And Now the Weather...

It’s August. There’s a heat wave. It feels like I secretly live in Saigon when I walk outside and I complain about it incessantly. I definitely do not want to a) turn on my oven or b) eat anything that isn’t chilled.

Walking home from work, it strikes me: I want melon for lunch tomorrow! I run to the store buy a cantaloupe and think about what else I have in the fridge that could bulk that up for lunch. I can’t just eat a piece of fruit for lunch. Mentally that just doesn’t cut it for me.  

Couscous. Peaches. Cherries. Yogurt. Some leftover mint that still has some life in it. We can work with this!  

I’m rather proud of this recipe because it’s 100% my own. It makes for the perfect, cooling, seasonal summer treat and adding the couscous a) makes it slightly more substantial and b) takes it out of the dessert category and moves it (at least in my mind) into savory. A simple yogurt dressing adds a bit more heft and flavor as well. Is it really much different from when your mom used to make you breakfast for dinner? And all the fruit is good for you anyway!  

“Just Don’t Call Me a Fruit” Salad

½ a cantaloupe, cut into large chunks

Handful of bing cherries, pitted and halved

1 peach, diced

½ cup cooked couscous 

½ cup low fat Greek yogurt

Honey, to taste

10-12 mint leaves, chopped

This one is super easy to assemble. But let’s walk through how to cut up a cantaloupe and a peach and how to make couscous in case you’ve never done that before.

Using a chef’s knife, first cut the melon in half and then use a spoon to scoop out the seeds in the middle. Take one half and wrap it in plastic and put it in the fridge for future savoring. Take the other half and cut it in half again. Then cut the half into slices. Now grab a paring knife and remove the rind so that you get rid of the hard part and the green around the edge, leaving you just with the succulent orange flesh. Now cut that into chunks. Congrats, you now know how to prep a melon.

Peaches could probably use some clarification as well because getting around the pit of a stone fruit can be a bit tricky. I’d hate for you to mangle your beautiful fruit and destroy your presentation.

So grab your paring knife again and create a vertical cut all the way around the peach, creating two halves. The peach is not going to come apart all that easily though and the flesh (unlike an apricot which is much sturdier) is delicate. Create another vertical cut and make a slice that is still attached to the pit. Then carefully cut that slice away from the pit. You should now have a fairly pretty looking slice (although the first cut tends to end up a bit messy). Now repeat that process until you finish the first half. At this point the pit should be exposed enough for you to cut that out. Do that and then easily and quickly slice the other half. Then cut it up into chunks. That wasn’t so bad! And now you have aesthetically pleasing chunks of peach rather than a mushy mess.

Couscous requires almost no explanation. It's pretty much foolproof. Go to the store and buy a package of the plain variety from a brand like Near East. Follow the directions on the box, which are essentially 1) boil water 2) add couscous 3) turn off the heat 4) let it sit for 5 minutes 5) fluff. b00m couscous! Another great mix-in staple. Make it once at the beginning of the week and have enough for multiple creative uses. 

Get a mixing bowl down and add the cantaloupe, peach, cherries, couscous and roughly ¾ of the chopped mint. Mix it up to start melding the mint flavors with the fruit.

Now let’s make a super simple but delicious yogurt dressing. Take the Greek yogurt and put it in a small bowl. Add a generous squirt of honey and sprinkle some of the leftover chopped mint on it. Mix it up with a fork to combine and let the flavors meld.

To keep the fruit fresher, I’d recommend not mixing it with the yogurt until you get to the office, but there’s no real reason you can’t pack them both in the same container. So transfer the fruit into your lunch container, scoop the yogurt in next to it and off you go.

Impress yourself (and everyone around you) with your avant garde notions of what qualifies as lunch.