Tropical Fruit Salad With Local Fare

This fruit salad became tropical with some small additions despite the mostly local fruits we bought today at Union Square. It was my first Union Square farmer's market trip since we got back from our summer travels and it was bustling...I was happy to have Luke and Susannah to carry the bags. In Naples, Florida visiting my mother we had a tropical salad with shredded coconut on top of greens with almonds and oranges. Luke ate so many greens that day because he loved the shredded coconut that I thought I would give it a try. Tonight, he ruthlessly rejected my lettuce so we made an intricate beautiful fruit salad instead.

Fresh local ingredients:

1 pear

1 apple

2 nectarines

1 peach

1 cup raspberries

Tropical ingredients:

1 tbsp per serving shredded coconut (organic, dried, unsweetened)

1 mango

1 kiwi

Other ingredients:

pecans

almonds

So we put the fruit together and jumbled it all up. Then we topped the individual servings with the coconut and nuts. It was delicious as a part of our dinner served along side kale sauteed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil (for the special sick girl who is still wanting wholesome fresh fare), and broccoli and hummus (the broccoli took some persuasion and for Luke it required soy sauce). But it was a good easy fresh dinner...on these indoor days I think I am eating a ton...

pictured above: Perry less than a week before the diagnosis of the sarcoma in her leg that has her currently hobbling around on crutches waiting for her treatment to begin on Tuesday.