Jicama Fruit Salad with Cilantro and Lime

Whole Foods mixed grated coconut into their deli salad—my inspiration for this recipe. This would be a fabulous dessert for a Mexican-theme menu.

1 cup chopped fresh pineapple

2 oranges

1 ripe mango

8 ounces jicama

2 limes

2 tablespoons agave nectar or sugar

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

Put the pineapple in a bowl, making sure to remove any eyes. Remove the peel and white pith from the oranges: with an orange standing on its cut bottom, slice down the sides, following the orange’s contour, completely removing the outside white pith as well as the orange peel. Remove the segments by cutting between the fruit and the membrane. Discard any seeds and add the segments to the pineapple.

To cut the mango into cubes, hold it with one of the more tapered sides (the sides that won’t lie flat) on a cutting board and slice lengthwise along the mango’s large seed. Cut the other side off the seed. Cut a cross-hatch into the pulp of each these sides, being careful not to cut down into the peel. Turn the diced pulp inside out in the skin and slice out the diced pulp. Cut the remaining pulp from the mango seed, then peel and dice it. Add the mango to the bowl.

Peel the jicama and slice it into rounds. Then slice again into narrow strips. Add to the bowl.

Grate the zest from the limes and add to the fruit. Juice the limes. In another bowl, whisk the lime juice with the agave nectar until it is mixed. Add the cilantro and pour over the fruit.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Gold Beets and Goat Cheese

My neighbor and friend Rhonda throws fabulous parties. She invites a fun-loving crowd and offers plenty of booze, and always serves a creative food buffet. She loves beets, so if there are beets in the garden, these little sandwiches will be one of the appetizers. If she would have a party on a weeknight, when I wasn’t working so late, I might be there before everyone else nibbled them up.

Golden beets, as needed, washed and trimmed, greens reserved for another purpose

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup agave nectar or sugar or honey

1 teaspoon Dijon style mustard

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Log-shape goat cheese, as needed

Toasted chopped hazelnuts, pine nuts or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the beets in a small roasting pan and pour in enough cold water to reach about 1/4 of the way of the sides of the beets. Cover the pan and roast the beets until they are tender when poked with a skewer, 1 to 2 hours, depending on their size.

Remove the beets from the pan and allow to cool. Slip the skin off the beets and cut each beet into 1/4-inch rounds.

Make a vinaigrette with the vinegar, agave nectar, mustard, olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper.

Cut the goat cheese into 1/4-inch round slices using a string of sewing thread. Sandwich a slice of goat cheese between 2 beet rounds, drizzling some of the vinaigrette in between. Arrange on a serving plate. Drizzle with more vinaigrette and sprinkle with toasted nuts.

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