Review
Today’s 4H challenge is to try a new vegetable and use it in a recipe. By participating in the 4H challenge and photography it, you have a chance to win a $10,000 scholarship. Check out all the activities by downloading the list here.
The Activity
So we went to the local grocery store and found these unique fruits and vegetables.
I have never cooked artichokes before. It seemed complicated. So I have found a recipe on YouTube for artichoke spinach dip. Check out the recipe here.
The next vegetable is jicama. A Mexican yam or turnip is sweet that can be eat raw or cooked.
Rambutan is a fruit original from Southeast Asia. The outer skin peals right off to reach the juice sweet meat inside. Beware of the seed inside. It is hard to remove from the fruit. Check out this step by step guide to prepare a rambutan.
The next vegetable is a chayote squash. It seems to have a mild flavor. Chef Rick Baylass has a great recipe that uses chayote squash as the filling in a taco. Check it out here.
Lastly, we picked up a prickly pear. Very unique fruit that grows on cactus.
When my daughter came home from school, my 1 year old and I sat her down then had her close her eyes to feel and guess the different fruit and vegetables. She never felt anything like them.
We ended making a salad with the jicama and rambutan. It included:
- 1/2 jicama; julienne cut
- 1 Mandarin orange; chopped
- 1 cucumber; peeled, seeded and julienne cut
- 1/2 pint strawberries; sliced
- 2 rambutan; peeled, seeded and chopped
Dressing is citrus sesame vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger powder
- ¼ cup mixed sesame oil and grapeseed oil or canola oil
Toss the salad then eat. I really liked the jicama and it may be a frequent new addition in my cooking now.
Did you know? 1 cup of jicama has 44% calcium of rdi
Kids Fun Guru 
