June 11, 2014
No more fruit salads. I’m serious. All this summer fruit — stone fruit, berries and melons — are so delicious, there is no need to chop and mush them all up together and call it a salad. Who hasn’t waded through the melon ball filler to find that lone strawberry or pineapple chunk?
Back to that melon, I do love in-season melon, but not ball-ifed and thrown into a mushy, watery mix. Right now, Mesa Produce has some incredible Tuscan cantaloupe.
A fruit platter lets the beauty of each fruit stand on it’s own. Yes, I’m standing high on my fruit box today. This should be good news, because putting together a fresh fruit platter is prettier, easier and tastier. Approach it as you would a crudité platter, mounding sections of beautiful, colorful fresh fruit and everyone will be happier, especially the melon.
When cutting pineapple for a platter, leave the skin to act as a handle for the wedge.
This fruit thing is at the forefront of my messy end-of-the-school-year-mind. I’m responsible for bringing fruit salad to my daughters’ class picnics this week. I’ve gotta say, putting together two huge fruit platters is way easier than coming up with an activity for sixty second graders?! Since these kids will be running wild today with the joy of impending freedom — alas, freedom is not the emotion us moms are feeling right about now — they can grab whatever catches their fancy and enjoy every sweet bite.
I found this heart-shaped watermelon at whole foods. It lacked flavor and had seeds, but it made for the sweetest bowl for the cherries.
