Aimee asked about how to make fruit salad. She was concerned because
she "thought it might be a silly question." Not at all. There are
some really good ways to prepare a fruit salad. This is what I
do:
Plum wine is really excellent in fruit salad. If you don't
want the alcohol, boil it off first in a sauce pan, but if you have
a gas stove, it may "flame" up. So be careful. Make sure you
stir it or swish it around in the pan when you do, and use
a LOW heat setting. Be patient. It takes about 3-5 minutes to
boil off the alcohol.
Use orange juice, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg,
cinnamon, etc. as seasonings...depending on your tastes.
Also, use ONLY fresh fruit. Mixing it with canned fruit
does not make it taste good, in my opinion. Cut the membranes
of the citrus fruits away and don't include them in the
compote (or compost...whatever). They add a bitter taste
which I don't like.
Try to let the fruit compote sit for a while in the refrigerator
to let the various flavors mix. Serve it cold. Fruit compote
is very tasty when served over a cake made with whole wheat
flour, tofu and applesauce. Make this cake intentionally
rather dry (although tofu always makes cakes moist). The
sauce will soak into the cake. If you want to add flavor
and take alcohol, you can pour some brandy of your choice
over this too. It adds a kick. I don't drink alcohol...
but offer this as a suggestion to those who do.
Mike Rosenblatt
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