Sweet Mint Grapefruit Salad

We’re coming off an emotional weekend with Jason’s family saying goodbye to someone very special.

(prayer card in memory of Grandma)

Now that we’re back we’re trying our best to get back into our normal routine, which involves work for Jason and bar exam studying for me. I managed to do all of our grocery shopping for the week at the farmers market today, and made this salad in an effort to have fruit readily available in the house for meals.

I actually first made this salad, based on an Epicurious recipe, as part of a dinner I made for my family a couple weeks ago. Everyone loved it at dinner (Ashley went back for seconds!) and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it kept very well in the fridge and was delicious for days afterward. If you’re a mint skeptic, have no fear! So am I. I do NOT enjoy anything that is peppermint flavored and I generally skip over a recipe when it features fresh mint. Unless it’s a cocktail, which I never refuse. But this time I gave it a shot, and I’m SO glad that I did!

All the mint really does here is to elevate the flavors of the citrus, giving all the sweet juices from the fruit an extra crispness that is SO refreshing. Especially now, in the dead of winter, when berries are sour and tomatoes look anemic. It’s the perfect thing to brighten cold weather meals.

I know what I’m having for breakfasts this week!

Side note: Can you tell I got a new lens?! Christmas present from Jason! I’ve been using the kit lens that came with my DSLR since I got it back in May, but this new one is going to help me take my photos to the next level. And make it MUCH harder to put my camera down and focus on studying…

Thank you guys for all your responses to my survey! I learned that exactly 70% of you like posts that combine food/recipes with my everyday life, while the other 30% like posts that show my life and my family. I always assume that no one really cares about what I’m doing and just want to see pretty pictures of food, but I’m pleasantly surprised to see otherwise! I also learned that people are split when it comes to the kinds of recipes that they want to see. 27% don’t care about the recipes, as long as the picture looks delicious (I’m not surprised, I actually expected this percentage to be higher!), 27% want practical recipes/easy meal ideas, 20% want vegetarian recipes, 20% want healthy recipes, and 7% want Southern/soul food. I’m glad to know this! I will always stay true to the kind of food that I love most and want to share, but it’s definitely good to know that people are interested in healthy and practical recipes. And thank you to those of you who left comments in the survey…some of your responses REALLY warmed my heart and made my day!

Alright…today has officially involved too much blogging and not enough studying. I best get back to the grind.

-Lauren