Creamy Fruit Salad with Yogurt

The kitchen is in full summer mode. The oven at 375 (always 375), the crockpot on the counter, the pantry stocked with jars from last August's canning — the evidence of a woman who preserves summer against winter and loss against forgetting and food against everything.

I made zucchini bread this week — the summer version, the one that fills the kitchen with the smell that means this time of year, this stage of life, this specific Tuesday when the stove is warm and the family is fed and the feeding is the point. Kevin ate seconds. The man always eats seconds. The eating is the approval and the approval is the marriage.

Canning approaches. August. The ritual that marks the turn from growing to preserving, from garden to pantry, from the sun to the jar. The pressure canner — Marlene's mother's, weight jiggly, gauge lying, handle replaced twice — waiting in the closet like a veteran reporting for duty. The heirloom equipment for the heirloom work.

Between the zucchini bread and the pressure canner waiting in the closet, there’s this window — maybe two weeks, maybe three — where summer is still just summer, not yet work, not yet jars and steam and boiling water. I wanted something that felt like that window: cool and sweet and unhurried, the kind of thing you set on the table without ceremony and everyone just reaches for. This creamy fruit salad is exactly that — it’s what I make when I want to eat the season before I start preserving it.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 15 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
2 cups red or green grapes, halved
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks (or one 20 oz can, drained)
2 cups fresh blueberries
2 medium bananas, sliced
1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the vanilla Greek yogurt, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
Prep the fruit. Wash and dry all fruit. Hull and halve the strawberries, halve the grapes, cut the pineapple into bite-sized chunks, and slice the bananas last to minimize browning.
Combine. Add all the prepared fruit to a large mixing bowl. Pour the yogurt dressing over the top and gently fold everything together until the fruit is evenly coated.
Chill or serve. Serve immediately for the freshest texture, or refrigerate for up to 1 hour before serving. If making ahead, stir in the bananas just before serving to keep them from softening.

Nutrition (per serving)

Creamy Fruit Salad with Yogurt — Summer in a Bowl, Before It All Gets Put Away