Food Tips: Grapefruit brightens up dark winter days

Hooray for grapefruit season!

There's no question that the pink and red grapefruit varieties add a burst of sunshine during the shorter, darker and colder days of winter. One recent morning, my son Kyle decided he wanted to play "Chopped" for his breakfast. I closed my eyes while he selected a pink grapefruit, hot sauce and a Ding Dong (yes, I keep those in the freezer for sweet cravings).

I halved the grapefruit, sprinkled the flesh with light brown sugar and cinnamon and then broiled it until the sugar was bubbly and golden brown. I nestled the halves on a white plate, drizzled the hot sauce in a decorative circle around the edge of the plate and then sprinkled little pieces of the Ding Dong into the hot sauce (I figured it was a deconstructed mole sauce). Kyle adored it all.

I'm not suggesting you serve your family hot sauce and Ding Dongs for breakfast, but the broiled grapefruit was amazing. Nutritionally speaking, red and pink grapefruits are crammed with vitamins C and A. In fact, one serving of grapefruit contains about 78 percent of your daily recommended vitamin C intake and 53 percent of your daily vitamin A recommendation.

The "Chopped" breakfast incident got me thinking: How about a savory concoction? Hence, the salsa recipe below.

GRAPEFRUIT-AVOCADO SALSA

For a little sweetness, add 1 tablespoon of honey. For a little heat, add one finely minced jalapeno pepper.

2 cups pink or red grapefruit sections, "supreme" style

1 avocado, pitted and diced

2 tablespoons minced white onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine the grapefruit, avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice and coriander. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Courtesy Robin Miller on foodnetwork.com