Here we are, almost in the middle of July, and it seems like summer is almost over. The advertisements for sales on school back packs and lunch boxes and school uniforms aren’t helping the matter any. My work is plugging away, and my husband added on an extra day of work himself.
It seems like time is just rushing by. And I seriously wish it would just. slow. down.
I saw this salad in a 2004 issue of Gourmet magazine, and I knew it would help to slow things down at least for a day. Chock full of summer fruits, I knew this would be the perfect remedy for my time-is-moving-too-quickly blues.
The recipe calls for peaches or nectarines, blackberries or cherries, and grapes. But really, you can customize it however you like. I used fragrant peaches, sweet cherries, a handful of blueberries, and seedless red grapes.
The secret – well, not terribly secret – ingredient that makes this salad just stunning is the mint sugar. After tasting it alone and in the salad, I’m wracking my brain trying to come up with more uses for it. It would be great with citrus or watermelon, for example. And there may be some real possibilities with cocktails. Perhaps mint sugar on the rim of a glass of refreshing mojito? Hmm…
My kids both had three servings each of this summer fruit salad. My daughter now thinks I’m the BEST COOKER EVER for making this for her. And you know what? This salad does make me look like pretty darn good cook.
Yield: Serves 6.
This salad disappears QUICK. You may want to make extra.
1/4 cup loosely-packed fresh mint, washed and dried thoroughly
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 pounds cherries, pitted and halved
3 firm-ripe peaches (or nectarines), halved lengthwise, pitted, and cut into 1/3-inch thick wedges.
1/2 pound seedless red grapes (1 1/2 cups), halved
Pulse mint and sugar in a food processor until finely ground.
Combine fruit in large bowl and sprinkle with mint sugar. Toss gently to combine. Let stand 5 minutes prior to serving.
Recipe only slightly tweaked from this one in Gourmet magazine, July 2004.
