just plain watermelon juice blended with some salt n sugar .....A well chilled glass of this is amazingly refreshing. I was so tempted to add lemon or lime juice to it ....but I do not regret not adding it :)

I avoid using ice cubes in fresh fruit juices, instead I prefer to chill it in the refrigerator or keeping the juice in an ice bucket .



Ingredients:

2 cups watermelon cubes,
1.5 tbsp. sugar, or to taste,
a big pinch salt.

Method:

Dump all the ingredients in the blender and puree them. By pureeing, and not 'blending' you get a thick and frothy juice. I didn't strain it because I like the texture, but you can. Serve chilled.

Lemony Blueberry Bars

These lime and lemon "melt in your mouth" blueberry bars, are easy to make, look good and taste delicious, not to forget the wonderful aroma that fills the air ....



Ingredients:

For the crust:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow corn flour
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the filling:

3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1.5 tbsps. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. lime zest
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tbsp. whole milk
pinch of salt

2 cups blueberries
3 tbsp. apricot jam

Method:

To make the crust:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter a 8-inch square glass baking dish and line it with 2 sheets of aluminium foil, overlapping them in opposite directions so that there is overhang on all 4 sides.

Pulse together flour, corn flour, powdered sugar, salt, and butter in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press onto bottom of baking dish and 1-inch up sides. It may seem loose but will turn out well if you press it well. Bake in middle of oven until golden brown, for about 20 minutes.

To make the filling:

While crust bakes, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour, and zests. Whisk in juices, milk and a pinch of salt. Pour the whisked egg mixture into the hot, baked crust immediately, then bake until just set, about 17 minutes.

Now heat apricot jam in a nonstick pan till it melts. If it has pieces of apricot in it then strain it after melting .Toss blueberries in the heated jam in another bowl.

After the egg mixture gets baked, remove it from the oven and gently spoon berries evenly over top and bake for 2 more minutes . Transfer baking dish to a rack and cool. Coverwith plastic wrap and chill overnight or atleast for 8 hours. Use foil to lift dessert out of dish. Cut into squares and enjoy.