A basket packed with goodness

Today I'm not really talking about a recipe, it's something you all know how to make. It's rather a reminder for me and everyone else and a serving idea, so nothing new, I'm just discovering hot water today.
I often think that I don't eat enough fruit, maybe grab something on a run, or squeeze some oranges, grapefruits or so. During what I call dull season in terms of fruit. Don't get me wrong, I love apples and pears, but apart from choosing between yellow, red or green there isn't really much to say. And if you're lucky and can get some locally produced fruit, you'll even get some taste from it, maybe. Most of the time it's tasteless.
I so wish I could go back in time, when I lived in the countryside, and everyone had fruit treas in their back and front yards.
My grandfather was really passionate about planting fruit, so I was really lucky to have everything on hand. Especially in the summer. And if we wanted something we didn't have, we sneaked into neighbour's yard to steal (and some people would get angry - everyone except my grandfather, he always said: "The fruit is there for children to eat. It's not something forbidden.").
My favourite fruit are definitely spring and summer ones - strawberries, cherries, apricots, peaches - sweet, juicy, you start eating one and you can't stop. I buy some more because I want to bake something with it, but usully, by the end of the day there's none left. And then, as summer's approaching, melons and watermelons start to show up - my kids go crazy about them.
Fruit salads are really a great way of serving fruit - you enjoy with your eyes first, and then you fill up on vitamins, minerals and flavonoids they contain. So the more different types of fruit you add the better.
However, it is always better to use ripe, seasonal fruit.
Prepare it shortly before serving and keep in a tightly closed container in the fridge. When exposed to light, vitamins run quickly away from the chopped fruit. Don't cut the fruit into too small pieces for the same reason.
If and when possible, don't peel the fruit, because vitamins and fibers are concentrated in or just under the skin.
Season the fruit salad with a little lemon juice, and don't add sugar or other sweeteners. For one, learn to appreciate the natural sweetness of the fruit, and two, sugar contrasts absorption of Vitamin C, and we know fruit is an important source.



Fruit salad served in melon basket

melon
cherries
strawberries
peach
grapes

Slice or cut all the fruit and mix it together - I cut the strawberries in four, they were quite big, cherries and grapes in half, sliced the peach and shaped the melon flesh with a small melon baller once I shaped the handle of the basket, and thus emptied it to form a basket. Season with a little lemon juice and keep in the fridge until serving.
I don't have any pictures of melon basket preparation, but it's quite easy and I'm sure you can easily figure it out.

Enjoy your refreshment.
Is it hot where you live? We're facing a 6-day heat wave starting today, hot wind and high humidity, temperature above 30°C, that's the forcast. And this is my remedy.



Le macedonie sono un ottimo modo per incentivare il consumo della frutta.
E se è vero che anche l'occhio vuole la sua parte, le macedonie sono forse al top della graduatoria.
Hanno il vantaggio di poter essere variate secondo la stagione e gusti.
Più è ampia la gamma di frutti che si mangiano, più ci si assicura tutta la serie di sali minerali, vitamine e flavonoidi preziosi per la salute.
Alcune regole per preparare la macedonia perfetta:
-scegliete la frutta matura, di stagione e non ammaccata.
-preparatela poco prima di servirla e non tagliate la frutta a pezzi troppo piccoli
-una volta preparata, tenetela nel contenitore ben chiuso e nel frigorifero (le vitamine temono la luce e "fuggono" velocemente dalla fruttta tagliata.
-non sbucciate, o almeno non del tutto, la frutta, perchè nella bucia ci sono le vitamine e soprattutto le fibre.
-condite la macedonia con un po' di limone. Non aggiungete ne zucchero ne altri dolcificanti. Imparate ad apprezzare la dolcezza naturale della frutta. Oltretutto, lo zucchero contrasta l'assorbimento della vitamina C, di cui la frutta è fonte importante.


La macedonia nel cestino di melone

melone
fragole
ciliegie
pesche
uva

Tagliate la frutta e mescolatela in una ciotola. Condite a piacere con un po' di succo di limone e tenete in frigo fino al momento di servirla.
Io ho preparato questo cestino ritagliando prima il manico e poi due quarti ai lati. Usando uno scavino piccolo per melone, o ricavato la polpa e svuotato così il cestino.



Voćne salate imaju višestruku ulogu - donose šarenilo i veselje na stol (tako da i oko uživa), potiču konzumiranje voća, i što je više različitih vrsta voća u njoj to će širi biti spektar vitamina, minerala i flavonoida koji unosimo u organizam.
Imaju prednost da ih možete pripremiti u svako doba i odabrati voće koje vam se više sviđa.
Kad pravite voćnu salatu koristite uvijek zrelo voće, neoštećeno i najbolje da je sezonsko.
Pripremite je malo prije posluživanja i čuvajte u hladnjaku, u čvrsto zatvorenoj posudi. Ako su izloženi svjetlu, vitamini će brzo pobjeći iz narezanog voća. Ne režite voće na jako male komadiće, iz istog razloga.
Po mogućnosti ne gulite, ili barem ne svo, voće. U kori se nalaze vitamini, i iznad svega vlakna.
Začinite salatu s malo limuna, i ne dodajite šećer ni druga sladila - naučite cijeniti prirodnu slatkoću voća. Osim toga, šećer su suprostavlja apsorpciji vitamina C.

Voćna salata u korpici od dinje

dinja
jagode
trešnje
grožđe
breskve

Operite, posušite i narežite voće. Ovo je popis voća koje sam ja stavila, možete dodati ili oduzeti po želji ili s obzirom na ono što vam je dostupno.
Pomiješajte sve voće u zdjeli, po želji začinite s malo limunovog soka, zatvorite i držite u hladnjaku do posluživanja.
Za korpicu sam prvo zarezala nožem dršku, a zatim otprilike četvrtinu sa svake strane.
Ostatak sam izdubila žlicom za dinju i napravila tako kuglice koje sam dodala ostatku voća.