Tag Archives: honey

Honey-Lime Fruit Salad

Once upon a time, we were having some friends over for dinner. These friends happen to follow a gluten free and vegan diet. What should I serve for dessert? I wondered, since eggs, flour, milk & cream were all out (thus eliminating my dinner party stand-by Pôts de Crème). The answer to my dilemma was clear: fresh fruit! A quick search on Tasty Kitchen provided this recipe, which suited my needs perfectly.

Adorned with a little syrup made with lime juice, honey, sugar, and mint, this fruit dessert is so simple and so fresh. And as soon as the gluten-free and vegan ‘component’ is no longer present, it would also be delicious scooped over ice cream.

Let’s go!

Ingredients

(Serves 6-8)

10 cups fresh seasonal fruit (berries, mangoes, kiwi, peaches, etc.)
3 TBS fresh lime juice
3 TBS chopped mint leaves
3 TBS honey
3 TBS brown sugar

Chop up the mint leaves . . .

. . . and squeeze out that fresh lime juice. My lime was pretty large, so I only needed one to get the 3 TBS of juice.

Combine the lime juice, honey, sugar, and mint to form the dressing.

Whisk it until it’s all combined.

Chop up the fruit:

The chunks of mango were my favorite part.

Berries are also in season, so I loaded ‘er up with blackberries and raspberries and strawberries.

Toss the fruit with the dressing . . .

. . . and serve!

We weren’t able to finish this the first night, and after the salad had spent 2 nights in the fridge I wondered if it would still be holding up okay. The juice from the berries had tinted everything a slight reddish color, but once I got past its appearance, my taste buds swooned. After marinating for a couple days, it’s even better. Each bite of mango was full of minty lime berry juice. I could have eaten 5 pounds of the stuff.

In another life in which I have the stomach of an elephant, of course.

Anyway, it’s the perfect dessert for the summer–no oven or stove involved.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Honey-Lime Fruit Salad

Hot Honey 'n' Lemon

Hello friends. It’s the season of sickness here in Chicago.

I rarely get sick (which makes me that much more of a wimp when I do succumb once or twice a year), but I definitely get the scratchy or achy throat. Especially when our church has just moved to a morning service and my throat isn’t used to making joyful noises at that early hour.

That would be the early hour of 10:30am.

Seriously, can you belt out an aria at 10:30 on any morning? And no, no one’s asking me to sing an aria exactly. But we’re getting way too distracted with this train of thought.

So: this is the drink my Mom made us when our throats hurt growing up. It says ‘comfort’ and ‘home’ and ‘coziness.’ And whether or not it’s a placebo effect, it really does make my throat feel better when I drink it.

I feel a little goofy calling this a recipe. But bear with me, because if you’ve never enjoyed this combination before, we might as well call this the Day of Enlightenment in your life.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)

1 c hot water

1 TBS + 2 tsp lemon juice

1 TBS + 2 tsp honey

Mix the lemon juice and honey into a mug full of hot water.

Hands courtesy of my husband.

Thanks, baby. Oh, and I love that orange sweater on you. I think you should wear it again asap.

Back to the drink. Taste and adjust–some people like it a little sweeter (me), some a little more acidic (my husband).

Drink up! Feel good. Drink some more! Feel even better.

I like it better than tea. It’s the perfect evening drink. And if you use fresh lemon juice, it’s that much awesome-er.

You can think of it as a kind of winter lemonade.

And don’t laugh at my ‘printer friendly version.’ I had to include it because of my . . . problems. Of the OCD kind.

Stay cozy everyone! That’s an order.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Hot Honey ‘n’ Lemon