Watermelon balls

Tristan and Spencer hard at work—it’s not child labour

Taste of Nebraska, 314pp.
by the International Order of Job’s Daughters
Fundcraft Publishing, Tennessee, 1997
Cooking on page 32

I’m so pleased to share this recipe and book because they come from the Rundstrom family— they’ve been very special people in my life since the late 1960s.

Jim taught me journalism. Almost 10 years later I taught with him at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

His wife, Lynn, who died unexpectedly and too young last year, was also a dear friend. And I’ve had the pleasure of watching their three children—Todd, Tracy and Tammy—grow up. They all visited us in Australia too, when Todd was a teenager and on exchange. Now I’m having a glimpse of the grandkids. I do feel blessed.

This book is very special for all the Rundstrom women. Lynn, Tracy and Tammy have all been involved with Job’s Daughters, and Tammy had a term as the Honoured Queen in Kearney.

A Dennis Meyer contributed this recipe, which may be the easiest page-32 recipe I’ll ever see. 

Watermelon balls

Ingredients
1 watermelon

Method
Cut watermelon in half. Take one of those fancy spoons that cuts fruit into balls and dig in. Soon you have lots of watermelon balls. Great for small children at picnics because seeds can be removed.

Spencer digs in to his handiwork

How it played out
We figured the reference ‘great for small children’ meant that it was a good project for them, so Tracy’s lively sons, Tristan and Spencer, ages 5 and 3 at the time, sat still long enough to make a bowl of these watermelon balls.

Verdict
A complete success, and just the thing to keep kids busy and for everyone to enjoy a hot summer’s day. Thanks to all the Rundstroms for joining in on the page 32 adventure.