Beautiful, healthy salmon-fruit salad takes the prize in cardiovascular health-promoting dishes

Never has getting those needed Omega-3's down the hatch been so appealing.

Grilled Salmon-Fruit Salad is the king (or should I say queen, because of its beauty) of healthy presentations when you're in the business downing some salmon that everyone tells us to pile on these days for cardiovascular health.

I found this recipe in a paperback recipe book called "Grilling". Typically I keep this handy little book in our "grandparent" house that we have in suburban Phoenix to enable us to visit our grandpreciouses who live in that Southwest U.S. city. We usually grill outdoors more there than we do here, so that seems to be the best place for this collection of recipes to reside.

Last time there, however, I was so taken by the instructions for Grilled Salmon-Fruit Salad, however, that I just had to photocopy a page from the book and bring it home with me. Only now have I gotten around to trying it out, but wow! What an absolute treat! The description line before the recipe calls it "world-class". I completely agree.

The salmon can be prepared in advance by rubbing it in oil, lime juice, and Cajun seasoning before you grill it.. We used unsalted tortilla chips as the salad base, although the recipe suggests housing it in a crisp tortilla bowl or even wrapping the mixture in a soft tortilla (at another time I'm determined to try the latter.)

Spinach, oranges, strawberries, avocado, mango, and almonds are the other yummy ingredients that make the grilled salmon scintillating. A tarragon-buttermilk dressing, also prepared in advance, is a light, tasty accompaniment. With all the ingredients (except the mango and avocado) chopped and ready to assemble, we turned this into a meal quickly when we arrived home ravenous after Sunday church. It was on the table in minutes.

Our strawberry vines were babies this year, but next year we hope to be strawberry gardeners for sure. Wouldn't that be a kick--growing our own strawberries for this incredible summer meal?

Grilled Salmon-Fruit Salad

3 ounces fresh or frozen salmon fillets

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (we use salt-free)

6 cups torn fresh spinach leaves

2 oranges, peeled and sectioned

1 cup fresh strawberries, halved

1 medium avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, and sliced

1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted

salt-free tortilla chips, purchased tortilla bowls, or tortilla wraps

tarragon-buttermilk dressing (recipe below)

Thaw fish, if frozen. Rinse fish; pat dry with paper towels. Brush fish with oil; sprinkle with lime juice and seasoning. Place fish on a well-greased grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes per 1/2-inch thickness of fish or until fish flakes easily when it is tested with a fork. Break fish into bite-sized pieces. In large bowl, combine fish, greens, oranges, strawberries, avocado, mango, and nuts; toss gently to mix. Spoon mixture into tortilla bowls or over tortilla chips or onto soft tortillas for wraps. Drizzle with tarragon-buttermilk dressing.

Tarragon-Buttermilk Dressing

In small bowl stir together 1/2 cup buttermilk; 2 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon snipped fresh tarragon or 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon, crushed. (If you don't have buttermilk or you want a fat-free variety, pour 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar into a measuring cup; finish filling it with skim milk until the 1/2-cup measure line is reached. Allow mixture to stand about 5 minutes before you add mayonnaise and tarragon.)