My mom had many signature dishes that she was known for. One of her favorite desserts to bring to parties was a simple watermelon fruit salad. What made this fruit salad unique, though, was that she would carve the watermelon into a bowl and decorate it with flowers. Below, you can see a photo of one she made for one of Flo's great summer parties.
One of the main reasons I started this blog was to share some of the coolest things my mom was known for and this watermelon salad is at the top of the list. It embodies her in so many ways. My mom loved fruit and she loved sharing her creative side, too. She must have made a hundred of these watermelon salads throughout the years, so when Simone and I had family coming over for BBQ last weekend, I figured that this would be the perfect opportunity to make one myself.
I have to be honest though, when I was a kid, I never was impressed by this salad. It was...fruit. I'm sure that there are kids out there that prefer fruit over cake and ice cream but I was certainly not one of them.
I have to be honest though, when I was a kid, I never was impressed by this salad. It was...fruit. I'm sure that there are kids out there that prefer fruit over cake and ice cream but I was certainly not one of them.
After i bought a big ol' watermelon, I brought it home, propped it up on our kitchen table and with the image of my mom's version to serve as reference, I got to work.
Of course, I was afraid of making a mistake, but after I came up with a plan, I just sort of went for it. I got started by cutting a couple of large zig-zagged chunks on each side while leaving one strip at the top to serve as a sort of handle.
Of course, I was afraid of making a mistake, but after I came up with a plan, I just sort of went for it. I got started by cutting a couple of large zig-zagged chunks on each side while leaving one strip at the top to serve as a sort of handle.
The rest was simple. I scooped out all the watermelon, put it in a bowl, got rid of those pesky seeds using a strainer and chopped up the watermelon into pieces
After that, I picked out a few other fruits from the refrigerator that I thought would complement the taste of the watermelon.
Thee final step was to put the mixed fruit inside watermelon. Simone even found some beautiful flowers from our yard which looked great on top.
When I was younger, I never really had the patience for these kinds of things. For me, making food was mostly just functional, something that needed to be done to stay alive.
For the most part, I've always eaten lots of raw foods to stay healthy, but doing something like this would have seemed like a waste of time to my younger self.
I saw cooking as ephemeral and wasn't drawn to it for that reason and now, I am finally seeing that its that same ephemeral quality that makes so much of what my mother did beautiful.
At her core, she loved to make people happy with the gifts that she was given and I’d like to carry on doing some of the things she was known for. I'm sure I'll be making this fruit salad for the years to come. If you're having a party, let me know, I'll bring the watermelon.
For the most part, I've always eaten lots of raw foods to stay healthy, but doing something like this would have seemed like a waste of time to my younger self.
I saw cooking as ephemeral and wasn't drawn to it for that reason and now, I am finally seeing that its that same ephemeral quality that makes so much of what my mother did beautiful.
At her core, she loved to make people happy with the gifts that she was given and I’d like to carry on doing some of the things she was known for. I'm sure I'll be making this fruit salad for the years to come. If you're having a party, let me know, I'll bring the watermelon.
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