Foodie Friday: Summer Fruit Salad

One of my favorite things about summer is the fresh fruit. Some evenings a fruit salad is our dinner because there's such a plethora of fruit. Here are a few tips on creating a delicious summer fruit salad.

Ingredients:
Fresh pineapple
1 pound of strawberries
Pint of blueberries
3 bananas (optional)
1/2 bunch seedless grapes (optional)
1 orange
Honey (optional)

If you've not yet read my May 28th post on preparing a fresh pineapple, be sure to go back and take a look! Cut up your pineapple and put it in a bowl. Cap and cut your strawberries and add them. Rinse and pick through the blueberries taking out the bad berries and stems and add them as well. You can also cut up and add several bananas and some green seedless grapes as well.

Now here's the key to a little extra bit of sweetness. Cut an orange in half and juice it. This is an easy task if you have an old fashioned reamer! Pour that juice over the top of the fruit mixture along with several Tablespoons of honey. Toss the whole thing so the honey and orange juice mix with the fruit. Put it all in a pretty bowl and serve!

DIY Monday: Stain Removal - Lily stains

If you've ever bought or received lilies, you'll know about the messy orange stains you can get from trying to remove the orange parts of the stamen before they drop and stain something else.

I love working with lilies in flower arrangements and have to remove these pretty often. I've learned a few tricks along the way. First, before pulling them off with your fingers, make sure your hands are completely dry. For some reason water seems to spread the stain and ensure your fingers are going to turn orange. If you do get some of the dust on your fingers, wipe it off with a paper towel or napkin as best you can. This will cut down on orange finger syndrome.

If you do have some of them fall on a tablecloth or get some of the stain on a towel or your clothing, don't try stain removers and certainly don't try clorox. Simply lay them in the sunlight for the morning and voila the stain will disappear!

I've always been amazed at how nature takes care of itself in this simple stain removal tip!