Showing posts with label fruit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fruit. Show all posts

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Persimmons galore!


Persimmons galore!
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

One of my favorite things about the fall season is the Fuyu persimmons that grow on the 2 trees in my parents' backyard. The Fuyu variety is the smaller and firmer fruit (and to me, more edible and easier to eat), as opposed the Hachiya which ripens into a mushy and gelatinous mess.

They are so beautiful to look at - the various shades of orange, from light golden orange to a deep red-orange, depending on its ripeness. And the shape of the fruit is lovely, looking a bit like a tomato or apple sometimes, but I hate to compare them to other fruit. They are just so photogenic, I may have taken hundreds of photos of them.

I'm always amazed at the huge bounty we get every other year. It takes a break in the off years, bearing only about 20 pieces of fruit in the case of last year. I guess it needs to "rest" and regenerate its energy to produce more the following year.

This year the trees have gone bonkers and today we picked about 200 of them. Unfortunately about 25% of them fall so hard to the ground that they get battered and bruised. I salvaged as many of the battered ones as I could and will try to consume them quickly before they get moldy. I've been scanning the internet for good and healthy recipes. If you know of any please let me know!

A friend of my just emailed me and suggested I slice them up thinly and serve them with prosciutto. I bet that would look really pretty - can't wait to try that one. Maybe I'll place them on a platter along with a small chunk of cheese. Thanks Deb for the great idea!

Two years ago I added chunks of persimmon in the cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. I've also made a persimmon crisp - it uses up a lot of fruit, unlike a cake or cookies which has other "fillers" like flour, butter and sugar. ;-)  A crisp is pretty much pure fruit with a nice topping of a little whole wheat flour mixed with rolled oats, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and walnuts. I also add a little flax seed and keep the sugar to a minimum because the fruit is already sweet enough. But the sugar caramelizes and adds a nice touch of flavor that compliments this fruit especially well. I'll be making that crisp soon and will be sure to post the recipe!


Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Strawberry season winding up

I love when May comes around because that means it's strawberries time! I picked up a flat of organic strawberries at the farmers' market the other day and have been enjoying them daily. Sometimes I put them in cereal with soy milk or with a little vanilla ice cream - yum!

Last weekend I had a little dinner party to celebrate my sister's birthday and Mother's Day. I needed to make a gluten free dessert/birthday cake for my sister so I made this...

Strawberry Yogurt Trifle

1. Sliced up a small loaf of gluten-free lemon poppy-seed cake I found at the shop. Put a layer of that on the bottom.

2. Then I poured a little bit of fresh squeezed orange juice on the cake.

3. Then a thick layer of yogurt - I used a mixture of sweetened vanilla low-fat yogurt and unsweetened plain non-fat yogurt.

4. Then I placed a layer of strawberries (cut in half) on top of the yogurt.

And then repeat the 4 previous steps. The great thing about trifle is that it doesn't have to look perfect. I didn't take measurements, just did it by eye. You can add other fruit or replace the OJ for jam. Feel free to take some creative liberties.

Easy and delicious and healthy and not too sweet. It was a hit!

About the photo
The fabulous photo above with the cereal is by giant dwarf of Flickr. The photo below is the Strawberry Yogurt Trifle that I made.

Strawberry yogurt trifle

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Orange season winding down


Oranges drying
Originally uploaded by love_yellow
Yes, the cost of living in California is high so you have take advantage of all the free things it offers, such as the good weather. And while we do get freezing cold and rainy weather here in Northern California during the winters, it's still temperate enough to grow citrus.

The orange tree in my parents' backyard has been reliably supplying us THE sweetest navel oranges I've ever had for about 25 years! This one full grown tree brings about 300 oranges per season.

It's fun to pick them and give them away to friends and neighbors. I like to squeeze the juice and store them in small containers in the freezer so I have some handy for drinks or to use in a citrus marinade.

The season starts about the end of January - that's when the first ripe oranges can be tasted. But here we are in early May and what's left on the tree is not much, but they're super sweet and juicy. It's such a treat!

My parents were kind enough to buy an orange tree for our backyard in the first year my husband and I moved into our house - that was about 11 years ago. Our tree is not quite as prolific (yet) but perhaps some day it will.

Thank you Golden State for the oranges that are nourished by your soil and climate!

Friday, May 1, 2009

Hopeful for limes this summer


Lime blossoms
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

I planted this lime bush 5 or 6 years ago, but have never seen any fruit. Back then as my husband was digging the hole in the ground, I fantasized about endless supply of limes for margaritas to serve to our friends during our summer BBQs.

I'm crossing my fingers that these little babies will grow into some juicy fruit so I can punch up my food and drinks and drinking water with that exciting flavor.

Fruit salad recipe...
Have you ever tried mixing the juice of 2 limes with a little honey and pouring it over a fruit salad of
- oranges
- grapefruit
- pineapple
- toasted walnuts or pecans
- and a few leaves of fresh mint, finely sliced

I just saw this recipe recently in a magazine and made a batch for my friend and her family. I think it was in Better Home and Gardens, though I couldn't find the exact recipe online.

It was refreshing and tasty! I could feel my body absorbing the vitamin C. Maybe at the end of winter my body just craved it, but I'm sure I'll enjoy it just as much in the middle of the hot summer.
Citrus fruit salad
Citrus, pineapple, coconut and walnut fruit salad.
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UPDATE: October 2009
I ended with my first and only lime which I picked and enjoyed on October 15th - it was exciting! I'm hoping for more limes next year.