Sunday, April 3, 2016

Tropical Fruit Salad

One of the best things about summer is the fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruit salad is always an easy side dish or dessert (or both!). Here's my favorite fruit salad made with some tropical (ish) fruits!


Pineapple is SO good! I love when it's in season. Speaking of which, I visited the Dole Plantation on the island of Oahu in Hawaii last month and it was so interesting. I'd never seen a pineapple in the field before. Really, I'd never seen it anywhere except in the grocery store.




The Dole Plantation visit was part of a guided island tour (which I highly recommend by the way). Our tour guide was full of interesting information. For example, he said the first crop of pineapple tends to be larger, but not as sweet. The second and third crop tend to be smaller and sweeter. Since very few of us have the luxury of picking our own pineapple, he recommended looking for a pineapple at the grocery store with  eyes that are the same throughout.


I was always taught to pull out one of the green leaves on top and if it came out easily, the pineapple was ripe and ready to eat. That has worked pretty well for me and I'm glad I now have a few more tips to try out when buying a pineapple.


I had never been to Hawaii before and it was awesome. I had never seen water that turquoise before. It was amazing. Here are a few photos from the trip!


 Checking out some family history at the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. I highly recommend visiting next time you are in Hawaii.
That's the U.S.S. Missouri in the background, anchored not far from the sunken U.S.S. Arizona in Pearl Harbor.


 Another stop on the island tour was a replica of a Japanese temple.

 The luau was fun!

 Beautiful views everywhere you go.

 Look at that water! I'd never seen turquoise water before. They said the deeper the water, the bluer it is.


Back to the salad.


Tropical Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 whole pineapple (or a large can of pineapple)
  • 3 Kiwis
  • 1 large can of mandarin oranges
  • 1 large can of diced mango
  • Shredded coconut
  • Whipped cream
  • Cherries for garnish


Directions:

  1. Peel and slice kiwis
  2. Remove skin from pineapple and slice into bite-size pieces
  3. Drain diced mango and mandarin oranges
  4. Add sliced kiwi, sliced pineapple, mandarin oranges and mango to a large bowl; Mix
  5. In a small frying pan, add shredded coconut and cook on low until lightly brown 
  6. (Tip: Use a wooden spoon to constantly mix coconut when over heat to evenly brown; it will burn quickly so do not leave it unattended)
  7. Add fruit to serving dishes
  8. Top with whipped cream, toasted coconut and a cherry



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