Tasty Thursday - MIL oranges

During all the days I was sick with the flu and then the coughing, the only thing that taste good are the oranges from my MIL.  This seasons produce has been so sweet and juicy.  Jeff would peel a couple of oranges and place them in a plastic container so they will be ready for me eat when I want them. Although according to some information I have read that you should not eat oranges when you have are coughing, I didn't care because it made my throat feel cool.  Since I have plenty of oranges and lemons from my MIL, when I was feeling better, I decided to make a batch of orange marmalade. Most of my jars are for gift to friends.  When it comes to marmalade, it seems like only older people love them.  I guess a long time ago that was the thing to do as it's a very cheap way to make jams and marmalade.  One of my MIL's friend, her name is Sylvia, she once told me that my marmalade is the best she's ever had.  Sylvia is 92 years old.  So I have to be proud of the marmalade I make.  The recipe is from the Barefoot Contessa, a very easy and simple way to make use of oranges and lemons.

One lemon, two oranges, 4 cups of water and 4 cups of sugar and you have 6 jars of marmalade.

One lemon

I only did a half a recipe which still resulted in 6 jars.

Two oranges

Mouthwatering Monday - Persimmons

Almost forgot that today is Halloween and for me is the scariest night of the year.  I never really liked this holiday but if you have children, you need to be brave and not show that you are afraid.  Making costumes when my son and daughter were little was fun.  During their adult days, I found myself still helping make their costume.  Now a days, the most that Jeff and I do is give out candies and in our neighborhood unfortunately not too many kids goes around.  Most of our neighbors are retired and have grown kids that have moved out.  Maybe it's their grandchildren that comes around.  The funny part about giving out candies,

Jeff usually does it because sometimes the bigger kids are wearing some pretty scary mask or costumes, I just don't want to see them.  The other funny part is that Jeff does not mind not having too many kids stopping by because it means, he will have more candies to eat.  This is why when we buy the bags of candies, he has to make it sure the assortment in the bag are his favorite.  As for me, I just want a few saved so that I can have them when I get a low blood sugar episode in the middle of the night.  They are the perfect size for me to have to bring up my sugar level.  I'm sorry, I got so side tracked, this post was suppose to be about persimmons.  There's not much to say except we received a bag of the sweetest persimmons ever.  It came from our friend's tree and she picked the best that are firm and ready to eat.  Well, the colors of this fruit is perfect for tonight's holiday.  See the photo I took.  Happy Trick or Treating and be safe.

I found this one that was taken during an office Halloween party in 1990's?

 

Tarty Tueday - I love these grapefruits

For a very long time, I stopped eating grapefruits because I was taking some statin for my cholesterol.  But one day I did some reading on what the benefits of eating grapefruits and I found out that as long as I  don't consume a large amount and do not eat it everyday, it would be too bad.  Here's what I found.

Grapefruit contains a chemical that interferes with your body's ability to break down or metabolize certain statin medications. When statin takers eat large amounts of grapefruit, the level of statins in their blood can increase, raising the possibility of side effects.

And then here's what I found regarding the benefits of eating grapefruits.

• Grapefruit may not be a miracle weight loss food as touted in some previously popular fad diets, but consuming grapefruit as part of a healthy diet may just give you a little boost
• eating higher amounts of a compound found in citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit may lower ischemic stroke risk for women
• One study found that a diet supplemented with fresh red grapefruit positively influences blood lipid levels, especially triglycerides
•  As an excellent source of the strong antioxidant vitamin C as well as other antioxidants, grapefruit can help combat the formation of free radicals known to cause cancer. 
•  Grapefruit, because of its water and fiber content, helps to prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract. 
•  The risks for developing asthma are lower in people who consume a high amount of certain nutrients. One of these nutrients is vitamin C, found in many fruits and vegetables including grapefruit. 

Like anything else in life, moderation is the key.  Unfortunately my supplier of these wonderful grapefruits is moving and I can't pick fresh grapefruit from their tree.  I know they are available at every store, but nothing beats fresh. 

The biggest one weighs almost 2 pounds and the smallest one weighs 1 pound.

These grapefruits are juicy, sweet, sour and tart. 

 

Fruitful Friday - Lemon or Lime

One of the good benefits of living in Cali is being able to pick some fresh fruit even during the winter months.  My MIL has one orange and one lemon tree that produces really juicy and sweet fruits.  The other one is my friend the Master Gardener who has a different selection of fruits.  Remember that really large pomegranate that she gave me before the holidays?  This past weekend I already started making my orange/lemon marmalade.  The fruits were from my MIL's tree.  Since I have already given five out of the eight jars, I am contemplating on making more.  Although I can't really use a lot of the marmalade on my toast, I still like to have them handy for gifts.  The other day I needed some lemons so I traded one of my marmalade with another neighbor.  I felt like I was living in a farm trading goods.  Anyway, I ended up picking not only lemons, lime and some oranges.  Of course I took a photo so you can see.  I also decided to share my latest fruit tray.  I guess you cannot have enough citrus fruits to get enough vitamin C for the cold winter months.

The fruit tray during the holidays.

The Citrus Collection from the neighbors tree.

 

Massive Monday - Lemon or Lime,maybe grapefruit

It is truly amazing how fruits, flowers and plants are still growing with some of the cold weather we are having.  Of course it's not that cold compared to places where they have true winters.  I am always looking for things that are interesting that I can share with my readers.  This past weekend while visiting my friend Jean, I was checking out a couple of their fruit trees.  I noticed this particular one that had a couple of fruit.  Although there's only two, they were massive.  It looks like a big grapefruit or maybe a pomelo (asian grapefruit).  Maybe it's a light color orange or maybe really big life.  After confirming with them, it was a lemon after all.  I don't think I have seen a lemon this massive.  Compare it to some of the oranges on their tree.  When I got home, I noticed that my cabbage flower has grown back.

I wonder if these plants are more winter type.

These oranges will be so sweet when it's ready

Notice that the lemon is bigger than my hand.

 

Sweet and Sour Sunday - Citrus time

The oranges and lemons were calling me to pick them from the tree.  We stopped by my MIL's home to help her take some of the fruits that are ready.  It's a little exciting trying to pick the best ones first, then the ones that were hanging lower and Jeff takes care of the ones that were way too high.  I couldn't believe how many oranges and lemons were ready.  If you remember my other post, I made a couple of batch of marmalades already.  Maybe I'll makes some lemon bread, lemon bars, orange cupcakes and whatever else I can make.  This years oranges are really sweet and juice while the lemons are really sour.  It's nice to have them without paying for them.  Each year I look forward to orange picking at my MIL's backyard.  Of course, I remembered to take some photos.

I only picked 7 lemons.

There is at least the same amount left on the tree.

Jeff and I made these orange cupcakes with orange glaze and walnuts.

 

Fruity Friday - Just a little excited

If you can recall the post that I did about Jeff's gardening in our front yard, you will remember about the three separate fruit trees that have been grafted to several other types of the same fruit.  Now I would like to show you how it has grown after a couple of months or maybe more.

They are actually still very small but it's exciting to see them on our front yard.  Hopefully the squirrels does not ruin them.  One of our neighbors has a big apple tree located in the corner of their front yard.  This year they were not able to harvest anything because of the squirrels.  They pick on it or knock them off the tree before they are ready.  Jeff is keeping an eye on all the trees, flowers, vegetables and others.  So far he is winning against the squirrels 15 - love.

Fruitty Friday - New fruits to taste

There are so many different fruits that will be available to taste when we get to Hawaii.  I am already wondering what type of fruits they have that we don't get here in San Jose.  Of course I have to remember that there are some fruits that are very high in sugar so I will keep in mind to have a smaller portions.  Since I don't think I am allergic to any kind of fruits, it will be safe to try something new.  I started researching online and these are so far my favorites.

Jaboticaba (not sure what this taste like but I would like to try)

Lanzones (this was one of my favorite when I was growing up)

Atemoya (my sister's favorite)-she found this in England while travelling and paid almost $10 for one.