Who Wants Seconds?

King of Fruits and Fruit of Kings

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Southern Sunrise

Color of lemon, mango, peach,
These storybook villas
Still dream behind
Shutters, thier balconies
Fine as hand-
Made lace, or a leaf-and-flower pen-sketch.

Tilting with the winds,
On arrowy stems,
Pineapple-barked,
A green crescent of palms
Sends up its forked
Firework of fronds.

A quartz-clear dawn
Inch by bright inch
Gilds all our Avenue,
And out of the blue drench
Of Angels' Bay
Rises the round red watermelon sun.

Sylvia Plath (1956)

This week, I've chosen another tropical fruit to go out on a limb with, although not intentionally. I just happened to walk into the market at the right time and come upon this absolutely gorgeous globe of colour. I realized that while I'd eaten mangoes by themselves, I'd never incorporated them into a recipe, and I wanted to rectify that immediately.

Of course, the possibilities are endless- curries, chutneys, pickles, sauces, all manner of desserts, even a cocktail or two.  I'll have to decide and be quick about it; sitting in my fruit bowl isn't doing it any favours. I'm leaning towards a savoury dish, but a pudding may win out in the end.

N.B. My thanks go to Santos over at The Scent of Green Bananas  for inspiring the above photo with her nicely composed shot of white peach sherbert with white peach halves and blackcurrant coulis, which sounds, as well as looks, quite lovely.

Oven-Roasted Persimmon Cakes

I decided to use the persimmons that I picked up earlier in the week in a dessert created by Marcel Desaulniers, from Baking with Julia. His original recipe called for plums, but I think the persimmons were a fine substitute- just the right size and perfectly ripe.

The batter is quite simple, with buttermilk and a very small amount of orange zest making for a lovely, light flavour. Baked in small custard cups, these not-too-sweet delights would be perfect any time of day. We ended up having them on their own for breakfast; you wouldn't go astray with an addition of ice cream or, as Delsaulniers recommends, chocolate sauce if you wanted to dress them up a bit.

Bon Appetit!

Shiki's Delight

having examined
three thousand haiku poems -
two persimmons

by Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), translated by Susumu Takiguchi

I've set a challenge for myself this year, which is to get one new (to me) ingredient each week and make a new recipe with it.  Last week it was a pomegranate, this week it's persimmons- the beautiful fruit known 'round the world by many names, including Sharon fruit, kaki and cacqui. I have no idea of what I'll end up making or whether I'll even like their flavour, but no matter; they're so lovely in their original state, such a simple work of art, that I already know I love them.

What to Make?

I came across pomegranates at the store yesterday and had to bring one home, even though I was in a quandary as to how I would use it. I've got some apples waiting, and I think that making a crisp might the ticket for a cold winter night. I couldn't resist taking a photo of the pips in their raw state- they are such gorgeous little ruby gems that I was tempted to just stand over the sink and eat them right there.