Melon ballerific Fruit Salad

OK. So. This little post kind of got lost in my "waiting to post" list and I just found it. It was one of my first posts, so let's not make fun. Also, can we pretend these pictures are awesome? K. Thanks! I knew you'd understand. :)

While I was snapping photos of my fruit salad-making the other day, my boyfriend lovingly pointed out that no one probably needed directions on how to make fruit salad. Let me just say that I know that everyone has different ways of doing fruit salad, but I wanted to share mine. In fact, if you're reading, Sweetie, you probably didn't even know that I put these things on the fruit salad that you eat. hehe :)

One of my close friends, S, gifted me with the amazing melon baller- a kitchen gadget I had my eye on for some time. I had been trying to scale down on my gadgets since the bf complained that my gadget drawer was often hard to open as a result of too many tools- oops! Let me just say that I use this ALL the time now, and even bf noted when he was eating this- "Thank goodness for the melon baller!" Phew- would we ever eat so much melon without it? Probably not... I really think that the way it scoops the fruit locks in the juices- yum!



I picked up a cantaloupe and half of a watermelon at the grocery solely for this purpose. You can use any kind of melon and add any other fruits you like though. I keep my fruits in the fridge as soon as I get back from the store, just because I do not like eating warm fruit.

(Citrus juicer on the left, melon baller on the right)

For this recipe, courtesy of my friend JJB, you will need:

• 1 cantaloupe
  
• 1/2 seedless watermelon
• 1/2 lime
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)
  

Now let's make some fruit salad:

• If using coconut (I did not have any this time) Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle coconut in single layer on baking sheet and place in oven for about 10 minutes until toasty-looking. You may need to move it around with a spatula halfway though to make sure its toasted evenly.
  
• Cut the cantaloupe in half and scoop out the seeds.
• grab your melon baller and scoop out both halves of the cantaloupe, continue scooping the watermelon. Don't be afraid to grab as much fruit as possible, but try to avoid the white rind since its a bit sour. You may also hear complaints from the peanut gallery if this is included...
  
• Put all the melon balls into a large bowl.
  
• Squeeze juice of 1/2 lime over the melon (I use my hand-dandy citrus juicer!)
• Pour honey over the melon too (I usually eyeball it)
• Remove coconut from oven, use a spatula to scrape into melon bowl.
  
• Toss together gently, cover and refrigerate.

After I made this, I noticed some lonely strawberries in the fridge, so I tossed those in as well. However, I normally prefer to make this a melons-only party.Enjoy!



Anyone have any fruit salad recipes to share?'