Mother's Day and Margarita Fruit Salad

First off…Happy Mother’s Day wishes to all of you amazing Moms out there. I was reminded today how blessed I am to still have my Mom in my life. Several dear friends have Moms that are really ill right now and my heart goes out to them. I actually picked up the phone last night (knowing that I just saw my Mom Friday night and that I would be seeing her again today) just to tell her how much I loved and appreciated her. Life is definitely too short to not let those close to you know how much they mean to you.

O.k…onto the food porn.

My brother decided to host a BBQ lunch for our Mom at his place this year. He is definitely the master of the grill. He even has a rib cook off medal to prove it.

I was asked to bring a fruit salad and rolls. Sounded easy enough. I put off grocery shopping until this morning. I wanted super fresh rolls and I had other things going on yesterday.

The grocery store parking lot was insane. People driving in every direction. The store had placed two racks of cards and 3 massive bucket displays of flowers, balloons and other last-minute Mom’s day gifts by the front doors. I counted 22 men, with children in tow, hovering around the same “Mom, you’re the best!” tri-fold cartoon cards…written in Español – hah! Seriously…wasn’t much of a selection.

I gathered what I needed and had an hour to clean, photograph, cut, prepare and photograph (again) my dish. Hmmm…probably why we ended up being 45 minutes late, whoops! What?  This food stuff takes time.

The Fruit:

The frozen peaches didn’t make it into the photo…can’t wait until peach and nectarines are back in season…

The Ingredients for the sauce

Margarita mix, honey and lime.

The super easy recipe called for the following measurements:
12 cups of fresh fruit
3/4 cup margarita mix
1/3 cup  honey
1/4 cup lime juice (I used less lime juice since the margarita mix had lots of lime already in it – I used the juice of 2 limes)

I whisked the margarita mix, honey and lime juice in a bowl and set it aside while I cut up the fruit. Pineapples are a big pain in the ass…I’ve seen the nifty pineapple cutters, but I don’t think it’s necessary…they are only a PITA when crunched for time…nothing beats fresh pineapple, yum!

Once I got the fruit cut up, I poured 1/2 the mixture over the fruit and lightly tossed it. I then took the bowl outside for its photo shoot.

It was kind of overcast today with a slight drizzle. None of that mattered, I could not wait to dive into the fruit bowl…the pool was looking pretty inviting too. The less than 60 degree water temp, not so inviting.

Sidenote: I actually tried kiwi with the skin on for the first time today. It took a little getting used to, and to be honest, I’ll probably continue to eat them sans skin. I’d seen so many food bloggers mention that they eat it like that, had to give it a try.

We got to my brother’s place and the tri-tip was close to being done. It smelled delicious!

They had bought some really pretty flowers and I couldn’t resist taking photos. Yes, I’m now “that” girl.

Star of Bethlehem Flowers – so pretty…

Godetia Flowers – super bright and cheery…these were part of their gift to my Mom…she’s definitely got the green thumb in the family. Let’s just say they went to the right house…I’ve chosen super hearty plants for my house/yard for a reason.

We were also greeted by the fur babies…

Max – he’s the tall tank…

Ozzie – He’s the short tank…the two of them are adorable and such loves…

Higgy stayed home, he’s not ready to play with the big dogs. He still has the drag with his left leg and down time is better for him. He promised to hold the couch down while we were gone. 😉

Lunch is served…

Tri-tip sandwiches, sweet potato fries w/lemon pepper and margarita fruit salad. We had sorbet and lemon cookies for dessert…

I had a great day spending time with my family. It’s back to the 8-5 grind tomorrow and menu planning for the week. Here’s to hoping that it’s going be a good Monday!