One thing that brings back memories of summers growing up in Maryland, is the road side fruit stands that would pop up around town and along the roads we traveled on our summer excursions. I especially loved our trips to the beach because they usually involved stopping to buy some sweet strawberries or juicy peaches to accompany the wonderful picnic lunch my mom had packed. My recipe for Summer Fruit Salad with Strawberry Citrus Dressing, is quite the “Now and Then” salad. It is a mixture of many of the fruits I ate as a child, but to tell you the truth, I did not eat a Kiwi fruit until I was 23 years old. I first discovered this wonderful fruit at a fancy military wives luncheon and was quite intrigued. It was a good thing I liked it!
- ¼ of a fresh pineapple (1 cup), cut into cubes
- 1-2 nectarines, cubed
- ½ cup blueberries
- ½ cup raspberries
- 2 Kiwis, peeled and sliced in ½ inch slices
- 1 cup red grapes
- 4 large strawberries
- Juice of ½ an orange
- Juice of ½ a lime
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoons poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- Mix all the fruit together in a medium bowl.
- In a small bowl place the strawberries and mash with the back of a fork. Work through a fine sieve or puree in a food processor.
- Mix strawberry juice with orange juice, lime juice, honey and poppy seeds and orange zest.
- Mix with fruit and refrigerate until ready to use.
You can mix and match the fruits in this salad any way you like. I came up with the Strawberry Citrus Dressing because I only had a couple of strawberries left in my refrigerator and still wanted that great strawberry flavor throughout the salad. You can use any extras for your smoothies, on top of yogurt, in your oatmeal, or over ice cream.
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