Summer Fruit Salad

January 7 2003

By now I suppose most of us will have slipped up on adhering to our New Year's resolutions and the stores will be counting the number of days till next Christmas.

Fortunately summer arrived in these parts along with the new year. We saw in January 1 with some friends who have a home overlooking Wellington's beautiful harbour. We sat outside, drinking in the view (and the bubbly) at least until the sun had set. There was a generous platter of crayfish to share. How grand to have diving friends!

It was a good night for a barbecue and we feasted on lamb cooked in the piece then sliced for serving, and some delicious marinated wild venison. Again someone had a generous hunter friend.

One of the joys of the holiday season is getting together with old and new friends and sharing a meal. No one stands on ceremony and these affairs are usually comfortably casual.

During the week a cousin visited for dinner. I have been doing family history research for a few years and by chance she saw a message I had posted on the internet and got in touch. To our amazement we discovered we were living just a few blocks apart in Christchurch where I was living at the time. She was overseas then so on her return we arranged to meet and there has been much sharing of family photos and information.

She and her husband were visiting Wellington for a wedding, so it was good to be able to catch up again.

As it was a working day for me, I needed something simple so we had pan-fried salmon, new potatoes, a mixed green salad and a tomato, avocado and basil salad. Dessert is easy at this time of the year with a good choice of fresh fruit available.

Summer fruit salad

1/2 fresh pineapple
1/2 green rock melon
1/2 orange rock melon
2 cups strawberries, halved
1 can apricots in fruit juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
a few mint leaves, finely shredded
1/2 cup Triple Sec
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Peel the pineapple and remove the woody core. Cut the flesh into chunks and place in a bowl.

If you have a melon baller, scoop out the melon into balls, otherwise just peel and cut it into cubes. Hull and halve the strawberries and add to the pineapple with the melon and the grated ginger. Sprinkle over the brown sugar and add the Triple Sec (or another orange flavoured liqueur. Set aside in the refrigerator for several hours then add the canned apricots and juice, cutting the apricots into smaller pieces if they are in halves. Stir through the mint.

Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or creme fraiche.

You can add other fruit depending on what is available - pitted cherries, grapes, blueberries.