Avocado & Mango Salad

So avocado is green, right?  Right!  Mango does not come from anywhere near where I live but I went for it anyway, as they looked unblemished, plump and juicy!  Today’s post of Avocado & Mango Salad is a delicious way to get into the mood for spring.Some of you living where there is still snow on the ground might be ready for a little warm weather and to see a few buds popping out on your trees and flowers.  It’s happening in my neighborhood.

Yesterday after the rain stopped, the clouds started to dissipate and the sun started to peek out, I happened to step outside and was met with a very loud buzzing!  The warm temps and rain gave occasion to many trees budding out on that day.  With the rain gone and the wind still, forager bees ventured out from the safety of their hives.  The sound I heard was an orchestra of busy bees in a red oak tree right outside my breezeway door.  Thousands of bees gathering golden-yellow pollen from this one tree.  Their pollen sacks laden with bounty, ready to be stored in the hive and used for food or to be turned into honey.  Their choice!  I stood and watched them work a while and then walked away to retrieve something I’d left in my car at which time I realized the music of their buzz could be heard several feet away.  That sound is pleasing to a bee keeper, assurance that the hives will have food for their survival and honey for their keeper.

When you look at the photo below, you’ll see the pollen sacks full of golden pollen.  When she returns to the hive the inside bees will remove the pollen from her sacks, store it in the comb and clean any pollen dust from her body, readying her for another trip to the tree.  The second photo shows two bees working on the same bloom.  There were thousands of hard-working little girls, I tell you.

This healthy and delicious salad, made even better by the drizzle of honey and lime dressing.  The creamy avocado and  juicy mango are enriched by the mixture of honey and fresh squeezed lime juice.  A sprinkle of fresh ground pepper finishes off the salad.  Served with fresh fruits on the side, grapes, strawberries, blueberries or any other fresh fruits you might have on hand could turn this into a lunch salad that will stand on its own.  I served it alongside roasted elk au jus and organic brown rice.  It was a satisfying stand-in to a green salad.

Enjoy!

Avocado & Mango Salad with Honey-Lime Drizzle

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
1 ripe mango
2 tsp. honey
juice of half a lime

Half and remove pit from avocado.  Peel, slice and dice mango.  Whisk  together honey and lime juice.  Place a leaf of washed leaf lettuce on a plate.  Place an avocado half on the lettuce, fill the core with diced mango.  Drizzle with honey-lime mixture and crack a little fresh ground pepper on top.