Fruity Fetish: How to Carve a Pineapple Fruit Basket

These days, time is of the essence. With a little guy that demands to be nursed around the clock, I realize that concocting lavish meals, plating, and photographing them have really become a new challenge to say the least--one that I'll hopefully learn to master in due time. So as I embrace my new role, I'm also going to undertake a new series of posts where I'm going to go back to the basics and share with you some fun how-to posts highlighting cool & easy recipes along with some staple ingredients & condiments of Lao cooking, such as my recipe for toasted rice powder that seems to make its way into every dish I love. If this sounds new to you, then let me just preface this by saying that it's quite possibly the key ingredient into amping the volume of any meaty larb dish or refreshing salad, such as my Calamari + Pomelo Salad I featured a while back. So, those are just some of the upcoming posts that's been brewing in my head for quite some time now.

This week, however, I'm sharing a little bit of sunshine with you with my pineapple fruit basket. In lieu of my baby's first Easter basket, he received his own little fruit basket along with a book. I know what you may be thinking: Chandara, the boy doesn't even have any teeth yet and you're one nutty mommy for making this for him (Yes, guilty as charged), but I couldn't help myself seeing that these are currently what's in season at my local grocer. It was actually a pretty fun project and I was quite happy with the final result. I think it would make a lovely Mother's Day centerpiece as well, so why don't you give it a try and let me know how it goes!

Baby's first gig as mommy's professional hand model. It appears that we are still working out the specifics of his compensation package.

Step 1: Wash your pineapple and slice it in half, lengthwise

Step 2: Using a small paring knife, slice into the inner perimeter of the pineapple, then make 2 cuts down both sides of its core. I find it easiest

this way since you can then slice out the core, and leave the rest of the edible flesh in tact.

Step 3: Carefully slice out the meaty flesh of the pineapple 

Tip:  I find it easier to slice small sections of the pineapple which leaves the flesh in tact enough so that you can slice chunks of it for your fruit basket.

Step 4: Scoop out the remaining bits of flesh with a spoon. Since these chunks are small and uneven, save them to make some pineapple juice which you can

later sprinkle over the fruit salad you'll be putting into your fruit basket.

Step 5: Slice up a generous variety of colorful fruits for a vibrant pineapple fruit basket. I made mine with chunks of mangoes, nectarines, strawberries,

guavas, watermelons, and of course, pineapple!