Basil-Lime Fruit Salad

Also in this week's farm box was a mystery melon.

The farm said we were either getting watermelon, canteloupe, honeydew, or Galia. The interior of this melon is green, so it's either honeydew or Galia. The exterior doesn't look like anything I know, though. Regardless, it's delicious. I sliced it open, chopped it up, and added it to some cubed pineapple, mango and canteloupe for a fruit salad in the morning.

Now, I agree that fruit salad is delicious in and of itself. But sometimes, on special occasions, I like to dress it up. My favorite so far is the Basil-Lime Fruit Salad from Cooking Light magazine (March 2008).

Make a simple syrup of equal parts sugar and water. Remember -- don't make too much of this stuff. In application, a little goes a long way. Here, I've made a syrup from 1/2 c water and 1/2 c sugar.

Bring to a boil and let sugar dissolve, about one minute. Remove from heat.

Grate lime rind. I find the simplest way to make grated citrus rind is to use a vegetable peeler and then, to throw your strips of rind into a coffee/spice grinder. You may wind up with a bit of pith in your rind, but it's a lot easier, faster and safer than using a paring knife, grater or even a zester.

Add basil and lime rind to your simple syrup and let cool.

Strain syrup and you have your dressing! Only pour over the fruit salad once you are ready to serve.

Obviously, you are not limited to the fruits listed in the Cooking Light recipe. I used the fruit mentioned above because it is what I had on hand. Bananas would also be good, but don't prepare them until ready to serve.

Farm box ingredients used: melon, basil

Comments

Unknown said…

I remember this from my last visit. Yummy and unique.

September 2, 2009 at 9:16 PM

Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa

This dish is delicious! Easy! And, beautiful to look at! The original recipe calls for you to process all the cooked vegetables together into a chunky salsa, but I recommend serving it as is so you have an automatic side dish. The original also calls for cooking chicken bone-in, but, the more I cook traybakes, the more I advocate for slicing chicken into tenders and cooking boneless. Just a safer bake that way because everything comes to the same temperature at the same time. Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa Milk Street 1 T chili powder 2 poblano, stemmed, seeded, chopped 1 yellow onion, root end intact, in 8 wedges 1 pint cherry tomatoes 1/4 c olive oil 1 T brown sugar 1 T oregano, dried 3 lb chicken, bone-in, skin-on, trimmed 10 cloves garlic, peeled 1 T vinegar 1/4 c cilantro, chopped Heat oven to 450. In small bowl, stir together chili powder and 2 tsp salt. In large bowl, toss together pobloanos, onion wedges, tomatoes, and 1 T of the chili-power/salt mix

Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles

I love this dish so much that I can barely stand it. Delicious the night it was made, and fantastic as leftovers throughout the week. Mayocoba beans are easily replaced -- try pintos, if you can't find mayocobas. Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles Baptism of Fire 3-4 green chiles, roasted and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 T lard or olive oil 1/2 tsp oregano 1 tsp cumin pepper 1 c mayocoba beans, dry 3 c water 1 tsp salt Cook the green chiles, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and black pepper in the fat until the onions begin to caramelize. Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the beans sit, uncovered, for an hour. You may drain the water to remove some of the slightly indigestible sugars that cause gassiness. If you decide to drain them, add enough water back into the pot to cover the beans with about 2" of water above the beans for cooking. Bring the beans back to a boil and cook, until tender. This will take

Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche

This "quiche" is so simple to make - you can prepare everything the night before, assemble it in the morning, and have it ready to go soon after waking up. An ideal dish to serve company, too. Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche The Garden of Earthly Delights 1 1/2 c water 3/4 c couscous, uncooked 3 eggs, beaten 1 bunch spinach 3/4 c cottage cheese 2 c cheddar cheese, shredded 3 T salsa 1 tsp chile powder 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp oregano, dried 1/2 tsp coarse salt 1/2 tsp pepper Preheat oven to 375. Lightly coat a 9" pie plate with vegetable oil and set aside. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Add couscous. Stir once, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer couscous to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Spread couscous evenly in the bottom of the pie plate. Placein oven and bake until a knife comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Remove quiche from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Donut Army

Search This Blog