Happy Friday! The weekend is here and I’ve been having dreams of grilling and going to the pool. And yet… it’s supposed to rain. In fact, it poured down on me during my walk home. Sigh. Perhaps instead I’ll have to remember back to last weekend when it was hot and beautiful. Last weekend Ryan and I made burgers and hot dogs and a delicious fruit salad in a watermelon pig. Yeah, that’s right. I made a watermelon into a pig. Why have regular fruit salad slopped on your plate when you could lovingly scoop it out of a pretty pig container?!
Ok, but for real, why did I make a watermelon pig? Because I love pigs. They have been my favorite animal since I was a little girl. And ever since I have collected all things pigs – toys, figurines, slippers, socks, kitchen utensils. It’s the kind of thing that when my friends and family see something with a pig on it, they buy it for me. And when I was a kid, I told my parents I wasn’t going to eat pork anymore and I largely kept to that for nearly two decades. I even once made up a joke about pigs. Let me preface and set the scene by saying I was about four and I only half remember this joke. The rest is reconstructed from my mom’s memory. Anyway, I told the joke to my mom, who called me while I was home with the babysitter.
Mom: Hi ladybug [yes she calls me ladybug]
Me: Hi Mom. Wanna hear a dirty joke?
Mom: Terrified pause… Ok.
Me: Once upon a time, a pig fell in the mud!
What follows is awkward and relieved laughter from my mom. Hysterical laughter from me because apparently the idea of a big fat pig falling in mud and it splashing everywhere is super funny to four-year-old me. And get it, it’s a dirty joke because the pig is in the mud?! So clever, I know. I’m still this funny today.
All of that to say if it’s pig related I’m into it.
But also, it’s summer and all the delicious fruit is available. I literally impulse bought fruit at Harris Teeter. I bought strawberries because they are my favorite (and I’ve been into making homemade whipped cream recently). I had a grapefruit in the fridge, plus of course the watermelon insides. The impulse buying part came from the kiwis and golden raspberries. I just love the green color of kiwis and the starburst of black seeds in the middle. And the golden raspberries are so pretty! They were too interesting not to buy. I didn’t notice a huge difference in taste, but I liked how their color appears simultaneously showing and understated.
The best part though is that this is super easy to make and looks really cute. All you really have to do is hollow out the watermelon, use the top to make the ears, nose, and legs, and then fill with fruit. It’s an adorable centerpiece for your summer barbecue, pool party, or weekend fun. Plus you know, it’s healthy and refreshing and that’s good too.
Inspired by a photo I saw on Instagram, but I don’t remember whose. So sorry I can’t give credit!
Messy level: For someone like me who is a super mess in the kitchen, and not good at detail work, this is really pretty easy and neat. When I was scooping out the watermelon I did get juice all over the counter and that made it sticky. Still, that’s easy to clean and not a bother.
- 1 watermelon
- 2 chocolate chips (or 2 blueberries)
- toothpicks
- variety of fruit cut in bite sized pieces, enough to fill a watermelon
- Use a sharp knife, and holding it so the blade pierces the watermelon at about a 45° angle, cut out a lid from the top of the watermelon. You want the lid to be about 1-2 inches down the watermelon. If you've ever carved a pumpkin, think about what it's like to cut a lid there, and do the same thing here.
- Save the lid to make the pig's features. First cut out a large oval for the pig's nose. Then cut two triangles for ears and four rough rectangle-like shapes for legs. You can also cut a piece for the tail if you'd like.
- Take a spoon and scoop out the insides of the watermelon. Put the watermelon flesh in a large bowl and pour out any watermelon juice that is accumulating in the bottom of your watermelon shell. [Note, you can scrape the watermelon pretty clean or you can leave some on the edges if you want to]
- Using a toothpicks, connect the nose on one end of the watermelon. Then use more toothpicks to connect the ears at the top near the edge of the opening and the four legs around the bottom. The watermelon is not being held up by the legs so the legs don't have to be perfect. Just place the legs so it looks like the pig is standing.
- Use your knife to carve out two small eye holes above the nose. Wedge in the pointy end of chocolate chips into these holes - now you have eyes. [Alternatively you can use toothpicks and blueberries to make eyes.]
- Take the reserved watermelon flesh and cut it into bite sized pieces. Cut any other large fruits you're using into bite sized pieces (bananas, strawberries, apples, melon, kiwi, etc.).
- Throw in any other fruit you have that doesn't need to be cut (grapes, raspberries, blueberries, etc).
- Mix all the fruit together and then pour it into your watermelon pig.
- Place on your table and serve.
