Sangria Fruit Salsa

Happy (almost) Memorial Day!

We are leaving in a little bit for a barbecue with best friends and I cannot wait. We haven't seen them in TWO MONTHS which is painful so I'm excited to just relax around the pool with the girls. Being that the Mr. will be the only guy around, I wanted to make something a bit healthier than the normal cook-out fare that us ladies could munch on guilt free.

I found a great recipe for Fruit Salsa on The Girl Who Ate Everything (one of my absolute favorite blogs... she is Uh.Maze.Ing). It reminded me of my favorite Sangria recipe and that's where the two ideas became one.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of white wine (this is not the time for a dry wine)
1/4 cup of lemon-lime sparkling water
1 Tablespoon of raspberry jam
1 kiwi fruit
1 small lime
1/2 pint of raspberries
1lb of strawberries
1 large golden delicious apple (I prefer Granny Smiths, but for this, you want sweet)
1 Tablespoon of white sugar (or 1 teaspoon of Splenda)

Directions:
1. Reduce wine and jam in a small sauce pan over high heat (about 3-5 minutes); remove from heat.
2. Put raspberries in half and place in a large mixing bowl
3. Peel and dice the kiwi fruit and add to the raspberries
4. Dice the strawberries and add to the rest of the chopped fruit
5. Juice the entire lime and add to the wine reduction
6. Peel, core, and dice the apple and place with the wine/lime juice mixture (to prevent browning)
7. Add the apples (& juice), sugar (or Splenda) and sparkling water in the mixing bowl with the rest of the fruits and fold together gently
8. Let chill for about 30 minutes to 1 hour in the fridge.
Serve with graham crackers or cinnamon sugar pita chips and DIG IN!

OPTIONAL--

• Use a slotted spoon to move the fruit to a serving dish. Pour the remaining liquid through a fine mesh sieve to combine with the original bottle of wine. This will make a smooth sangria with some complex flavors. Or -- just add the entire bowl of fruit salsa into a gallon pitcher with 2 bottles of wine (white or red), a cup of cranberry juice, and a can of Sprite and it's as easy as that.
• If you want a more "patriotic" version, use blueberries instead of kiwi and you'll have a great red, white, and blue concoction. Blueberries just won't be the best addition to sangria unless they are crushed first.