All fruit should be washed and dried before being ready for the salad.
2
Cut skin from pineapple, so no brown spots are left. Cut peeled fruit into quarters lengthwise, cut off core, then dice each quarter into approximate one-inch chunks. Place in large bowl.
3
Peel and remove seeds from the cantaloupe, then cut into one-inch cubes. Place in bowl with pineapple.
4
Halve or quarter strawberries, depending on size, and add to bowl.
5
Slice each nectarine into about 10-12 slices, then gently pull each slice away from pit and add them to the bowl.
6
Cut the ends off of kiwi fruits, then insert a small spoon just under peel of each, and slide it around the fruit, just under the peel, until the peel is separated from the fruit. Cut each peeled kiwi in half lengthwise, then each half into four or five slices. Add to the rest of fruit.
7
Add blueberries and blackberries to the rest of fruit. Prepare dressing (below).
8
In a small bowl (I actually prefer a mason jar to shake the ingredients together in), mix together honey, lime juice and zest, ginger (I use a microplane to grate it fine), and poppy seeds. Whisk well, then pour over fruit and toss gently to coat.
9
(You can prepare this salad up to a day ahead of time, but keep the different kinds of fruit separated from each other just until serving, or the colors will bleed. It tastes best at room temperature. The dressing actually tastes better made a day in advance anyway).
10
TIPS ON FINDING RIPE FRUIT: For pineapple, the skin should be slightly yellow, firm to the touch but not hard--will give a little. And, when a leaf near the top of the fruit is tugged gently, it should easily remove from the fruit. For cantaloupe, it should be firm but give slightly, a bit yellowish on the rind--those "veins" are a good sign--it means they were left long enough on the ground to ripen properly. And, if you poke a fingernail in the top "dime" spot, you should be able to smell the fruit. If you can't smell anything, it's not ripe. Strawberries should be shiny and fragrant. Nectarines should have a slight give and be fragrant. Blueberries and blackberries should be firm and deeply colored. Kiwi fruit should be firm, but not rock hard--must have a very slight "give".
Asparagus, Strawberry Salad With Honey Lime Dressing
Rinse greens and tear pieces for 4 to 6 salad plates.
3
Trim ends of asparagus and discard woody stems. Steam spears just until tender and plunge into ice water bath to retain bright green color and let cool. Remove and pat dry.
4
Arrange asparagus spears in a fan shape over salad greens. Add strawberry slices and sprinkle with toasted pecans.
5
For Honey Lime Dressing:.
6
Mix juice of lime, honey, mayonnaise and sour cream together. This will be a thin dressing, but makes a wonderful drizzle over salad.
Add cream to food blender. Add all other ingredients. Pulse until desired consistency. Refrigerate at least 8 hours. It tastes so much better after 24 hours, or so.
Toast the chiles in the oven for 2 minutes or until fragrant being careful not to burn.
2
Place the toasted chiles in a sauce pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil on medium heat covered for 15 minutes.
3
Place the chiles (stems removed) in the blender reserving the water they were inches Add in all the other ingredients and blend on high to make a fairly thick paste. Add some of the reserved water if needed to thin the sauce out.
4
Marinate your choice of meat in this paste for 6-8 hours and then grill the meat or you can pour the paste and reserved water in a large stock pot with the meat. Add additional water to cover the meat and slow cook it for 3-4 hours in the pot.