Cooking & Conversation: Fruit Pizza

My grandson, Spencer, traveled to Iowa with his family for a visit over the Fourth of July holiday. We had a fun time making fruit pizza. Of course, it was an American flag pizza.
This pizza is simple to make, fun to decorate, and delicious to eat.
Give this recipe a try, and be sure to cook with your kids.

July 4th this year was very hot in Iowa. The temperatures were high 90's to 100 degrees throughout the state. Our summer plans were greatly affected by this, however, we managed to have a wonderful time.

American Bumblebee 16,383 LEGO pieces.

We visited the Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where Grandpa and Grandma live.
Reiman Gardens is an enchanting, 14-acre garden which has new displays annually. It is one of the most beautiful attractions in the Midwest. This year in 2012, the gardens celebrated how objects are built
in its "Some Assembly Required" theme. Just as LEGO bricks connect together to create something fun, colorful, and intricate, so does nature.
The gardens displayed 27 sculptures made from LEGO bricks in 14 individual displays.
There were nearly 500,000 LEGO bricks used to build these amazing sculptures.
Sean Kenney is one of a five person firm that creates sculptures, scale models,
and outdoor installations entirely with LEGO pieces.

Grandma and grandsons.
Hummingbird and Flower 31,565 LEGO pieces.

Spencer with Mom and Dad and Graham and Dane.

Uncle Garrett and Aunt Liz and cousins
Duncan, Camden , and Aiden.

Fox and Rabbit.
Fox 17,547 LEGO pieces, Rabbit 1,361 LEGO pieces.

Duncan and Spencer with Lawn Mower 13,704 LEGOS.

Goldfinches, the Iowa state bird.
Each bird has 575 LEGO pieces.

Dane & Spencer with Garden Worker 37,497 pieces.

Spencer in front of the world's largest Gnome.

Grandpa and Spencer.
Rose 41,242 LEGOs.

Grandma and Spencer LEGO mosaic 29,578 pieces.

Spencer and Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.
37,481 LEGOs.

The Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing holds one of the most diverse
collections of live, exotic butterflies in the country.

Butterfly garden.

Butterflies.

Spencer and Mom and Dane.

Spencer and Duncan and Dane.

Fruit Pizza

Ingredients:

2 rolls ( 16.5 oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 carton (8 oz.) non-dairy dessert topping
1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Fresh strawberries
Fresh blueberries
Bananas

Assemble the ingredients.

We used 1/2 sheet non-stick pan, sprayed with
vegetable cooking spray.
Break up cookie dough , press dough evenly
in bottom of pan to from crust.
Bake 350 degrees for 16-20 minutes or
until golden brown.

Cool completely about 30 minutes.

Put 8 oz. cream cheese into mixing bowl.

Add 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with
electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.

Mixture will look like this.

Lick the beaters.

Add the carton of whipped topping.

Lick the spatula.

Fold the whipped topping in the cream cheese mixture.

Fold

According to recipetips.com, the process of blending a light ingredient, such as beaten egg whites, into a heavier ingredient by lifting from underneath with a spatula or spoon In order to fold ingredients properly, the heavier ingredient is placed at the bottom of a bowl and the lighter above. A motion commonly used to fold the ingredients involves starting at one side of the bowl, moving downward and then across the bottom to the opposite side, enabling the ingredients on top to be brought down into and replacing the ingredients on the bottom. The bowl is then rotated a quarter turn and the motion is repeated. It is important not to completely blend the ingredients together. For example, if beaten egg whites are blended too thoroughly, the egg whites will lose their volume.

Pour mixture over cooled cookie dough.

Spread evenly to edges of pan.

I love to cook!

Ready to add the fruit.

Gather the strawberries and blueberries and bananas.
We use fresh fruit whenever possible.

Quarter the strawberries.

A tip from nutrition-and-you.com for selecting and storing strawberries:

In the store, select berries that are shiny, deep red in color with attached green caps, firm, plump, free of sand and mold. Avoid those appear dull, sunken or flattened and those with signs of mold, cuts or discolored patches on the surface. Unripe berries have green or yellow patches on their surface; and since they stop ripening soon after harvested, they should be avoided as they are likely to be sour in taste and are of inferior in quality. These berries are easily perishable; and therefore should only be purchased a few days prior to use.

Cut a fresh lemon in half.

Cut the bananas into 1/4 inch pieces.

Put bananas into bowl.

Buzzle.com states that bananas were first found in the region of Malaysia. With the help of curious visitors, bananas found their way to India. Buddhist Pali writings dating back to the 6th century B.C. support this fact. It was Alexander the Great who brought the banana back with him to the western world. Bananas were grown in the southern region of China but only became popular with the masses around the 20th century. Americans first tasted the banana almost three hundred and fifty years after its origin. At that time, they were wrapped in tin foil and sold for 10 cents each at the celebration held in Pennsylvania in 1876, to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

Squeeze lemon over bananas to prevent them
to turning brown.

In the top left hand corner, place the
blueberries. (To be correct there should be
50 stars.)

Blueberries nutrition facts

from nutrition-and-you.com

Sweet, juicy blueberries are rich in natural pigment anti-oxidant, pro-anthocyanidins. The small round blue-purple berries have long been attributed to the longevity and wellness of indigenous natives around arctic regions of Northern hemisphere.

Blueberry is very low in calories.

Blueberries are among the highest anti-oxidant value fruits

Altogether, the phyto-chemical compounds in the blueberry help rid off harmful oxygen-derived free radicals from the body, and thereby, protect the body from cancers, aging, degenerative diseases, and infections.

Start adding the strawberry red stripes of the flag.
The red stripe is at the top.
If there is room, make 7 red stripes.

Add the bananas for white stripes between
the strawberries. There should be 6 white stripes
if you have room on the pizza.

Make sure the berries are fresh and taste good.

Grandpa and Spencer's finished product.
Enjoy!

Little brother, Graham, loves the pizza.

Thanks, Spencer, for a great day cooking with us.

Then that night we went to Boone Speedway to watch the 4th of July fireworks.

Blowing Rock Country Club hosted Fireworks for the Blowing Rock Fourth of July Celebration on June 30, 2012.
(Photo by Maria Richardson/High Country Press)