3 Festive Recipes to Perk Up Your Autumn
With the changing seasons we often find ourselves still clinging to the previous season’s recipes. More importantly, grocery stores still provide a year round selection of fruit and vegetable even when they shouldn’t be in season.
Transitioning our diets is not only beneficial to our health and well being, but it also is lighter on our wallets.
Unfortunately, many people still do not eat seasonally and many stores still do not provide a wide variety of fruits. You’re probably wondering where I’m going with this...
I was recently at a Sprouts Market here in town (San Antonio) and I found my favorite of fruits, the delicious and hard to find Persimmon. This berry, yes, it is a berry; is just as mysterious to a novice foodie as it is delightful to the palette. I was rather excited with my find, especially since I was able to find a few firm Fuyu Persimmons. EPIC SCORE!
For the novice, Fuyu and Jiro are non-astringent and can be eaten firm and overly ripened. If you would like to read more on Persimmons, this article is a good general overview.
My Boyfriend had never seen or heard of a Persimmon and when we got to the checkout, the young lady who was helping me, had never seen or knew what a Persimmon was. Okay SPROUTS. I think it’s key to any business that your staff is confident and knowledgeable about all of your products... including produce.
After this little trip, I felt that I should dedicate a two easy recipes to honor the mighty Persimmon and one for the tantalizing Pomegranate. The three recipes that follow are listed in order of preparation and ease.
2 Tbsp. Locally Sourced Honey
Clean your fruit - I know... it’s a no brainer but better safe than sorry.
Rough Chop all of your fruit and place inside a large container.
Only de-seed about 1/3 of a large Pomegranate. Reserve the remaining 2/3 for our last recipe. Place the seeds into the container with the chopped fruit.
Sprinkle the Pumpkin Spice over the top of the fruit. You can also add a pinch of ground Ginger and a scant amount of Tumeric if you would like to add some spice and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Slowly drizzle the Honey over the top of fruit. Be sure to evenly cover the top.
Gently fold the mixture until Honey and Spices are evenly dispersed and coating the fruit. The natural juices will also release and will also add to the sweetness of the salad.
Place covered container in the fridge and let chill.
This recipe can be served over ice cream, warm cake, or even mixed into Greek yogurt.
1 Very Ripe Fuyu Persimmon
1/4 Cup Milk or Milk Substitute
Cut the Persimmon in half and with a small spoon carefully scoop out all of the very soft and mushy flesh. if there are any firm pieces, be sure to cut them up into very finely chopped pieces. Place the flesh in a small saucepan and heat on medium/low heat.
Add the Pumpkin Pie Spice into the saucepan as well.
Cook until the Persimmon cooks down into a thick paste like consistency. Think school glue. Set aside.
Mix the Brown Sugar and Maple Syrup together to make a thick paste. Set aside.
In a separate pot, prepare your oats. If you have a gluten intolerance you can make any variety of your favorite oats.
Serve the oats and then drizzle the Maple-B.Sugar Paste and Persimmon mixture over your oats. You can also top it off with a little Milk or Milk Alternative.
Orange-Pom Youthberry Black Tea
2 Cold Brew Black Tea bags
1 Container of Teavana Youthberry White Tea
Doterra Wild Orange Essential Oil Extract
1 tsp. Locally Sourced Honey
2/3 of the remaining Pomegranate
French Press - this will make your life easier...
Start by de-seeding the Pomegranate and set the seeds aside. It should be about 1 cup.
Using a small pot. Pour in the water and the Pomegranate seeds. Heat to a rolling boil.
SAFELY using a large spoon or even a potato masher - gently start smashing the pomegranate seeds in the hot water. Return to a simmer for another minute or two.
Pour the Pomegranate mixture into the French Press and gently press the seeds to the bottom to filter the juice. Pour the filtered juice back into the pot and return to a simmer.
Add 2 drops of the Wild Orange Essential Oil, Honey (this is to help balance out the Orange oil), and slowly add in the White Sugar. Start with the first cup and add more sugar to taste. I live in Texas but I’m from California and Ice Teas in the south are traditionally sweetened, which I’m not accustomed to. So for me when making this in my house, if it tastes sweet to me, it’s not sweet enough for my boyfriend or our boys. Let this cook for a few minutes, still stirring.
In your pitcher add about 2 cups of water and add in your Cold Brew Black Tea bags.
Slowly pour in your sweetened Pomegranate syrup. Stirring. Allow this to steep.
Heat your hot water kettle and add your Youthberry tea into your French Press. Once the kettle boils, slowly pour it into your French Press allowing the tea to seep for at least 10 minutes before pressing.
Press the tea and then pour it into the Pitcher. Stir the tea mixture and add water until the Pitcher is full. Allow the Black Tea to seep a little longer in the pitcher.
Remove the Black Tea bags and place the lid on the mixture. Chill in fridge.
