Buongiorno.
If you're coming to our dinner today, you're in luck: Our chosen ingredients are looking great.
I'm particularly pleased with the Granny Smith apples this year -- they're so tangy and succulent.
Someone better be making us an apple pie or a tarte tatin, that's all I'm saying...
Enjoy,
Marco Flavio
What I found this week:
Juice-filled blackberries (see above) are still around. I had the pleasure of having a delicious jam made by fellow CH&N foodie and blog writer Colleen from Delights and Prejudices. I made a slightly under-salted rustic whole wheat ciabatta, slathered it with salted butter and some of her new blackberry jam. With my morning macchiato it was one of the best breakfasts I had in a while (and I bake all kind of treats for our let's-start-the-day-right meal). Jam on, Colleen -- thanks!
In-the-shell black-eyed peas for all you South Asian and Southern cooks.
Recipes from Allrecipes and Epicurious.
Sweet potatoes of many kinds. Quit hatin' on the carbs: These were voted the #1 best food for your health by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, because they're one of the most nutritious vegetables around.
In the States they're often erroneously called yams (which are never orange or sweet) and served with the turkey at Thanksgiving. Yam is an altogether different vegetable: what you're having with your feast is a sweet potato. They're in season now through December, so sneak them in your meals for a hit of vitamins A and C. They're delicious for making french fries, since the sugars caramelize wonderfully when deep-fried.
Recipes from Epicurious and Allrecipes.
Yes, they're still tasty in mid-October: cherry tomatoes.
Enjoy them while you can.
Persimmons are finally ripe.
Recipes from Allrecipes and Epicurious.
Grapefruits, limes and Valencia oranges are in from Bernard Family Ranch in Riverside.
Vincent lets his citrus ripen on the tree, as opposed to cold-storage. It's a technique that yields a much sweeter fruit with a superior flavor profile. The drawback is that because the fruits are exposed to the weather all year round, they look a bit battered and scarred, and therefore less visually appealing (a big no-no in supermarket marketing). Don't be fooled! Get yourself some and then tell me how you liked them.
Recipes from Epicurious and Allrecipes.
I particularly loved his Marsh White grapefruits, with a very sweet, slightly floral flavor and just a hint of the trademark grapefruit bitterness. Great in salads or as dessert.
Try his other grapefruit varieties and pick the one that best suits your palate -- these kind of tough choices in produce are reason enough to live in California.
Star Ruby grapefruits
Medium Star Ruby grapefruits... if you're not so hungry.
Just in time for Halloween, and perfect for baked goods: Pumpkins!
For the ones that did you didn't have time to gut ... recipes from Epicurious and Allrecipes.
It's such a nice service you provide, Marco. Grazie!
Posted by: Tana | October 16, 2007 at 04:14 PM
You're very welcome!
Posted by: Marco Flavio | October 16, 2007 at 11:33 PM