Hassle Free Watermelon Cutting

Watermelon is a treat during the summer months. No doubt about that. But do you create a mess while cutting it and have sticky juice on the floor? If you are nodding your head this post is just for you.

Do you guys watch The Chew? The one that comes on at 1:00PM on weekdays in our TV market. I probably would never cook or recreate any of the recipes that I see on the show. Not that they are not good, just that they are not my kind of recipes. Occasionally they also give tips and one of them was how to cut watermelon. I was glad I watched that episode.

Carla Hall one of the hosts in the show, showed how to easily cube watermelons. The biggest problem I have while cutting watermelon is to spill the juice all over and generally the cutting board is covered in watermelon juice. So this tip was more than welcome. Remember the easy way to cut pineapple? Once I learned that I did not have to wait for the other adult to cut it I can do it myself very easily and our consumption our pineapple has gone up considerably.

With watermelon consuming a lot because of having to cut it and create a mess was never a problem. DD2 is ready one every day :)

Cut the watermelon to quarters and then cut vertically into slices till you reach the core. Turn to the side and cut horizontally about 2 or 3.
Turn to the other side and cut horizontally along the same lines. Then close to the skin to loosen all of them.
The cubes are ready to be transferred and the juice is caught in the boat.

Hassle Free Watermelon Cutting
Time Taken:10 minutes

Tools Required

1. Cutting Board
2. Sharp Knife

How to do it?

1. Place the watermelon on a sturdy cutting board. Cut in half and then cut half into quarters.
2. Take the quarter, cut across vertically like you would to make slices, till you reach the core. Do not cut all the way.
3. Now on one side cut it horizontally about 1 inch apart, about 2-3 horizontal cuts depending on the size of the cube you want.
4. Turn to the other side and cut along the same horizontal lines.
5. Now run your knife close to the core and cut close to the white portion to remove the watermelon from the core, so the pieces come loose.
6. The juice is all captured in the cup formed by the watermelon core. No fuss and no mess.

If you rather watch the video here it is.

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Hassle Free Peeling and Cutting Pineapples

Pineapples are a favorite around our house. DH cannot resist buying them while I avoid buying it because of the hassle involved in peeling and cutting. Around this time of the year juicy, ripe and sweet pineapples are available for fairly cheap prices.

Costa Rica as we know is where most of the pineapples that we see in the US come from. It is no surprise that they have figured out the easiest way to cut and peel pineapples. On our recent visit to Costa Rica I asked and learned a simple method for peeling and cutting pineapples. No more missed eyes and missed pieces of core that you have to spit out. The cut pieces of pineapple you may have seen turn a dark color if some of the eyes are left in the fruit. With this method there is none of that problem either.

Without further adieu here is the simplest method of peeling and cutting pineapples.

Place the pineapple on a sturdy cutting board and cut off the crown and bottom.
Cut the Pineapple lengthwise into 4 quarters. Take one of the quarters slice off the top to remove the core. Score the pineapple lengthwise and across and cut close to the skin.
Score the pineapple lengthwise and across and cut close to the skin.
Cut all along the bottom close to the skin all the way through. Remove the pineapple pieces and they are ready to be eaten.
The cutting takes less than 10 minutes start to finish.

Hassle Free Peeling and Cutting Pineapple
Time Taken:10 minutes
Tools Required

1. Cutting Board
2. Sharp Knife

Method

1. Place a cutting board on a sturdy table or counter top. Cut both the crown and the bottom of the pineapple.
2. Cut the pineapple lengthwise into 4 quarters.
3. Take each quarter and slice off the core on the top.
4. Score the pineapple lengthwise and across into smaller cubes.
5. Slice the pineapple close to the skin and cut along the underside till the pineapple come loose.
6. Repeat with all other quarters.
Nice and cleans pineapple pieces ready to enjoy.

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How to peel and cut Acorn Squash?

I first met Acorn Squash at a party some 17 odd years ago when we had gone for a house warming party. The food was delicious and the one thing I specifically remember was this stir fry which to me tasted like the Indian orange pumpkin (parangikai). While leaving after complementing the hostess on the fantastic food I asked her about the stir fry and what vegetable it was. First of all it was brilliant to serve a stir fry made of Acorn Squash. Come to think of it after that I have never encountered Acorn Squash in a large gathering and neither have I attempted to serve it. Shame on me.

The toughest part about cooking acorn squash is cutting it. With its ridges it is hard to cut and peel the skin. The friend on the other hand did not peel the squash, instead she said she puts it in a bag and whacks it a couple of time till it breaks apart and then roughly chops them. I did not try whacking the squash but tried to cut it and gave up and moved on to butternut squash.

The thing with butternut squash is whatever level of ripeness when cooked the flesh becomes tender and smooth. With acorn squash on the other hand the squash has to be fully ripe for it to smooth and creamy. So look for one which has slightly orange spots on it. I got hooked on to this tasty squash again when we were offered a taste of some roasted acorn squash in the grocery store a few weeks ago. I could not believe I had completely abandoned this tasty squash.

So here we are,
The first hurdle is the cutting problem which I will try to solve here today. The second is the recipe. It is fantastic roasted with whatever spices you'd like, in soups or the Indian way as a stir fry with just onions and red chilies just like this recipe using butternut squash or in a sambhar. The natural sweetness of the squash makes anything it touches delicious.

A sturdy knife and a cutting board will help make the process a breeze. I usually wash the squash outside (also cantaloupe, water melon or anything that gets on the cutting board) and pat dry before placing on the cutting board and starting to cut it. This way I can use the cutting to cut other vegetables without worrying about what got on the board from the outside of the squash.

Steps to cut an Acorn Squash,

Using the natural ridge of the Acorn squash cut along the ridge engthwise on one side, turn and do the same on the other side. Once both sides have been cut along the edges it should be easily to split in half.
Using a spoon scoop out the seeds, wash them and spread them in a plate to dry for roasting later.
Using the ridges to guide you cut lengthwise.
Once the squash is cut into ridge it is easy to peel the skin with the peeler.
Now that the squash is peeled chop them into desired sizes and use them in any recipe.

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