Persimmon Cubes

These are ripe pointy (Hacyiya) Persimmons.

To keep them a bit longer, we wanted to freeze them... but in usable portions.  So we put them into the food processor.

Then I froze them in our ice cube tray.

And they are going to be stored in freezer bags so we can use them in smoothies.

 
 Or eat them plain!

 

Pin It

Hanukkah Menu

Happy Hanukkah!


How about a Hanukkah party??

• Latkes - eggs, squash/ sweet potato/ potato, coconut flour
• dripped yogurt
• cranberry apple sauce
• wine/ beer - ice
• spiced cider (Trader Joe's Cider heated up)
• brisket (brisket in slow cooker with wine or homemade BBQ sauce)
• deviled eggs (mix yolk with homemade mayo and mustard)
• persimmons (fresh, in a bowl)
• olives (jarred, in a bowl, with toothpicks)
• carrots, celery
• apple cake (can't believe this recipe hasn't been posted- stay tuned for after party photo and recipe- generations old...)

While you're at it, how about some activities for the kids?

• magic modeling clay dreidel making with markers
• foam menorahs for coloring in
• hanukkah candle kit

Pin It

Plain Pointy Persimmons

It's persimmon season again! This year, the "baby" is 19 months and I actually got him to sit in the high chair for this.  He did need the "kiwi knife," though. This is a knife we have that has a fairly blunt serrated blade and is shaped like a spatula with a wooden handle. We got it at Williams Sonoma, but I didn't know what to search for to find it in their online catalog, so sorry I don't have a link. I have seen them at the grocery store as well.

 

Remember to make sure they are soft like a water balloon before serving them. 

Pin It

Recipe: Persimmon Mint Spinach Smoothies

We are working our way through the persimmon glut, and are down to just two more 2-cup bags of persimmon puree in the freezer.  Here is how we are going to finish them off.

Persimmon Mint Spinach Smoothie

2 cups frozen or thawed persimmons
1 banana (fresh or frozen)
2 cups homemade bone broth
1 scoop Green Vibrance
2 T flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon bee pollen
2 Tablespoons rice protein powder
sprig mint
2 T cacao nibs, optional (add a nice crunch)
1 cup fresh spinach or kale

Pin It

Recipe: Persimmon Mint Spinach Smoothies

We are working our way through the persimmon glut, and are down to just two more 2-cup bags of persimmon puree in the freezer.  Here is how we are going to finish them off.

Persimmon Mint Spinach Smoothie

2 cups frozen or thawed persimmons
1 banana (fresh or frozen)
2 cups homemade bone broth
1 scoop Green Vibrance
2 T flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon bee pollen
2 Tablespoons rice protein powder
sprig mint
2 T cacao nibs, optional (add a nice crunch)
1 cup fresh spinach or kale

Mix in blender.  Serves 2.

Please note that I am a bit ambivalent about using isolated protein (protein powder).  On the one hand, it adds protein to the meal.  But on the other hand, food should be eaten whole, as nature intended.  I am avoiding all sorts of foods for my little nursling at the moment, otherwise I think a big scoop of yogurt would be a better protein source in the smoothie.

Pin It

Persimmons: How to get the astringent out

Persimmons sure are yummy... but if you don't catch them right, they can "sting" your tongue with that astringent flavor.  We got a LOT of the pointy-bottom persimmons from a neighbor this year.  We figured out that there are two ways to avoid that off-putting taste: 1. to wait until they are so so so soft, like a water balloon, before eating them; or 2. to FREEZE them and defrost them.  That taste doesn't survive the freezer.  Weird, but true. Pin It

Persimmon Sorbet v 2.0

We made persimmon sorbet the other night, and it was delicious!

This experience, though, wasn't quite as good.  I used the alternate recipe I posted, which was 2 cups of pureed persimmons and the zest and juice of one lemon.  I put it into the ice cream maker.

I actually was a little disappointed.  The zest was too zesty, and the whole thing was a bit thick.  When I made it before, just freezing it and partially defrosting it in a bag, then squishing it, I was much happier with the result.

Go figure.

Pin It

Recipe: Persimmon Fruit Leather (Raw)

These are part of our Persimmon Project.  

We have now taken the glut of ripe Hachiya Persimmons our neighbor gave us and pureed them, skins and all, in the food processor and then we froze them in 2-cup ziploc baggies.

To make fruit leather, we took a baggie and defrosted it and spread it onto the Teflex sheet of the dehydrator.  We then spread it so that it was evenly distributed.

Then we put it into the dehydrator set at 115 degrees (to keep it raw and to keep the enzymes intact).  Drying time depends on the weather, and this took us about 8 hours.

They are just ok.  Sadly.  We had such high hopes for them.  We found them to be a little bland, although we find the ripe fruit to be divine.  My guess is that the addition of lemon juice and rind, or Vitamin C crystals/ ascorbic acid would help make the flavor pop.  The consistency was just right, though.

Pin It

Recipe: Persimmon Sorbet

We are up to our eyeballs in persimmons again, thanks to another neighbor.  And they are ripening faster than we can eat them raw.


So we pureed loads of them and are using some and freezing others.  They are portioned in 2-cup ziploc baggies in the freezer.

Recipe: Persimmon Sorbet

2 cups pureed Hachiya persimmons (skins and all)
1 teaspoon Vitamin C crystals (we got ours at Trader Joe's but it is 100% ascorbic acid. You could also use the juice of a lemon and the zest)

Partially freeze a ziploc of puree.  Mix in the vitamin C powder. Enjoy!

You could also put into your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Pin It

Persimmons!

We got to pick a LOAD of persimmons off a local backyard tree this year.

These are Hachiya Persimmons, which have a pointy bottom.  This means that they are full of tannins, and astringent if you eat them too early.  You need to wait until they are soft like a water balloon.  When that happens, you can slice them and eat them with a spoon, or puree them and add them to recipes.

I found a lot of recipes on the internet, and haven't tried any yet.  They are just so delicious raw, and have been ripening slowly, so we have been eating our way through them.  We did have about six come ripe at once, and pureed them, and froze the puree to cook with later.

Better than these are Fuyu Persimmons.  These have been at our local Farmer's Market for a few weeks now and we have been eating them hard and raw plain.  They also are excellent sliced in salad (spinach salad with almonds, for example).  They are sweet and tart, and delicious.

Pin It