favorite fruit salad

Flaked coconut and a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk turn the ordinary serving of fruit into a decadent fruit salad.

One of my very favorite family travel adventures growing up was sailing the British Virgin Islands with my grandparents. Before its unfortunate run-in with a hurricane, we would sail on the tall ship The Sir Francis Drake. Sadly all that we have left of that beautiful ship is a cross section of the recovered mast and boat-load of great memories.

One thing that always stood out to me was the quality of food on the ship. All meals and drinks were created small batch, locally sourced and lovingly prepared. Of all of the incredible feasts we enjoyed, one of my favorite meals each sail was our simple lunch on the beach. A variety of delicious salads, both savory and sweet, were served family style in the sand with a cooler of rum punch. Life doesn’t get much sweeter than that.

My favorite salad was a fresh fruit salad that was sweet and delicious. Too many years have passed for me to remember exactly what was in the mix, but anytime I make a slightly fancy fruit salad I find myself drifting away to a warm sandy beach surrounded by nothing but crystal clear water for miles. My favorite fruit salad is simple – seasonal cut fruit, a handful of flaked coconut and a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk. Nothing fancy, just the way I like it. Pair it with rum punch or my Late Spring Sangria for an afternoon escape to paradise.