Cantaloupe | NancyC

My friend Lorinda is a very talented photographer. She came over to my new apartment for the first time a few days ago and happened to have her camera with her. She took some pictures and showed them to me later…I was really impressed with the beautiful job she did!

Photos by Lorinda Gray

I thought I’d share some of these wonderful photos with you. Lorinda has such a great eye for detail and captured objects that I look at every day in such a fresh, appealing way! She has a blog called Ragamuffin Creative, where she has lots of striking photography, so be sure to check it out!

Photos by Lorinda Gray

As you can tell from some of these pictures, I love hydrangeas! The dried ones you see in these photos were given to me from my talented artist friend Eileen. She has a beautiful hydrangea bush in her front yard.

The chair in the top right photo was rescued from my mother’s basement. It originally belonged to my grandparents and had become very worn and tattered over the years. I had the chair reupholstered and put some wood rejuvenator on the wood trim, so now it’s as good as new! I wish I had taken a “before” picture of it so you could see how dramatic the transformation was!

Another photo shows my little collection of birdhouses that are displayed on a ledge, and in the photo below it to the left, a bird votive holder rests on some antique books. Decorative birds and birdhouses just seem to make a room feel more light and airy!

Next to the bird votive holder, you’ll see a picture of my “magazine rack.” It’s actually an old shutter I bought at a flea market. It just leans against the wall and is perfect for hanging and displaying magazines!

I also have a collection of glass bottles that are displayed on top of a cabinet, along with more dried hydrangeas. It’s always nice having these bottles on hand–they make great flower vases, too!

Well, if you’re not really into decorating, you’re probably wondering where the recipe is in this post! 🙂 Okay, here it is…a really easy, delicious fruit salad. Lorinda took this picture of it, too…

KIWI-CANTALOUPE FRUIT SALAD

4 Kiwi Fruit, peeled and sliced (each Kiwi will yield about 5 slices)
Half of a cantaloupe, seeded and cut into bite-size chunks (if you want more cantaloupe in the salad, use the whole thing)
1 (15-ounce) can Mandarin oranges
3/4 cup fresh blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries (optional)
1/4 to 1/3 cup juice from the Mandarin orange can

Place sliced kiwi fruit and chunks of cantaloupe in medium-size bowl. Add Mandarin oranges, drained, from can–be sure to set aside 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the juice from the can. Add berries if desired. Pour juice from the Mandarin orange can over the fruit in the bowl and toss with the fruit, evenly distributing the different fruits in the salad. This recipe makes 4-8 servings, depending on how much cantaloupe you use, and it makes a great addition to any breakfast or brunch!

It’s beautiful outside today–blue skies, warm, and sunny–so I’m using this as an excuse to post one more summery recipe before the season ends and autumn officially begins next week. I just don’t know where the summer went–it always seems to go by so fast! But back to the recipe…I found it (and the photo shown above) at Meals.com. It looked so good I just had to try it! I have to admit though, that my cantaloupe-carving skills are not quite as good as the person who carved the cantaloupe for this photo! In addition to cantaloupe, this recipe also calls for strawberries and blueberries…if you are making this in winter months and have a hard time finding fresh berries, you can substitute other fruit you like–pineapple chunks, grapes, sliced kiwifruit, etc. I love fruit salad, so I enjoyed eating this…and it’s so pretty when it’s presented in a cantaloupe “basket!” It’s perfect for breakfast or brunch. This recipe makes 4 servings.

FRUIT-FILLED CANTALOUPE BASKETS

2 cantaloupes
2 cups halved strawberries (stems removed)
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup apple juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Optional sweeteners: 1 Tbsp. honey or sugar, or to taste; or 1/2 tsp. SPLENDA
1 bunch frisee or green leaf lettuce

Cut cantaloupes in half and remove seeds (if you’re talented at cutting the melon halves with fancy edges, you can do that…if you’re not, they still look nice just cut in half with plain edges :)). Scoop round balls of cantaloupe out of each half with a melon baller or small round spoon, leaving about 1/2 inch of cantaloupe on the inside of the melon. Combine cantaloupe balls, strawberries, and blueberries (or other fruit if you’re substituting any) in a large bowl. Mix the apple juice, lemon juice, and additional sweetener, if desired, in a small bowl, pour this mixture over the fruit mixture and toss lightly.

Line cantaloupe halves with frisee or green leaf lettuce and spoon fruit mixture into each cantaloupe half. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.