Grandma's Fruit Salad

This is my dad's mom's recipe.  We lost Grandma twenty years ago, Dad 9 months ago.  Hurts my heart to think about them but it warms my heart to make food that they loved.  Grandma loved this salad and whenever she would make it she would add bananas at the last minute then make sure to tell us to eat them.  Every time.  You HAD to take bananas in your bowl or they would turn brown.  Over the years, it became a joke with her, culminating in her telling us to "Eat the GODDAMN Bananas!". 

Grandma's Fruit Salad

2 grapefruits

1 can pineapple- drained

2 oranges

1 can mandarin oranges

Maraschino cherries with some juice

 

Peel and chunk up the oranges and grapefruits.  Make sure to squeeze out the grapefruit halves to get the juice into the bowl.

Stir in the cans of mandarin oranges and the drained pineapple.

Add some cherries to taste (I usually cut them in half)

Add some of the cherry juice to taste - we go for color as well.  The juice is a little pink.

 

RIGHT BEFORE you serve it, cut up a banana.  Yell at everyone to eat the banana.

 

I've added grapes before as well if I have them around - they are good. 

 

Her recipe makes a good sized bowl and, without the goddamn bananas, will keep about a week.