Rose Water Pistachio Fruit Salad

It couldn’t have been easy to be my mother.  I was shy, stubborn, and resistant to change.  I’d observe a national day of tantrums every time she cut my hair.  I was obsessed with Julia Child, Lucille Ball, and McDonald’s… every McDonald’s we drove by.  Obsessed.  And I was (capslock) pissed when my little sister was born.  Just livid.

It’s still not easy to be my mother.  I’m still shy, stubborn, and resistant to change.  My mom knows not to approach my head with a pair of scissors in her hands.  I’m still really into Julia Child.  I enjoy Lucille Ball… and if one were to hand me McDonald’s fries… I’d sure as heck eat them.  These things are all still realities, it’s just that my Mom doesn’t have to live with it all up in her house everyday.

I love this photograph of me and my mom.  In this picture she’s the age that I am now… which isn’t stressful to me at all. (Realtalk:  it’s just a teeny tiiiny bit stressful.)

My mama is wonderful.  And booooyy does she love making a fruit salad.  That’s totally a mom thing, right?

This mom inspired fruit salad is the real deal.  No overripe bananas.  No mushy pear.  No unripe melon.  No apple!

Berries, ripe watermelon, and grapes because we should.  This is top shelf mom business!

Because this salad is on a train for MomTown (really, Joy!?… ugh), we should add some bonus bits:  salty pistachios, edible flower petals, and rose water!

Pistachios add a salty crunch… and a color that’s completely out of this world.  I love the way that rose water absorbs into the strawberries and watermelon… it’s beautifully fragrant.  Like dreams!  Edible flowers, like marigold and pansy petals add just a bit of lady appeal.

Mom salad with a small side of rosewater whipped cream.  Just don’t tell her I put it on the floor to take a picture of it.

I’m going to put a printable link on the ‘recipe’, but you really don’t need it!  Keep it loose!  This salad is all improvisation.  Mamas LOVE improvisation, except when it comes to moving out of the house, going to college, or eloping.