Jettison the strawberries and still have a wonderful apple salsa dish with cinnamon chips

If my hubby gets within the same room as a strawberry, we pay for it for days on end.

At some point in his adult life he developed a terrible reaction to strawberry seeds--not raspberry or even tomato seeds, mind you--but strawberry seeds. They give him violent, doubled-over stomach cramps, as the berry seeds wedge their way into various nooks and crannies (doctors call these diverticulii) of the digestive tract. Pain and misery ensue for the next 48 hours and beyond.

No, no, no, he says to any thought of strawberries anywhere near his food. (Our granddaughter likes to tease him by calling him "Mr. Strawberry Man" and bringing around plastic strawberries from her play food to "tempt" him.) That means delicacies of the summer such as strawberry shortcake and strawberry homemade ice cream are off-limits. If I'm at a party at which strawberries appear on a fruit tray, I'll quietly take one onto my plate and sneak off into some corner to get my strawberry fix, but rarely do I bring them home from the grocery. Can't run the risk that a stray seed might crosspollinate in the fridge.

So when I was lured by the recipe for Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Chips to use some of those gorgeous fall apples in my refrigerator, I had to stop short when I saw that a cup of chopped strawberries was among the ingredients. Bummer, I thought, that sounded good. Then I reneged and decided to make two versions--a non-strawberry one for Hubby and the recommended version for me (and for the photo to go with this blog). This worked well, although I stored each version in absolutely airtight, separate containers so a random seed wouldn't migrate over to the non-strawberry bowl.

This is a simple, wonderful dish (source: Chickasaw Nation Nutrition Services) that is enhanced by the inventive cinnamon chips, made from your average wheat tortilla. When we ate up all the chips in using it for an appetizer/snack, the leftover salsa transitioned to a fruity side dish with an entree. We also envisioned it as a topping for ice cream. Mr. Strawberry Man was happy and I was beyond so, since I wasn't left to wonder the outcome of this intriguing recipe.

Apple Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

Salsa:

2 medium tart apples, chopped

1 cup chopped strawberries

2 medium kiwifruit, peeled and chopped

1 small orange

2 tablespoons brown sugar (I subbed with 1 tablespoon brown-sugar substitute)

2 tablespoons sugar-free apple jelly, melted

Chips:

8 whole wheat tortillas

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup sugar (I used sugar substitute)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a bowl combine apples, strawberries, and kiwi. Grate zest from entire orange. Squeeze juice from orange. Add zest and juice to apple mixture (don't add orange itself). Stir in brown sugar and jelly. For the chips, cut each tortilla into 8 wedges. Use a pastry brush to brush tortilla wedges lightly with water. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over tortillas. Place in a single layer on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and serve with salsa. Makes 8 servings.