mint leaves – Buen provecho…2022

Green Mango Salad

Our neighbours introduced us to Green Papaya Salad, a favourite Thai salad with crisp vegetables. Alas, no green papayas to be found. Why not Green Mango Salad? The green refers to the unripeness, not the outside colour. Stefano Faita, one of my fav Canadian chefs and CBC personality had published this recipe…great colour! FYI…you could use firm nectarines in place of the mango.

As always, my changes are shown in red.

Green Mango Salad

INGREDIENTS

2 large to 3 small green or under ripe mangoes, julienned

1 carrot, julienned (substitute 3 red radishes)

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 cup each mint leaves and Thai basil

1 tbsp. sweet spicy chili sauce

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. fish sauce, or to taste

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

Mint or Thai Basil, for garnish (optional)

PREPARATION

Add green mangoes, carrot or radishes, red onion, red pepper, mint, Thai basil and chili sauce to bowl. Toss to combine.

Combine lime juice, sugar, and fish sauce and vegetable oil in small bowl. Stir to combine. Toss with salad. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Chilled Strawberry Soup

I have always remembered this soup from my adolescent years for some reason. I was looking for something different for dinner with friends in place of a salad. Too warm for regular hot soup and we happened to have a box of strawberries in the fridge. Pinterest showed me this wonderful and simple recipe!

TIP – Whether it’s a salad or cold soup, I always freeze my bowls before serving time!

Chilled Strawberry Soup

Author: This Mess Is Ours Prep time: 2 hours 15 mins

Total time: 2 hours 15 mins Serves: 4 cups

This soup only takes about 15 minutes of time to prepare but be sure to let it chill for 2 hours before serving so that the flavors intensify.

Ingredients

3 cups sliced fresh strawberries, preferably organic
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
½ cup white grape juice (or white wine)
3 tablespoons raw honey (one tablespoon was sufficient)

To garnish

freshly ground black pepper
sliced fresh strawberries
1 or 2 radishes, cut into thin shreds with a grater or mandoline
fresh mint

Instructions

In a food processor or high powered blender process the 3 cups of sliced strawberries, Greek yogurt, white grape juice, and honey until smooth. Stopping periodically to scrape the sides. Cover and chill for 1½- 2 hours. Garnish with freshly ground pepper, sliced strawberries, shredded radishes, and bits of mint. Serve immediately. NB…dont skip the radishes, they were awesome!

Vegan Watermelon Pizza

Just bring a dessert..don’t you just hate that comment from a hostess? Just kidding, but that was the invite last week where we were meeting up with our dear vegan friend and a few others for cocktails and drinks. What to bring? Uhm…we had a watermelon. We use Pinterest… Do we have any berries and coconut? Do we have peaches or mangoes? This sounds perfect…and it was so good we have made it twice since!!!

Vegan Watermelon Pizza Dessert

• 1 watermelon (we used the round seedless ones)
• 1 peach or mango
• Cherries (about 10) (you could skip these if you don’t have any fresh ones)
• Fresh mint
• Toasted coconut
• Sauce:
• 5 strawberries or a combination of berries
• Squeeze of fresh lime juice
• Couple of mint leaves

raspberry sambucca or possible coconut rum?
Instructions
1. To make the sauce, place the strawberries or mixed berries, a squeeze of lime juice, and some mint into a blender. Puree until smooth. Taste and adjust flavors accordingly.
2. For the watermelon pizza, slice your watermelon in half (not lengthwise!) Cut out 2 1-inch thick “wheels” from the watermelon. Lay the watermelon circles down and cut into pizza slices. Spread desired amount of sauce onto the “pizza.” Arrange your toppings onto the watermelon and serve.

Since we had no peaches, we used some frozen mango slices we had, along with some frozen sliced strawberries. The second time around we used fresh raspberries. Oh yeah…one more thing. The second time around we used a few drops of raspberry sambucca in the sauce….great for an adult party!