COOKING WITH CLORIS--FRUIT SALAD TOPPINGS

Fruit salad is a staple in our house during the summer. We often eat it for breakfast, as a midday snack, or as an after-dinner dessert or as a topping over sorbet, sherbet, ice cream or gelato. The abundance of fresh fruit this time of year means from day to day no two fruit salads will be the same. You can even combine vegetable salads and fruit salads for a refreshing lunch or dinner.

Along with the standard melons (honeydew, cantaloupe, watermelon), berries (blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry), stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, apricots, cherries), tropical fruits (pineapple, banana, papaya, kiwi, oranges, tangerines, mangoes) and grapes, I like to jazz up my fruit salads with different toppings. Here are a variety of add-ons for your summer fruit salad. Some you may have added in the past but some you probably haven’t thought to try. Use them individually or in combination.

The photo above features a fruit salad of nectarines, clementines, bananas, strawberries, dried cranberries, and chocolate chips.

Granola

Chopped pistachios

Chopped walnuts

Chopped pecans

Slivered almonds

Grape nuts

Chocolate chips

Butterscotch chips

Caramel chips

Shredded coconut

Mini marshmallows

Dried cherries

Dried blueberries

Dried cranberries

Yogurt covered dried fruit

Chopped, dried apricots
Crumbled blue cheese
Crumbled feta

A drizzle of hot fudge sauce

A drizzle of caramel sauce

A drizzle of honey

A dollop of yogurt

A dollop of whipped cream

A dollop of pudding

A dollop of custard

A splash of orange juice

A splash of lime juice

A splash of wine

A splash of rum

A splash of tequila  

A splash of pineapple juice

Chopped fresh mint

Chopped fresh basil
Chopped watercress

Jello cubes

Chopped cookies

Cubes of pound cake

Cubes of brownie

Cubes of angel food cake

Pretzel pieces

Chocolate covered pretzel pieces

Chopped cucumber

Did I leave out any of your favorites?

COOKING WITH CLORIS--AUTHOR MARGARET DALEY AND TROPICAL FRUIT SALAD

Margaret Daley, an award-winning author of eighty-five books, has been married for over forty years and is a firm believer in romance and love. When she isn’t traveling, she’s writing love stories, often with a suspense thread and corralling her three cats that think they rule her household. To learn more about Margaret and her books visit her website. 

Tropical Fruit Salad with Toasted Coconut

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Outdoors Series, Picnics and Tailgates, by Diane Rossen Worthington (Time-Life Books, 1998).

serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 ripe papaya, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 ripe cantaloupe, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

6 fresh mint leaves

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the pineapple, papaya, cantaloupe and mango. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, sprinkle with the toasted coconut and spoon onto small plates. Garnish with the mint leaves.

This is a good recipe to convey my story, which takes place in the Amazon. If I was stranded in the jungle, I would want someone like Brock Slader to be with me or I’d probably starve.  Although I don’t like coconut out of a can, when it is fresh from the tree, it is great. It has a strong nutty flavor. I imagined Samantha and Brock eating something like this on a good day. However, probably not cut neatly like the recipe calls for.

Brock and Samantha do find themselves stranded but Brock is very capable of surviving in the jungle. Brock knows his way around and that’s a good thing for Samantha who is searching for her brother. The problem with that is others are searching for her brother, too, and they mean him harm.

Dangerous Pursuit, book one in The Protectors Series

Reading about danger never prepared Samantha Prince for the desperate phone call from her brother in Brazil that sent her from the safety of her New Orleans bookstore into the rugged, inhospitable Amazon in search of him and a hidden treasure. And reading about romance never prepared Samantha to resist the mysterious appeal of Brock Slader, a guide she hired to help her in her quest.

Alone with Brock in an alien world of orchids and anacondas, primitive headhunters and very up-to-date gunmen, she struggles to keep their relationship strictly business. Will Samantha survive the dangers in the jungle only to have her heart broken by a man who lives on the edge—no strings attached?

Buy Link

COOKING WITH CLORIS--BERRY SALAD FROM AUTHOR LINDA McLAUGHLIN

Today we welcome back author Linda McLaughlin, who grew up with a love of history fostered by her paternal grandmother and an incurable case of wanderlust inherited from her father. She has traveled extensively within the United States and has visited Mexico, Canada, & Australia. A lifelong dream came true with a trip to England where she was able to combine sightseeing and theater with research for her novels. She published her first book under the name Lyn O'Farrell. Now Linda writes historical and Regency romance under her own name and sexy to erotic romance under the pen name Lyndi Lamont. Learn more about Linda and her books at her website and blog. Linda joins us today to share a recipe and tell us about her recent release.

My thanks to Lois for inviting me back to Killer Crafts and Crafty Killers.

Today I’m sharing a fruit salad recipe I created. A few years ago, my plot group started having holiday potlucks. At the time, we had a number of people with dietary restrictions, so I set out to create a non-allergic fruit salad. The requirements were that it be free of gluten, dairy products, nuts and citrus, as well as low in calories. Because of my own fruit allergies, I decided to focus on a berry salad.

Cranberries are one of my favorite fall fruits, so I started with whole-berry cranberry sauce and added fresh blueberries. It was tart, to say the least, so I added raisins for some sweetness. Most of the ladies in the group gave it their blessing, though a few don't like cranberries, but that's fine. The great thing about a potluck is you get to choose what you want to eat.

Here is my original recipe:

Cranberry-Blueberry Delight

Ingredients:

1 14 oz. can of Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

1 package of fresh blueberries (about 4 oz.)

1 cup of golden raisins

Mix, chill and serve. That's it!

The recipe serves 8-10 ladies. (The photo doesn't reflect the full recipe. It's what is left over after a couple of days of snacking on it.) I’ve also spread it on turkey sandwiches in lieu of regular cranberry sauce.

Since it's so simple, it's easy to experiment. Add nuts for crunch or sweeten to taste if it's too tart. I'm thinking about adding some of those little marshmallows next time for color and sweetness.

Happy holidays!

The Best Present

Ten-year-old Allison Harcourt's life has been turned upside down since her father lost his job and her beloved grandmother died. She's not looking forward to Christmas, especially since she can't figure out how to finish the scarf she's making for her mother. An unexpected stop in Sweetwater Springs brings her and her parents to the boarding house of the widow Murphy. Sometimes sweet things can be found in the most unexpected places.

The Best Present is part of  Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology by Debra Holland and Friends: E. Ayers, Linda Carroll-Bradd, MJ Fredrick, Paty Jager, Jill Marie Landis, Trish Milburn, Linda McLaughlin, Bev Pettersen, Tori Scott, Cynthia Woolf

Come celebrate the holidays in 1895 Sweetwater Springs, Montana, as ten Western Romance authors join New York Times Bestselling author Debra Holland in telling short stories of love and laughter, heartbreak and healing, and most of all, Christmas joy.

Buy Link