I breathed a sigh of relief while I watched my older daughter cut some mango. “Finally,” I thought to myself, smelling the tang of sliced fruit in the air. It had been a strange road getting to this fruit salsa.
A few weeks ago, I gathered my kids together to look through our “Healthy Snacks for Hungry Kids” cookbook. Filled with simple but tasty recipes, the cookbook helps you and your kids create a nutritious snack together, with a little bonding along the way.
My kids are always excited to mess around with ingredients and get dirty. “Should be a breeze,” I thought smugly to myself. And it was! Except for the times the universe slightly conspired against us on the way.
The Snack That Wasn’t Meant to Be
We ultimately enjoyed making the fruit salsa with chips, a colorful mix of raspberries, kiwi, peaches, and lime. However, it wasn’t our first choice. When we first checked out the cookbook, the kids wanted to try the cheddar bacon muffins.
Put the words “cheddar” and “bacon” together and, as far as I’m concerned, you’ve got a winning combo. But, as I mentioned, this particular dish wasn’t in the cards for us.
Recipe Roadblocks
The first hiccup we encountered was when our roof leaked on the rainy night we attempted the muffins. We set aside our plans for muffin baking as I made calls to my insurance company.
The second problem was the one that made us switch to a different recipe. My wife turned the oven on to make some lunch. At that moment, the fuses tripped, and our house lost power. Once we got the electricity back, only half the heating coils in the oven would turn on. We went back to the cookbook for a new recipe.
The last obstacle came when I went shopping for ingredients for the fruit salsa. Peaches were no longer available at the local grocery store. We were just past the start of fall. Bewildered, I recalled a mountain of ruddy peaches overflowing from the bin just a couple of weeks before.
Dismayed, I thought about substituting canned fruit, but I didn't like that idea, and I knew the kids would be against it. Then I happened across some mangos and grabbed those for their yellow color.
Fruit Salsa: A Sweet Endeavor
Once we finally got going, the fruit salsa was a treat that was fun to both make and eat. The red, green, and yellow of the fruit look great together. The bit of lime zest adds a delicious citrusy kick. Although we didn’t get to make the salsa with peaches, the mango was a perfect flavor and color match for this dish.
How My Kids Helped
The fruit salsa is also great for involving kids of all ages. It includes simple tasks, like measuring and mixing, along with more advanced stuff, like peeling, cutting, and grating. The kids were happy to use kitchen tools, and both felt like they really contributed to putting the dish together.
When I asked them about the salsa, they both said that it was delicious. As she took her first bite, my younger daughter exclaimed, “Mmm, good!” Her sister heartily agreed. They also both commented on how much fun they had measuring, peeling, and cutting.
The kids liked it so much we decided to make another batch to bring to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for dinner a week later.
The Universe Wasn’t Done with Us
Along with the salsa, we also made the cinnamon chips. Although I was a bit skeptical, as none of us particularly love cinnamon, we all thought the chips really complemented the flavor of the salsa. My older daughter even commented that she would eat these chips all on their own.
However, we hit another minor snag when making them. Our oven still wasn’t fully working, but we decided to give it a shot anyway. I figured that if I watched the chips carefully while they baked, they would turn out fine. Of course, I immediately got distracted helping the girls with the fruit.
A few moments later, a curious smell snapped me to attention, and I ran to the oven. The first batch of chips was ruined – the tops were burnt black. I sighed to myself for forgetting about the universe’s mischievousness and set about gathering new ingredients for the chips. I watched the second batch like a hawk and, luckily, we were able to pull beautifully toasted cinnamon chips out of the oven for all to enjoy.
Fruit Salsa with Chips: A Long Road to a Sweet Reward
Despite our troubles, you should find this a recipe that’s easy to make, easy on the eyes, and most importantly, tastes great. I appreciated sharing that time with my kids and enjoyed their proud looks as they served the salsa to their grandparents.
We highly recommend this dish and encourage you to be flexible with it - try whatever fruit you might have on hand, and share it with your loved ones!
