Tropical fruit salad

While browsing at the local Asian supermarket yesterday, I stumbled upon an exotic fruit which brought back memories – strolling in Hilo’s farmer market in Hawaii’s Big Island, when this fruit had first caught my eye.

One of the local farmer was happy to cut the fruit and let us sample it.  The mild sweetly-flavored white pulp inside was a strong contrast to the vibrant exterior, and tasted like a cross between a kiwi and a pear.

The Dragon fruit is a cactus fruit actually native to Central and South America. It comes in three varieties – red skin with red flesh, red skin with white flesh and yellow skin with white flesh. The pulp can be easily scooped off the skin. Low in calories and high in antioxidants, it is a good source of nutrition - Vitamin C, minerals (especially magnesium and phosphorus). They are also low in calories and high in fiber.

Best eaten raw and chilled, combine it with any tropical fruit and add a few pomegranate gems. It imparts color and a sweet-tart  crunch that goes well with sweet papaya and the dragon fruit.

The colorful peel can serve as a visually stunning platter!

Baby Shower Fruit Salad Surprise

My good friend Anisha’s baby shower was scheduled just 1 hour after I landed from a long India flight. She had postponed her shower as much as she could to have her few close friends and her family together all on the same day.  I just could hardly make it to the shower all jet-lagged, and could not do anything special for her that day.

On the positive side, since the baby shower had already happened, she was unlikely to expect another surprise. So the hope was that this Fruit-Salad for the wonderful couple Anisha and Shashi would be a pleasant surprise.

The party was impromptu – could not plan it till a perfect oval watermelon was found (not an easy task given most stores sell the round types). On finding one, we arranged for a potluck the same day with one fruit as a must-bring by everyone. My friend Anisha (without any insight into what was going on) asked me if we could wait till the weekend for the potluck…Well, it was the beginning of the week and I was sure the watermelon could not last that long! Luckily I knew how to get her in…her favorite dessert!

My wonderful friends cooked up great dishes in a jiffy at such a short notice, while still wondering what the urgent need of potluck was that day. We cut up the fruit together, with Anisha just watching a basic fruit salad being made. While she was kept busy talking, the fruit was assembled in the watermelon carriage along with the apricot baby in a lettuce blanket, and presented to the couple.

The smiles on their faces just made everybody’s day!

Aren’t Baby showers fun to give!