Introduction: Pineapple Paradise

This is a fun, simple and fast project to do at home.
The plus sides:
-you get to play with food
-you eat healthy fruit
-it's super easy and fast to make
-you have a nice dish to present to any guests

The down side:
-you will probably need to go shopping for food (but who doesn't :P)

Step 1: The Things You'll Need

So here is the list of ingredients and "tools" you'll need to prepare your Pineapple Paradise!

The ingredients:
-as many pineapples as people eating ( the palm tree)
-some black grapes (the coconuts)
-a watermelon (to carve into whatever you like)
-any fruit you want to put in the fruit salad (apple, mango, apricot, banana,... you can think of what you like)
-powder cinamon
-vanilla sugar
-cookies or crackers (for the sand)
-any blue drink (for the sea)

The utensils:
-a big flat transparent or white dish
-sharp knives to cut and peal all the fruit
-a spoon
-a mortar and pestle or any replacement for that (to crush the cookies or crackers)
-transparent plastic film
-toothpicks
-any inedible decorations you want


Step 2: Preparing the Pineapple

To prepare the pineapples cut in a circle about 2 inches above the base WITHOUT cutting the core of the fruit. If the pineapple does not stand strait cut a small portion at the bottom to have a flat base. Next, cut to remove the fruit from above the base, leaving only the core representing the trunk of the tree. Finally, empty the base of the fruit to leave a bowl like bottom in which will be placed the fruit salad.

Step 3: Making the Fruit Salad

For this step simply prepare some fruit salad with any desired fruit. (you can use the leftover pineapple)
Peal the fruit and dice them to small pieces and put in a separate bowl. Add the cinnamon and vanilla sugar and mix all of the ingredients.

Step 4: Creating Sand

Using the a mortar and pestle or any replacement you have for them crush your cookies or crackers to fine crumbs to form your edible sand.

Step 5: Forming the Sea

Take the large flat dish you have chosen to prepare and present the Pineapple Paradise and fill the bottom of it with a few millimeters of your blue drink. Cover this with transparent plastic film (to avoid wetting the sand).

Step 6: Carving the Watermelon

Cut your watermelon open and carve the fruit into any shape as decoration with a small sharp knife. You can use toothpicks to make it hold together as done here to hold the sail of the boat.

Step 7: Setting It All Up

Now that you've prepared all the separate parts of the recipe you get to set it all up.
Start by putting the sand down in the dish on covered "sea".
Next fill the pineapple "palm-trees" with the fruit salad and place some black grapes in the leafy part of it (you can use string if needed). Set them on the sand in the dish.
finally set down all your extra decorations made from watermelon and any other material (paper parasol or fish...) in the dish and it's ready to serve and eat!

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