My standard was always a can of pineapple, can of mandarin oranges, a jar of every fruit I'd canned & a bag of every frozen fruit I had in the freezer. (I did a LOT of canning & freezing every summer. This included things like pears, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, bing cherries . . . it depended on how good the summer fruit season had been. I always liked the blueberries to be put in last minute so that they were still somewhat frozen. If I had them, I'd throw in white grapes & bananas.
I don't can/freeze anymore, but I have these two recipes that I like.
Fresh Fruit Taco
3 Tbl sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 6 flour tortillas
2 Tbl water
vegetable cooking spray
1 pkg pudding mix (4 servings)
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla
1 banana
1 mango
1 kiwi fruit
½ c raspberries
Combine sugar & cinnamon. Brush tortillas with water & sprinkle sugar mixture over both sides. Spray large custard cups & gently press in tortillas. Bake at 400 for 10 min until light brown. Cool. Prepare pudding as per package. Stir lemon peel & vanilla into pudding. Combine peeled, diced fruit in small bowl. Spoon ~1/2 cup pudding into each shell & top with fruit. [NOTE: Can substitute any fruit as desired. e.g. mandarin oranges, grapes, etc.]
TROPICAL FRUIT CAESAR SALAD
from the Maya Grill, Coronado Springs
Serves 6
For the fruit salad-
1 mango
1 papaya
½ pineapple
1 star fruit
1 c strawberries
2 kiwifruit
For the garnish-
1 c coconut flakes
8 oz pound cake
Zest 1 lemon
1/3 c unsalted butter
1 Tbl mint leaves, finely chopped
For the dressing-
1¼ c chopped white chocolate
Zest 2 oranges
Juice 2 oranges
1¼ c heavy cream, room temperature
1/8 tsp vanilla
1 tsp poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut all the fruit into medium-size pieces & mix in a large bowl. Refrigerate until needed.
Place coconut flakes on an ungreased baking sheet & toast in the oven, stirring twice, until golden brown (4 to 8 min). Remove from the oven & set aside to cool. Leave oven at 350 degrees.
To make croutons, cut the pound cake into 1/2-inch cubes. Place lemon zest & butter in a medium saucepan & cook over low heat until butter melts; remove from heat. Add cake cubes & stir until well-coated. Place croutons on an ungreased baking sheet & bake, stirring twice, until golden brown (12 to 15 min). Sprinkle with mint & set aside.
Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Add the remaining ingredients & stir until thoroughly mixed. Let cool to room temperature.
When cooled, add the dressing to the salad 1/2 cup at a time & toss, until you have the desired amount. Portion fruit salad onto 6 plates. Garnish each plate with 4 or 5 croutons, then sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes & serve.
