Kiwi-Avocado Salsa

bright, tangy and not a sweet potato!

The Holiday season is coming to its natural end, and so is your desire to keep eating holiday foods. Right now the idea of eating sage-laced stuffing or baked yams holds very little appeal. No, now it’s time to lighten up and detox from all those cookies. And to build your immunity to make it through the long part of winter.

So, forgive me locavores, but I’m buying kiwi. Fresh fruit has some travel miles on it these days, but a little indulgence will brighten your day. The unassuming little kiwi is a tangy powerhouse of nutrition, with one fuzzy fruit containing 1 ½ of your days vitamin C, as much potassium as a banana, and good amounts of A, E and beta carotene.

For a bonus, those crunchy black seeds contain a good fat called Alpha Linoleic Acid, which vegetarians need. Of course, you can’t really eat enough kiwi to get a whole lot of ALA, but it adds up.

Kiwi has been shown to help prevent asthma attacks, protect DNA and protect your colon.

It’s also got a sprightly sweet-tart flavor and lots of juice. Start by peeling and slicing it over salads or into your cereal bowl. I like to throw some in the blender to make a vinaigrette, using the sourness instead of vinegar. The beautiful slices make pretty tarts and fruit salads, too.

My biggest craving, for about a week now, has been for a kiwi salsa. I had some kiwis sitting on the sill in the kitchen, calling out with their little fruity voices. I kept waking up thinking about it, and then, because I am a private chef, I would go out and make hearty winter roasty food for my clients. The craving for the salsa kept building until today. Diced kiwi, fresh red chile, diced avocado, a pinch of sugar and a squirt of lime, and some cilantro if you’ve got it makes a delicious dipper for some baked chips.

Yum, and not a sage leaf in sight!

Kiwi-Avocado Salsa

3 ripe kiwis, peeled and diced

1 small avocado, diced (see photo below for a tip)

1 large Red Fresno Chile, diced

squeeze of fresh lime

sweetener

pinch salt

2 tbs cilantro, chopped

Combine all ingredients, and taste, adjust the tart/sweet balance with a little more lime or sweetener to taste. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

dice the avocado in the shell, then scoop out!

Papaya-Kiwi Vinaigrette

here is a recipe for an interesting kiwi vinaigrette!