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Recipes

Melon Ball Salad

This melon ball salad is cool and refreshing. It’s perfect for summer months, picnics and holiday gatherings.

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This melon ball salad is not only easy, but it’s fun to put it together, too! You’ll need a small watermelon (seedless if possible), a cantaloupe, and a green honey dew melon. And most importantly, a melon baller. I use this one because it has two different-sized scoops on a single utensil, which is very handy. With this salad I needed to use the two different-sized scoops because of how the melons where cut.

Cut the melons in half. Scoop out the seeds from the cantaloupe and honey dew. Then work around the perimeter of each melon as you scoop, like so:

After my first pass at scooping the melons, I turned each half on its side and carefully vertically cut away the scooped sections revealing a new perimeter that was solid and scoop-able. Hope that made sense. Basically, you want to be able to scoop out more melon, so cut away the part that you’ve already scooped.

If not serving this salad immediately, carefully arrange the melon balls in your serving dish and refrigerate.

I usually serve the salad without a dressing because I think the melons are sweet enough, but a squirt of lime and a drizzle of honey makes a simple dressing.

TIP: if you have melon balls left over, freeze them in a plastic bag and use later in sparkling water, like so:

Enjoy!

Melon Ball Salad

Prep time

20 mins

Total time

20 mins

Melon Ball Salad

Author: Zesty Olive

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 small seedless watermelon
1 cantaloupe
1 honey dew melon
Special utensil needed: melon baller

Instructions

Cut each melon in half. Scoop out the seeds from the cantaloupe and honey dew.
Work around the perimeter of each melon as you scoop sections with the melon ball utensil.
After your first pass at scooping, reveal more melon by cutting away the section that you've already scooped. Try turning each melon half on its side and carefully vertically cut away the scooped sections revealing a new perimeter that's solid and scoop-able.
If not serving this salad immediately, carefully arrange the melon balls in your serving dish and refrigerate.
Optional Dressing
The juice of one lime and ¼ cup honey. Drizzle over salad and very carefully toss.

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Recipes, Sides, Vegetables

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Balsamic Vinegar And Parmesan Cheese

One of my favorite veggies to prepare is Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Vinegar and Parmesan Cheese. They’re so easy and delicious and they compliment just about every “meat and potatoes” type of meal.

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I especially like them when served with fish such as salmon. They’re equally yummy with steak and chicken, too.

Here’s how I like to roast these beauties: wash and trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half. Toss them in a bowl and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil and a healthy sprinkle of salt. Toss gently with a large spoon or your hands. Line a sheet pan with foil and place the sprouts on it. Spread them out so they’re not piled on top of each other. Place in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes. At the 20 minute mark, remove the sheet pan and lightly drizzle Balsamic vinegar over the sprouts. Place back in the oven to roast for another 10 minutes or until tender and lightly crisp.

Once out of the oven, lightly sprinkle the sprouts with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

The heat from the sprouts will gently melt the cheese.

It’s always acceptable to add a dash more Balsamic vinegar and more cheese once it’s on your plate ~ I always do! 😉

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Balsamic Vinegar And Parmesan Cheese

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

35 mins

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Balsamic Vinegar and Parmesan Cheese

Author: Zesty Olive

Serves: 2-4 servings

Ingredients

1lb Brussels Sprouts, washed, trimmed and cut in half
Olive oil
Salt
Balsamic Vinegar
Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Wash and trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them in half.
Toss them in a bowl and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil and a healthy sprinkle of salt. Toss gently with a large spoon or your hands.
Line a sheet pan with foil and place the sprouts on it. Spread them out so they're not piled on top of each other.
Place in a 400° F oven for 20 minutes. At the 20 minute mark, remove the sheet pan and lightly drizzle Balsamic vinegar over the sprouts. Place back in the oven to roast for another 10 minutes or until tender and lightly crisp.
Once out of the oven, lightly sprinkle the sprouts with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve.

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Appetizers, Recipes

Roasted Olives With Feta And Lemon

Roasted Olives With Feta And Lemon – the ultimate elegant and easy appetizer!

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If you’re looking for an elegant appetizer, try these roasted olives with feta and lemon. It’s as easy as combining a few luscious varieties of olives, adding a little feta, spicing it up and roasting for 30 minutes. Plus, your house will smell heavenly as they roast.

Here’s how I put it together. I used several varieties of olives: Pitted Greek kalamata olives, pitted black olives, pimento stuffed green Spanish olives, and pitted Castelvetrano olives, which are the bright green olives. I used jarred olives, but if you have access to an olive bar at your local supermarket, even better – you’ll have an array of varieties from which to choose.

I add the drained olives to a casserole dish, crumbled in feta cheese, added some olive oil and lemon juice, and just a splash of red wine. I also added some fresh sprigs of thyme. Then I roasted the whole lovely concoction.

After 30 minutes, I pulled out a very hot, but beautiful dish of roasted olives. Let them cool just a bit before transferring to a serving bowl. Replace the roasted thyme sprigs with some fresh thyme before serving.

These olives are a perfect appetizer for entertaining or just for yourself. Pour a glass of wine and enjoy!

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Roasted Olives With Feta And Lemon

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

35 mins

Roasted Olives With Feta And Lemon

Author: Zesty Olive

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

½ cup pitted Green kalamata olives, drained
½ cup pitted black olives, drained
½ cup pimiento stuffed Spanish olives, drained
½ cup Castelvetrano olives, drained
½ cup feta cheese, large chunks or crumbles
¼ cup olive oil
juice of one lemon
splash of red wine
handful of fresh thyme sprigs
lemon slices for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F.
In a casserole dish, combine olives and feta cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Add splash of red wine. Garnish with a few fresh thyme sprigs and lemon slices.
Roast in oven for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Remove roasted thyme sprigs and replace with fresh thyme before serving.

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