Food for thought: Fruit salad

Fruit salad, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...Summer salad with a rainbow of fruit flavors...Winter fruit salad with citrus, apples, pears, walnuts and concentrated orange juice sauce or as an appetizer with fruit vinegar.....Avocado, citrus and bananas with lime syrup....Papayas, mangoes and pineapple with mint and lime....Grapes and berries with liqueur or champagne. You get the picture. Oh, I almost forgot dates, oranges, coconut and slivered almonds with sweet yogurt.

My husband has domain over fruit salad chez nous. He wooed me with fruit salad and it made Sundays in Bamako grand affairs as I would (eventually) wake to the sight of pounds and pounds of fruit on the table. He also has the patience to peel, core and cut, while I prefer to flip, fry and flambe.

When I get in the kitchen to make a fruit salad, it is to make a quick, bold celebration of fruit. Great frozen fruit has helped me immensely. Last Saturday, I made a simple fruit salad that many appreciated. Here's how it went:

2 16-oz. packages frozen peaches, & 1 12- or 16-oz. package frozen mangoes, thawed 10 minutes (so get these out while you're doing the rest). I get the mangoes at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, although Giant & Shopper's have them (for more $$$).

1 pint fresh blueberries, rinsed, preferably washed with veggie soap
2 or 3 pints fresh strawberries, rinsed/washed & quartered

Sauce:
1/3 cup frozen juice from concentrate (I used pine-orange-banana), thawed
1/3 cup pina colada mix, thawed from frozen or canned (or just double the juice concentrate)
1/2 tsp. Lemon extract
1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract

If you don't have any extract, use a fruit liqueur like Peach Schnapps.

I put in an extra step of soaking the quartered strawberries in 2 Tbsp.balsamic vinegar and 3 heaping Tbsp. organic sugar, then adding berries and juice at the end. Optional, by all means. But also delicious!


Combine partially thawed & the rinsed fruit in a large bowl. You may want to leave out the blueberries or any delicate berry until after everything's been mixed.

In a separate container, combine sauce ingredients & mix until blended. Pour over fruit. Add delicate fruit, if previously omitted. Let stand one hour for flavors to meld & fruit to thaw. If it's really hot, serve fruit partially frozen. Enjoy this delicious easy & fast salad!