Summer solstice fruit salad

In honour of the summer solstice, a light, refreshing fruit salad was in order. I am a major fan of most fruits (which I'm perhaps delusionally believing will make up for my avoidance of vegetables), and summer is always an enjoyable period, as numerous varieties of fruits are widely available and relatively inexpensive. However, as pleasurable as a mash pit of fruity goodness is in and of itself, I wanted something drizzled on top to take things up a notch.

Recipe

from Allrecipes.comServes 5 1 can pineapple chunks, drained1 lb strawberries, sliced1 apple, diced1 orange, peeled and sectioned1/2 lb blueberriesDressing 1/3 cup fresh orange juice2 tbsp lemon juice2 tbsp packed brown sugar1/4 tsp grated lemon zest1/4 tsp grated orange zest1/2 tsp vanilla extractBring juices, sugar and zests to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside to cool. Layer fruit in a bowl  and pour cooled sauce of fruit. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Musings

The dressing was simple and straightforward to make and did a nice job of tying the salad together. We were only able to refrigerate it for an hour before serving, so it would likely taste even better if it had a chance to sop up the dressing a bit more. The fruit salad was sweet and refreshing, making for a tasty breakfast as well. My friend tried it with milk and cereal and said it worked quite well. The great thing is that you can prepare this for a BBQ or something in advance, and the lemon juice in the dressing will keep the fruit from turning colour.