And for Dessert

Last week I found an old recipe I had torn out of a Food Network Magazine and decided to give it a go. Even though it isn't winter, (and called a Winter Fruit Salad) something about the picture was calling me. 

After we let it sit overnight, we ventured a taste. I wasn't sure how it would come out since the fruit salads I'm used to are made from canned fruits and flavored from those juices. But this did not disappoint. Josh and I gobbled it up so fast, and I was loving it so much, I forgot to take a picture! 

But, lo and behold, I just found the recipe online. Yea! If you are looking for something light and juicy, this is definitely worth the second trip to the market.  

Here's the recipe online. We made a few revisions: we skipped the vanilla bean (tasted just fine without it) and substituted some of the fruit that was out of season to some that are plump, ripe, and delicious now.

Winter Fruit Salad
1/2 cup sugar
1 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise with the seeds scraped out
1 lemon
5 large navel or blood oranges
2 mangos, peeled and diced
2 firm bananas, peeled and diced
5 kiwis, peeled and diced
12 kumquats, very thinly sliced crosswise, seeds removed
1 cup pomegranate seeds (from 1 pomegranate)

Combine the sugar, 2 cups of water, ginger and vanilla seeds in a saucepan. Use a vegetable peeler to remove wide strips of zest from the lemon and 1 orange, add to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes. Refrigerate until cold.

Meanwhile, peel the remaining oranges with a paring knife. Save the juice and put in the fruit bowl. Add the remaining fruit and gently toss. Pour the syrup over the fruit and chill overnight.

Before serving, remove the citrus zest, ginger, and vanilla pod. Spoon the fruit and syrup into bowls.

Enjoy! (I have a second one waiting in the fridge, so don't mind if I join you. :p)