Persimmon - Fruits of the Gods

My beloved Fuyu Persimmon tree continues to reward me with delicious fruits despite my neglect. I cannot say that I have always attended to it well but this year, life has truly overwhelm me. Caring for two houses and gardens, an hour and half apart plus the stress of a teenage son applying to college.......

Before the Fuyu started taking color, the only time I paid attention to the tree this year was to take pictures of the Persimmon flowers for Autumn Belle- a promise I made when I was harvesting last years crop. It was the ruckus of wild chirping and flapping of wings that emanating  from the vicinity of the Fuyu Persimmon tree that woke me up from my stupor. Those birds were fighting each other to get at the fruits! I do not know what angered me more, the delicious ripe persimmon eaten by the birds or the beautiful green unripe persimmon needlessly pecked by the birds? Every gardener with a persimmon tree knows you have to share some fruits with the birds, the keyword here is SOME.

Year of the Dragon - Fruit!

For the last 3 years, my Pitaya /Dragon Fruit plant Hylocereus undatus had teased me with beautiful blossoms but never rewarding me with any fruit. It seems it was just waiting for Year of the Dragon to start fruiting! I was pleasantly surprised to see that the blossom did not just fall off but two dragon fruits had formed on the plant. One of them has develop a beautiful pinky red color and the other has just a blush of color. I am not sure if they are of the same plant. It am excited to taste the fruit finally!!

September - flower 

 This blossom will turn into the blush colored Pitaya

One of the blossom turned yellow and will not grow to be a Pitaya

 The remaining blossom has developed into a pinky red Pitaya

Just a touch of blush on this Pitaya

Mason Jar Salads

If you are a fan of Pinterest,  you would have seen the use of Mason Jars for everything from storage, planting, lighting to premixes. Recently, in an effort to eat more healthy, I made some Mason Jar Salads. Really easy! Just gather together mason jars, your favorite salad dressing, salad greens and tomatoes. You can also include beans, cucumber, olives and even fruits if you like. Essentially, whatever you normally use to make your favorite salad.

The main thing is to keep the salad green away from the salad dressing. The first layer in the jar is the salad dressing. I like adding the tomatoes, carrots or cucumbers next. For some jars, I added pears cut into cubes. The layer on top of the salad dressing should be firmer to `lift' the salad greens away from the dressing. Fill with salad greens. Top with nuts or fruits if you like. Mandarin orange segments, watermelon cubes, and berries are good choices. These Mason Jar salads last for about a week. I was addicted to these salads, sometimes I would have a jar for lunch and dinner!! A little shopping, a few minutes of assembly and you are set for the week. Delicious!!

 Layers- salad dressing, tomatoes, salad greens.

 Grab and go Mason Jar salads for work

 Shake the mason jar to distribute the salad dressing

Poppy seed dressing and the addition of chickpeas. Yum!

You can add grill chicken to make it a complete meal

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

My daughter L is sitting a little under the weather was wanting soup. We had bought a huge bag of broccoli from Costco with every intention of making Panera Bread wanna be Broccoli Cheddar Soup!! The Crusty No Knead Bread I made last night was begging to be dipped in the soup.

It was quite good although we lighten it up a bit since we were having not just one bowl of soup! Instead of the 2 cups of half and half, I use 1 cup each of whole milk and 1 cup of half and half. I have even use just whole milk and have been happy with it. Just nothing less than whole milk.

No Knead Crusty Bread

Like the rest of the world, I spend a ridiculous amount of time on Pinterest, getting ideas and being inspired. A few days ago, I came across a Pin showing a No Knead Bread. It look so delicious and the recipe was too easy to be believed. I mean all you do is literally just combine all the ingredients together and let it proof! The unbelievable thing is, it only require 1/2 a teaspoon of yeast!! So make sure that yeast is active and fresh. I tested and threw out some doubtful yeast.

 I had been itching to make a crusty bread using my Le Creuset  Dutch Oven. I whipped out my little jewel that I had been hoarding for awhile - the silver the replacement knob that would allow my Le Creuset Dutch Oven to be used in a scorching 400-500 F oven ( the normal Le Creuset Knob is not rated for such a hot oven). Swap the knob and I was good to go.

I made the dough at 6 am on Sunday morning intending to bake the bread that evening. As it turned out, we spent the day watching "Lost" on Netflick and staying cool. In the end, it was too hot for me to think about turning the turning on the oven. So I pop the dough in the fridge to slow down the proofing. So instead of proofing the dough for 12-18 hours, it was more like 36 hours!!! It still came out beautifully crusty and delicious. So that was my adaption.

The search for perfect Madeleine

Madeleine have been on my mind lately...To be exact the delectable Lemon Madeleine I made a couple of year ago. It  was of those reader requested recipe of something they ate at a restaurant, in either Gourmet or Bona Appetit magazine. I remember closing my eyes in bliss, biting into the tender crumbed Madeleine deliciously perfume with lemon zest. You know what is coming right? Yes, you guess it!! I lost the recipe. I cannot remember if it contained honey, if I chilled the dough or did I add baking powder that is frown upon by the purist. So now begins my quest for the perfect Madeleine recipe.

A Clean Dog

With all the travelling we did this summer, the garden was not all I neglected. Frasier has been looking pretty scruffy not to mention doggy. Two days ago I gave him a bath. Today, I finally shave and groomed him. Here are the before and after pictures.

Scruffy, stinky but oh so adorable. Most of the time, I prefer him looking this way but as his hair grows longer, he tends to "pick up" stuff from the garden. Frasier is an outside dog. He often gets mistaken for a Labradoodle when he looks like this.

Clean, still adorable but half the dog he was!!! Poodles are all hair if you can tell.