Melon Pineapple Salsa

Gather up:

• 1/2 of a melon – cantaloupe, honeydew, canary, or mix and match
• 1/2 of a pineapple
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/4 red onion
• 1 jalapeño pepper (add a Serrano for extra kick!)
• ~ 1″ length of fresh ginger root
• 1 lime
• 4 sprigs of mint leaf (about 2 tbsp of leaves)
• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar (salt and sugar free)

Rough chop the melon, pineapple, bell peppers, and onion.  Toss them into a bowl.  Mince up the ginger nice and fine (DON’T grate it) and toss it in.  Remove the seeds and white membrane from inside the jalapeño, then mince it up and add to the mix.

A little note of caution here, in case you’re new to this whole “mincing hot peppers” thing – if you don’t have some sort of food-safe rubber or plastic gloves to wear while chopping up the hot peppers (I don’t bother), then keep a couple things in mind.  Hot peppers contain oils that can irritate the skin, and especially sensitive skin.  So when you get done handling and chopping those peppers, make sure you wash your hands with soap and hot water.  Then wash them again.  Then do it again.

Finely chop up the mint leaves and add them as well.  Juice the lime and add it (I like to also add the pulp), along with the EVOO and the rice vinegar.

Mix it all up very well, then refrigerate until cold to let the flavors mix a bit – around 30 min to a couple of hours.  It’s even better the next day, as things really start to mix.