opposite salad.

I love the contrasting tastes of sweet and savory. I tend to add a smidgen of strawberry preserves to my kalamata olives. I like my slightly salted popcorn with almost-too-sweet toffee chunks. Chocolate covered pretzels are one of my favorite binge snacks. I dabble chicken in Panera's poppyseed dressing.

So, it's no surprise that I craved the contrasting flavors in my mouth this afternoon. I came home, dropped off my books, washed my hands, and picked the ripest avocado from the bowl. I searched the fridge for something to add to my makeshift avocado salad. I spotted two of my favorite fruits, raspberries and cantaloupe chunks, all washed up and ready to consume. I sliced up the cantaloupe into thin slices and ripped up the raspberries. I tossed the salad with just a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, my favorite dressing.

I was thrilled to find that the creamy avocado was paired so nicely with firm sweet slices of cantaloupe. The neon pink raspberries gave a zing to the salad for the taste buds and the eyes. The salad could easily serve two. I had two servings as my 5 o clock dinner, ignoring my mom's pot of chicken Japanese curry and brown rice, for something lighter. No, I didn't add pictures. Not because I was engrossed with watching Glee on fox.com. (Although, it was so good! Kurt is adorable, passing out those foam fingers. Finn and Rachel- forever. Finn's smirk- swoon. The glitter slushies were a nice touch.) The dish isn't exactly picture perfect. After you add the balsamic vinegar, the avocado turns a bit too creamy and an olive green. It coats the slices with an army green. Not that pretty... If you want to make this for guests, you might want to skewer avocado chunks, cantaloupe slices, and a raspberry and dip it into balsamic vinegar (like soy sauce for sushi- American style, of course).

Opposite Salad
Serves 2

1 ripe avocado
1/2 cantaloupe (or any other melon), cubed then sliced
1 handful of raspberries (or other berries or even pomegrante seeds!)
4 or 5 splashes of balsamic vinegar

1. Cut open the avocado, take out the pit (take it off with a chef's knife), and slice it up into cubes. Cut around the rim and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Place it into a medium sized bowl.
2. Take the sliced cantaloupe and add it to the avocado.
3. Take the raspberries and pull them apart with your fingers. Add to the bowl.
4. Splash balsamic vinegar, serve, and enjoy!