Sep 10, 2010

Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey, Ginger & Lime Sauce


Feel that? That crisp, chilly breeze that’s been swirling around us lately, filling our heads with the hope of golden-leafed, sweater-clad, apple-cinnamon-infused autumn days? Seems everyone is getting antsy for cooler weather and festive décor, but as we relish in this first taste of fall, stop for a minute and realize what is really happening here... Summer as we know it is slipping through our fingertips. And we don’t even care!

In a matter of weeks, we’ll all be welcoming spiced candles, wax leaf wreathes and warm hues into our homes with wide, goofy grins. We’ll happily pack up our sandals and swimsuits and replace them with the scarves and boots we’ve been waiting all year to don. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, we’ll start each brisk morning with silky, frizz-free hair and Starbucks pumpkin lattés and we’ll go for rosy-cheeked walks around our neighborhoods. And we’ll be happy.

But before long, brisk will turn into downright cold. The snow will fall. The ice will creep over our windshields. The heaters will eat away at our shopping funds. Our husbands will stab us with icy toes and our parched knuckles and lips will chap until they crack. There we’ll be, scuffing across frigid kitchen floors on three pairs of wool socks with afghan-draped shoulders to fumble through canned peaches and peas, in hopes of a decent dinner that doesn’t involve braving a blizzard.

And just as we're tempted to take a bite of our holiday beaded faux fruit, we’ll realize how precious those last few days of summer really were and how wistfully we wasted them. Those days when fresh, vibrant fruit filled our bowls and dinner meant something sizzling on the grill instead of caked in a casserole dish.

So hold on to summer, people! It will be long gone soon enough. Then we can buy our pumpkins and gourds and embrace fall with open arms. But for now, I’m not yet done with zucchinis and watermelons and pots of fragrant herbs. And I am certainly not done with my dear farmer’s market.


Where else can you find yourself riffling through baskets of fresh plucked peaches one minute, and the next, a bin of vintage scarves? Detroit's Eastern Market, to be exact, is the lovely place I finally discovered this summer. I went for peaches and blueberries and came back with four armfuls of goodies, some of which I wasn't sure what to do with (zucchini), some I wasn't sure if I even liked (radishes), and some bought out of pure guilty nostalgia (orange blossom honey, which I bought from the sweetest old beekeeper who reminded me of my grandpa, even though the stand two feet away sold the stuff for less. I'm a sucker).








And what to do with four armfuls of fruits and veggies? Become vegetarian, of course, at least for a while. That weekend, I was enslaved to the kitchen, making avocado-radish salad (turns out I do love radishes), grilled corn with lime butter, wild mushroom quesadillas, homemade hummus and salsa, two huge fruit salads and fried, golden zucchini.

Orange blossom honey, by the way, was perfect combined with lime and fresh ginger for this amazing hold-on-to-what-you-got summer fruit salad. Sweet and tangy with a little kick, the sauce really takes juicy peaches, plump blueberries and sliced green grapes to a whole new level of deliciousness. For the perfect summer afternoon, I have an inkling this salad would be awesome served up with a nice grilled pork chop and a glass of sangria.


So, don't jump into fall prematurely, folks. Soak up every last drop of summer. Keep the lemonade flowing. Keep the grill grilling. Take advantage of every fruit and vegetable before it goes out of season.

Although, I must admit...all this talk about fall is making me want to bust out just one glittery pumpkin for the bookshelf. And just a little candy corn isn't going to spoil summer all that bad. And what's so wrong with burning a few cinnamon candles and wearing a few scarves and breaking in my brown suede boots and all my fuzzy sweaters and...

...so it begins.




Fresh Fruit Salad with Honey Ginger Lime Sauce
Marie Meyer, Greensboro, NC, Cooking Light, JUNE 2006
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Ingredients:
1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
1 1/2  tablespoons  honey
1/4  teaspoon  minced peeled fresh ginger
2  cups  sliced peeled peaches (about 2)
1  cup  blueberries
1  cup  seedless green grapes, halved

Preparation: Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine peaches, blueberries, and grapes in a bowl. Drizzle juice mixture over fruit mixture; toss gently to coat. Chill at least 1 hour.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 53 (3% from fat) Fat: 0.2g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.1g), Protein: 0.7g, Carbohydrate: 13.8g, Fiber: 1.3g, Cholesterol: 0.0mg, Iron: 0.3mg, Sodium: 1mg, Calcium: 6mg.
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15 comments:

Kitchen Belleicious said...

Oh so many things I will need to try! Visiting from SITS and I am a foodie too! that fruit salad looks incredible! I am now a follower- hope you can come by for a visit and follow me too!
XOX Jessica

LisaDay said...

That looks delicious.

LisaDay

Dubs said...

Haven't been on blogger for a while, but this post totally reminds me why I follow your blog, and why I should check in more often! LOOKS DELICIOUS!!! But not as good as that Double-Caramel Turtle Cake...I'm not gonna lie!

Melissa said...

This looks absolutely yummy, Rachel! So refreshing and delicious. Mmmm! Your pictures are gorgeous, too!

Julie said...

This sounds absolutely perfect!

Karin said...

Stopping by for SITS Sharefest! That is the most delicious looking fruit salad I have ever seen!

Ma What's 4 dinner said...

MMMmmm, how do you make fruit taste even better? Pour that sauce on!!! Good call, girlie!

Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
www.mawhats4dinner.com

Merry said...

What a lovely blog and fabulous pictures! I admire your mission--I cut out a zillion recipes and make such a small percentage of them. Thanks for stopping by to see me as well--it is so fun to find friends who like the same things!

Lynn from For Love or Funny said...

I saw you on SITS today, and I love your salad idea. I'm gluten free, so I totally enjoy this fresh dressing! Thank you!

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Sorry, but I'm doing the "Fall hurry up and get here" dance every day BUT I'm in The Hotter than Hades state, I mean FLorida and Fall & Winter are much different here. :)

Loved these photos. The colors of the fruit were lovely.
~ingrid

julie said...

I tell ya, I needed to hear this! I'm so ready for fall and really tired of the 90 degree weather. But you're right, once it's gone, it doesn't come back for a long while. I'm going to do my best to try and enjoy these last couple of weeks! Maybe this delicious fruit salad will help!

LBDDiaries said...

OK, I don't miss the icy cold and blowing snow (don't get too much in AR), but I will take this to heart and make this salad immediately. It looks yum!!

Anonymous said...

Look Yummy!

Stopping by from SITS, and I am a new follower :)
Your blog makes me want to eat. Which in a way is good, since I still haven't had breakfast.

Aimee @ Ain't Yo Mama's Blog said...

I love this! What a beautiful looking dish and I'm sure it's just as delicious as it looks.


-Aimee

Anonymous said...

I agree, I'm trying to use all my summer produce and not jump too far ahead into fall. It will be cold and snowing soon enough!

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