kiwi for lunch

Zespri Kiwifruit's lunch 2.0 blogger's recipe contest ends today, so I'm showcasing my Kiwi For Lunch bento with kiwi in three forms: salsa, yogurt, & tarts.
We brought this picnic bento to the park, along with some new Laurel Hill multigrain tortilla chips. I usually buy Green Mountain Gringo, but the flax, quinoa, and chia seeds (all non-GMO) in these beckoned me to give them a try. The problem? Not enough salsa to go with the chips. Yes, really, I made a whole bowl of the stuff, only to be left with this tiny portion for the picnic. My husband couldn't leave it alone (I made it the night before), and the kids kept picking at it in the morning.
The top tier: red & gold raspberries from our CSA; kiwi strawberry tartlets (using strawberries from our CSA that I had frozen)...only 3 made it into the bento box because everyone was clamouring at the oven waiting for them to cool.
The bottom tier: kiwi mango salsa; vegan chik'n salad; agave sweetened soy yogurt pureed with 1/2 a kiwi (with slice kiwi quarters for garnish).
Chips on the side. Of course only half the bag even made it to the park. Four kids will do that.

Kiwi Mango Salsa

2 kiwifruit (green and/or gold)
1 mango
1/2 a jalapeno
2 T. finely diced red onion
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Peel the kiwifruit, then chop.
Peel the mango, slice around the pit, then chop.
Cut a jalapeno in half, remove the seeds, then finely dice half of it.
Slice a chunk off of a red onion, remove outer peel, then finely dice.
Chop some fresh cilantro.
Place everything in a medium bowl and stir. Refrigerate for at least a little while to marry the flavours together (but preferably not overnight where your husband can find it!).

Great with chips or flat pretzels, rolled up in a rice & bean burrito, served with loaded nachos, as a topping for baked potatoes...or even straight out of the bowl with a spoon!

The other kiwi items in
the lunch included these
easy kiwi strawberry tarts.
Nothing to them really,
just cut out rounds of
thawed puff pastry, thinly
sliced quartered kiwifruit,
& a 1/4 tsp. sugar (total for
all 9 tartlets), sliced straw-.
berries. Bake at 350 for 15
mins. Allow to cool before
removing from baking sheet.

Nate always likes to observe
whatever I'm working on,
but AJ still thinks the kitchen
stool belongs to him since he
insists he will be a baker when
he grows up. Of course Ryan
would have been happy to
enter the contest all on his
own, but the rules state you
have to be at least 21. Maybe
I'll let him have a go at the last
kiwi for his lemonade stand
tomorrow and see what he
comes up with!

While Maia enjoyed bites
of tart, and picking tidbits
of juicy kiwi and mango
from the salsa, let's not
forget her favourite part:
the kiwifruit yogurt puree.
I happened to use agave
sweetened vanilla soy yogurt,
but could just have easily paired it with vanilla coconut yogurt. And for those of you who do dairy I'm sure it would work just as well. One peeled kiwifruit per yogurt, blended well, or 1/2 a kiwifruit per cup if you find kiwi flavour a bit intense. The black seeds were completely pulverized and not at all gritty, but I have a good, fast little blender.

With 4 kids it's a necessity
to pack food wherever we
go. A warm afternoon around
Cambridge was enjoyable
with a tasty bento and some
water bottles. The boys
played at the sprinkler park,
ate their picnic, got haircuts,
visited the game store, went
out for sushi, and wore us all
out as usual.

Now I'm off to search the web and learn more and about kiwifruit, like where they can grow, the difference between green & yellow (because I can't taste the difference), etc. Enjoy your kiwifruit!