Mango, Blueberry and Ginger Fruit Salad

Serves 8
Total Price: NY $9.56 / NY $13.15
Price Per Serving: NY $1.20 / $1.65

"Recessionipes Entertains: It's a Pity Party! (Part 1)"


A good friend of ours, let's call her Blondie, recently discovered that she too is soon to join the rising number of unemployed workers with fancy professional degrees and the student loans to prove it. We told her to come on over for some commiserating, gallows humor and, of course, emotional eating.

I think most of us have noticed that it's a lot cheaper to go out for brunch than it is to go out for dinner: the same rule applies if you're having people over to your home. Blondie, who is an excellent baker, whipped up some coffee cake and we provided a frittata and this fruit salad (Blondie's Apple Coffee Cake was moist, wallet-friendly and delicious, and we're hoping that with a little bit of peer pressure we can coax her into sharing the recipe!).

I've been making this fruit salad for years, because the flavor combination is so refreshing, and much more interesting than you usually get in a traditional fruit salad. Seasonwise, we jumped the gun a bit on this one: later on in the spring it will be both cheaper and more flavorful.


Ingredients

• 2 limes (NY $1.00)
• 1/3 cup water (free!)
• 1/3 cup sugar (staple)
• 2 large mangoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (NY $5.00)
• 3 cups blueberries (NY $3.56)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (staple, or NY $3.59 for 12 oz.)

Instructions
(Note: Be sure to make in advance: you'll want to let this marinate for a while before serving.)

Zest one of the limes using a peeler, and remove any white pith from the strips of the peel with a knife.

Juice both the limes (rolling them with your hand against a cutting board first to loosen up the juices.)

Combine zest, water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.

Stir until all sugar is dissolved, then boil, uncovered approx. 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice.

Let stand for 20 minutes, then remove and discard the zest.

Toss together mangoes, blueberries, ginger and syrup in a large bowl and let stand until ready to serve (recommended: at least 30 minutes.)


Adapted from Gourmet, August 2003

Nutrition Facts

Approximate values per serving

Calories 115.6	Vitamin A 9.1 %	Iron 0.9 %
Total Fat 0.4 g	Vitamin B-12 0.0 %	Magnesium 2.0 %
Cholesterol 0.0 mg	Vitamin B-6 4.6 %	Manganese 8.5 %
Sodium 6.6 mg	Vitamin C 40.4 %	Niacin 2.6 %
Potassium 140.4 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Phosphorus 1.2 %
Total Carbohydrate 30.2 g	Vitamin E 5.6 %	Riboflavin 3.5 %
Fiber 2.5 g	Calcium 1.0 %	Selenium 1.0 %
Sugars 18.0 g	Copper 4.6 %	Thiamin 3.9 %
Protein 0.7 g	Folate 2.9 %	Zinc 0.6 %