Us Seattle-ites aren’t made for extreme weather. Three snowflakes shuts down the entire metro area. Rainfall makes hour-long commutes out of a three-block drive. The slightest bit of humidity is a major indicator that the apocalypse is on the way. This week featured humidity the likes of which Seattle rarely sees. Newscasters used adjectives like “sultry,” “very intense,” “extreme” and “one-hit wonder” to describe the thunderstorms that passed through. It was 30 degrees cooler than anywhere in the U.S. that is east of Denver. Told you we have a flair for the dramatic here.
Still, hot is hot and humid is humid. My hair looked terrible for two days and I couldn’t figure out what to wear because it was too hot for rain boots and a North Face raincoat, but too rainy for a sundress and heels. So, I threw on some running gear and headed to the market. I picked up a bunch of random fruit and herbs, returned home and promptly forgot about my bounty as the work week and a half marathon swallowed me whole. After being called off from work this afternoon, I opened up the fridge to see what I could whip up for dinner and found a drawer full of fruit that needs to be eaten – today. My fruit intake has taken a dive since going Paleo, but I can’t think of a better way to spend a humid post-half marathon evening than enjoying a bright fruit salad on my patio with a new book and Blaze. Use whatever you can find in your pantry when you make your salad – this would be great with melons, berries, apples, bananas or citrus fruit.
Spicy Mint-Lime Fruit Salad
Ingredients:
6 lg. strawberries, sliced
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 papaya, sliced
1/2 champagne mango, sliced
Couple of slices of pineapple
Handful of Rainier cherries, pitted and halved
3 Tbsp. fresh mint, sliced
Juice of 1 lime
Generous pinch of “wicked spice” (mix of cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, oregano, rosemary and garlic) – optional
Method:
1) Mix all fruit together in a medium bowl. Add lime juice, mint and optional wicked spice. Stir until well-combined.
2) Chill for 25-30 minutes or until ready to serve. If you will be serving later in the week, wait to add mint until it is closer to serving time.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2-4 people, depending on course and general humidity level