Green Fruit Salad

Tonight I decided to prepare meat free bbq pulled pork sandwiches on fresh ciabatta rolls for the main course. I found a brand of tasty meat free products by a company called Gardein. My good friend Pamela will be happy to hear that this is a Canadian company. No, Pamela, regardless of how much I like this product, I am not going to sing "Oh Canada" any time soon. :) The back of the package reads "Really, protein from the garden? You bet! Gardein is a savory blend of nutritious vegetable and grain ingredients prepared and slow-cooked to have the authentic taste, texture and nutrition of premium lean meat." This is the second time I have prepared bbq "pork" sandwiches with these pulled shreds. Brad and I like the sandwiches a lot and the fact that there are only 170 calories per serving and a whopping 19 grams of protein only adds to the attraction.

The question today became what to serve with the sandwiches. I was feeling as though something light and fruity would cut the spiciness of the sandwiches and would lighten the meal. I found a lovely recipe for Green Fruit Salad in one of my salad cookbooks. This salad was the perfect partner to the main course. Of course, it didn't hurt that I ended up with the sweetest honeydew melon I have ever eaten. I forgot how good honeydew melon tastes when it is at peak ripeness. Preparation instructions are as follows:

Ingredients:

1 honeydew melon

2 green apples

2 kiwi fruit

4 ounces white seedless grapes

fresh mint sprigs to decorate

1 orange

2/3 cup white wine

2/3 cup water

4 Tbsp honey

mint sprigs

To make syrup, pare rind from the orange using a potato peeler. Put orange rind in pan with white wine, water and honey. Bring to boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove syrup from heat. Add mint sprigs and set aside to cool.

To prepare fruit, first cut melon in half and scoop out seeds. Use a melon baller or a teaspoon to make melon balls (I love my melon baller. I just got it last summer and I sometimes buy melon just so I can use it :). Core and chop apples. Peel and slice kiwi fruit.

Strain cooled syrup into serving bowl, removing and reserving orange rind, and discarding mint sprigs. Add apple, grapes, kiwi and melon to serving bowl. Stir through gently to mix. Serve fruit salad decorated with sprigs of fresh mint and some of reserved orange rind. Serves 4.

We give this salad two enthusiastic thumbs up. Olivia ate the fruit sans syrup and she gave it a thumbs up as well.