Mojito Fruit Salad

I know the calendar says the start of summer comes in June, but for me, summer kicks off Memorial Day weekend. And with the arrival of summer, come cookouts, camp-outs and all those great outdoor eating activities.

As a family, we camp out at least once a month when my husband and daughter compete in bass fishing tournaments in the bass club we belong to. For the past three years, I was my husband’s bass fishing “partner” but this year, I decided to take the season off to hopefully recharge my bass fishing “mojo” (which was sorely lacking last season). Now that I spend the weekend leisurely relaxing in the camper while my husband and daughter battle the elements and the bass out on the water, I have more time to spend cooking and creating things to take to the dinner that takes place after the fish have been weighed in. Each month, there’s a different food theme and everyone in the club contributes something to the table. I have to tell you, it’s quite the spread.

Cooking in the camper, however, presents a bit of a challenge, due to the lack of space. While my little kitchen features a three-burner gas stove, microwave oven and fridge, there’s just not an abundance of counter space that, as every cook knows, is an essential when it comes to cooking. I have to be quite creative and I’ve gotten pretty good at preparing food with a total of six inches of counter space. It’s a bit like cooking in a dollhouse.

But back to the food... I always struggle with something creative to bring to the dinner just because of the lack of food prep area and limited refrigerator space. Luckily, I’ve found a great fruit salad recipe though that doesn’t require a lot of prep space and can also be stored in plastic bags in the cooler until it’s time to eat. I first tried this fruit salad at a Sysco food event that I attended for work and while I didn’t get the recipe, an Internet search provided me with about 20 different variations. It’s a Mojito Fruit Salad and if you love the taste of lime and mint, combined with fresh fruit, you’ll love this salad. And it couldn’t be easier. The most time consuming part is cutting up the fruit and if you didn’t want to do that, you can find pre-cut fruit in any grocery store produce section. I went with the pre-cut fruit option for our camping dinner in May and it worked out really well because it eliminated the need for a lot of prep space.

Mojito Fruit Salad

Ingredients

1/4 cup fresh lime juice and zest of one lime

2 tbsp sugar (I used turbinado sugar called “sugar in the raw” but white sugar is fine too)

Mint, finely chopped (about a handful if you’re picking it fresh from the garden or about half a package of the pre-packaged mint you can find in the grocery store)

Fresh Fruit of your choice (I used a pint of blueberries, a quart of strawberries, a pint of raspberries, 1 small cantaloupe and a package of pre-cut watermelon chunks)

1. Combine the lime juice and sugar in a small bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the chopped mint and stir to combine.
2. Pour the lime mixture over the fruit and gently toss the fruit to coat. Zest lime over the fruit mixture. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

The nice thing about this recipe too is you can easily double it to feed a crowd. Simply double the lime mixture. The other nice thing is the longer it sits, the more the fruit absorbs the lime and mint flavor.