The Easiest Salad I’ve ever made - and one of the tastiest!

It is still winter in Northern Vermont. The ground is covered with snow, but the days are noticeably longer, sun is stronger and I saw two cardinals in my backyard yesterday. But salad days are still a long way off and salads won’t replace soups anytime soon in our daily meal planning. Except for one, the Avocado Grapefruit Salad that my mother used to make (we are talking well over half a century ago......).

There are only two ingredients in this salad and the name tells all. One ripe avocado, one ruby grapefruit - that’s it. I start with the grapefruit as the acid in its juice will keep the avocado from turning brown when it is cut. I cut the grapefruit in half and using a curved grapefruit knife (one of the few items in my kitchen that has only one use) carefully cut the sections of fruit away from the membrane. Drop them into a bowl large enough to hold both ingredients and squeeze out the remaining juice over the sections. Cut the avocado in half, remove the large pit and score the flesh into “cubes” the size of the grapefruit pieces. With a spoon scrape them away from the skin and drop them into the bowl being sure to cover them with juice. Mix well and admire how the spring green of the avocado sets off the rose of the grapefruit visually just as the smooth creamy avocado sets off the tart grapefruit "explosion." Serve in two small bowls and enjoy. That’s all there is to it.

Hot Lemonade

Continuing on two themes of my last blog, namely, new uses for common ingredients and making vegetables more fun, I will discuss frozen lemonade, as in, “if life gives you lemons.....”

Although frozen lemonade concentrate is available all year round, most of us think of it strictly as a summertime thirst quencher. It is so much more versatile than that! I use it in so many ways that are “off-label” that I totally forget about lemonade. As a thirst quencher I have two favorite drinks. For an iced tea that is so much better than any mix , bottled or canned drink simply put a tea bag in a cup, pour boiling water over it and let it stand 5 minutes. Take 1 - 2 teaspoons of frozen concentrated lemonade and put it into a tall heatproof glass. Fill the glass with ice. Put one of the ice cubes in the hot tea to cool it down and then pour the tea into the heatproof, plastic or metal glass and you’ll have a perfect glass of iced tea. A quicker drink is made by filling a glass with ice, adding 1 - 2 teaspoons of frozen lemonade concentrate and then mixing in plain seltzer to make a lemony soda. Yum.

But the best uses aren’t beverages at all. When I make a fruit salad I put a tablespoon of the concentrate in a bowl before I cut up the apple, pear, banana, etc. It keeps the fruit from turning brown, creates its own juice for the salad and adds a little tang. Its amazing how a fruit salad can come together with so few pieces of fruit and so little effort. Adding a few frozen strawberries and/or blueberries and some cut up orange sections adds color and texture as well as flavor to a winter fruit salad. And if you are tempted to put a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream on top. try mixing 1/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt with one tablespoon of concentrate and you have a creamy, healthy, topping. (This lemon sauce is also great on pie, gingerbread, etc.)

It is with the vegetables that the frozen lemonade shines. The absolute simplest way to dress up brussel sprouts, broccoli, cooked green beans or cooked spinach (and any other green) is to to mix a tablespoon of frozen lemonade with a tablespoon of olive oil and mix it in with the cooked greens. For a fancier dressing for vegetables, melt a tablespoon of butter in the microwave in a glass or ceramic bowl. Mix in a tablespoon of frozen lemonade and a tablespoon of water and heat for 20 seconds. Add 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or sliced almonds and pour over the vegetable as you serve them. Vegetables won’t seem boring anymore.

This time of year in the depth of flu and cold season there is a fabulous remedy for that sore, scratchy throat. You guessed it: hot lemonade. Put a tablespoon of frozen lemonade concentrate in a cup; pour boiling water over it and enjoy a soothing drink that will remind you that summer will come again.