Fresh Fruit Platter

Whoohoo...I made it through another weekend without having any alcohol AND I went to a party too. Didn't I do well? Actually its been easier than I thought. Only one weekend to go....but we've still got a few events to attend within that time, so I'll not blow my own trumpet too loudly just yet.

Today is another colourful post but not of the arty kind. This time it's the healthy kind. I thought I'd show you the fruit platter that I made for Sunday afternoon.

I just made a quick trip to the local veggie shop to see what was available...Pineapple was a must because I wanted to use the top as part of the decoration. Not in the 70's style or like Carmen Miranda...but just a little different. Besides pineapple is one of my favourite fruit.
I was going to use a white serving platter but then thought I should use a large silver serving platter instead. I thought I'd dress it up even more with a large leaf from the bird of paradise plant in the garden...to give it a tropical look. If you look towards the back of the photo above, you can see the platter and the leaf.
The leaf had a tendency to curl up at the edges, but I persuaded it to lie flat by gently pressing...once all the fruit was placed on top it wasn't a problem.
Next, I started to deseed the melons and cutting them into bite size pieces. I didn't put them straight onto the platter because I wanted to leave the fruit in the fridge until the last few minutes before serving, also the platter was quite large and would have taken up too much room in the fridge. I placed all the prepared fruit into a bowl which didn't take up too much room. It's easier if you group all the same fruit together in the bowl ~ this saves time when arranging onto the platter.
I love fresh pineapple but I never used to like preparing them....that was until my sister introduced this brilliant gadget to me. I know yet another gadget but this one is really brilliant and I can't sing it's praises enough.

(unfortunately the sun didn't come out until I'd finished preparing and taking the photos ~ so apologies for the quality of shot)

With the serrated corkscrew-like tool it easily cores and slices a fresh pineapple quickly and easily. All you have to do is snap on the handle, insert into the pineapple, and twist. 

The results of this simple effort: one perfect spiral of sweet pineapple, complete with healthy juices!

 This is what's left once the flesh has been taken out....

 Clever eh?

 

There are three different sizes too....

I just need to state here that I'm not being sponsored to review this product....I just like to give praise where praise is due.

So back to the platter....

Now you can get arty and let your creative juices flow....the fruit juices certainly will. I cut another part of the pineapple skin to use as a bowl for the blueberries. I've seen platters where the blueberries are scattered randomly around the platter, but I liked the idea of using this bowl to contain them all in one place. A good tip I think is to buy more fruit than you think might be necessary, because it can take quite a lot to get the right effect plus if you're like me you eat a far few chunks before the platter is complete.  I certainly had more than my five portions yesterday!

 And there you have it....I really enjoyed both the making and the eating of this platter and I hope you give it a go with whatever fruit is in season in your part of the world. 

Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Tuesday) so my boys have placed a request into the kitchen for Crêpes (french pancakes) tomorrow. They'll be happy bunnies if they get their wish...I haven't promised as I like to keep them on their toes ; )

Have a fun day and keep smiling : D