Blue Cayenne

My good friend Joyce does just about everything perfectly. She cooks, she sews, she grows orchids.  She takes gentle and loving care of her family and friends. Joyce is a keeper.

Her nemesis for the last few years, however, has been a type of tree– a persimmon tree, to be precise.

Tree after tree after tree after tree, they’ve withered and died.

Until now.

This year Joyce has added a green(er) thumb to her many accomplishments. Her newest persimmon tree produced four Fuyu persimmons .  (Way to go, Joyce!)

I was lucky enough to receive one of Joyce’s inaugural persimmons as a gift. It’s a beaut, too. Just look at that vibrant persimmon color!

If you’re not familiar with persimmons, you will be interested in knowing that, in addition to their beauty, persimmons are a very healthy food choice. Persimmons contain vitamins A,C, and E and fiber. Nutritionists believe they support your immune function, skin health and digestive health. As a cook, it is also interesting to note that persimmons are rich in pectin which makes them great for use as a thickening ingredient. So, growing and consuming persimmons is a smart thing to do. 

So, what to do with this beauty?

I decided to make a warm persimmon pudding topped with vanilla ice cream. It was a bit of heaven.

I’m sure pulling for that persimmon tree to flourish and fruit next year!

Sweet potatoes! They’re not just for thanksgiving. 

Sweet potatoes could/should be a healthy part of your diet any time of the year. They are nutrient dense, bringing vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese and other healthy vitamins and minerals to your plate but only about 180 calories (in a cup of sweet potatoes) to your waistline. That is, as they say, a win/win.  Scientists believe they help support our immune system and healthy vision, too.

The sweet potatoes is a South American native plant. Columbus wrote about them in his journals and carried the plant back to Spain in the 1500s. They became a part of the North Amerian colonists’ diet in the 1600s. 

This recipe is from Sami Tamimi’s wonderful new cookbook, Boustany: A Celebration Of Vegetables From My Palestine. Tamimi, by the way, co-authored two cookbooks with Yotam Ottolenghi (Jerusalem and Ottolenghi: The Cookbook) and a previous solo cookbook, Falastin. His cookbooks are all available through your local bookstore or on Amazon here.

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. This would be an interesting dish to offer on your Thanksgiving table. Pretty, too.

OK. It’s another cake.

It’s been THAT kind of month.

This is a recipe from The New York Times Sunday Magazine. You will find the original recipe here.

The original recipe gave permission to use blackberries, blueberries, raspberries or  chopped strawberries in this recipe. You have a lot of freedom here. I used strawberries and blueberries.

This would be a very nice cake to enjoy with an al fresco meal on Labor Day (or any day!).

Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.