Small Bites…Adventures in Downsizing

By Jan Kinzel

Wonderful fruit–the fruit of the Spirit and fresh fruits of the seasons, both are worthy of recognition! It’s good to be reminded of the qualities we are to possess and exhibit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self‐control. (Galatians 5:22 & 23) 

Now, let’s think about seasonal fruits and some tasty dishes into which they may be incorporated. The fruit is wonderful in these recipes, but remember to enjoy them frequently in their natural state! Since my husband and I downsized and moved to a new neighborhood, we’ve discovered something. There is a weekly Farmers’ Market held in a park right across the street from our new place!

SPRING 

Cleaning Strawberries: Here is something I accidentally discovered one day while preparing strawberries. I set the berries aside in a bowl of room temperature water and sort of forgot about them. Several minutes later upon retrieving them from the water, what I found was a real eye‐opener! In the bottom of the bowl, I saw grit and dirt and as a bonus, the water re‐hydrated the skin of the berries and plumped them up! I now use this method to clean strawberries. A word of caution: Do not let them sit in the water much longer than fifteen minutes.

Fresh Strawberry Shortcake

(…served a little differently). Instead of the traditional shortcake sandwich of cake, berries and whipped cream, macerate the berries in a mixture that adds flavor such as a ripe peach balsamic vinegar and a little sugar, or a splash of orange juice enhanced with a couple of grates of orange zest and perhaps some orange liqueur. How about using some white balsamic vinegar and fresh basil!

Change out the flat plate for a lotus dish. Spoon the macerated berries into the lotus dish and place on a cute plate surrounded by homemade or purchased delicious shortbread cookies or ladyfingers. Sift a little confectioner’s sugar over the cookies. Top the berries with a dollop of freshly whipped cream flavored with vanilla extract and sweetened with a little sugar. Garnish your creation with a sprig of mint.

SUMMER 

Summer Melon & Berry Mélange 

The luscious look of cool, lime‐green honeydew melon mixed with plump dark purple blueberries is a great summer refresher! Use a melon‐baller to scoop and shape the melon flesh. Smooth out the inside surface of the melon and place the berries and melon balls in the half‐shells for a fun presentation. Drizzle some orange‐blossom honey over the top and garnish with sprigs of mint.

AUTUMN 

Hot Apple Turnovers 

Yield: 8 turnovers

1 package frozen puff‐pastry, thawed and separated, according to package directions
12 Granny Smith or other tart baking apples
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon tapioca
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup apple cider

Peel and coarsely dice tart baking apples, such as Granny Smith. In a saucepan, combine apples with sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, nutmeg and apple cider. Cook just until the apples begin to soften a little. Remove from pan and place in a bowl to cool. Cut each pastry sheet into four squares for a total of eight squares. Spoon apple mixture over half of each of the squares, leaving about a quarter of an inch around the edges. Moisten the edges with water on your finger and fold the clean half over the apple filling forming a triangle for each turnover. Crimp the edges with fork tines or with pinches from your fingers to seal. Place turnovers on a baking sheet lined with non‐stick foil. Brush tops with an egg wash made of a whisked egg and water. Sprinkle with a little coarse sugar such as Turbinado and bake at 400 degrees until golden.

WINTER 

It’s true that citrus fruit is available all year, but in the United States it’s mostly harvested in late Autumn just before the frosts begin. 

Citrus & Shrimp Salad 

In a jar with a lid (such as a canning jar), make a vinaigrette of equal parts of grape‐seed oil and raspberry vinegar, a heaping teaspoon of mayonnaise, a teaspoon of sugar, pinch of salt and one grind of black pepper. With lid tightly secured, shake to emulsify and set aside.

Place peeled, deveined, tails‐on shrimp on a sheet pan lined with non‐stick foil. Toss shrimp with extra‐virgin olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper and roast at 400 degrees just until shrimp is pink. While shrimp is roasting, make supremes* of white and red grapefruit and navel oranges.

To serve, stand a leaf of butter lettuce in a martini glass so that it leans against the side of the glass. Toss the citrus and dressing together and spoon into the glasses. Place three of the roasted shrimp into the salads with tails up. Garnish with julienned mint or basil leaves.

*To make the citrus supremes, peel each fruit, being careful to remove the white pith from the outer part of the fruit. Cut on each side of the membrane separating each section and pop out the fruit, section by section. It takes a little work, but totally worth it! 

HOLIDAYS 

Cranberry & Pear “Crisp” in Ramekins 

This recipe is for one ramekin – adjust ingredients to amount of ramekins used. 

1 firm pear, peeled, cored, halved and cut into six pieces
1/4 cup fresh cranberries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon butter cut into small pats
1/2 tablespoon cream at room temperature

For “crisp”, in a non‐stick skillet toast 1/2 cup panko bread flakes or crumbs in 1 tablespoon butter until golden and crispy. Remove from heat and thoroughly mix in 1 tablespoon brown sugar. Set aside. Spray each ramekin with non‐stick vegetable spray. Combine the pears and cranberries. Spoon the fruit mixture into the ramekin. Dot the top with the butter pats and distribute the sugar evenly over top. Bake in 425 degree oven for 30 minutes or until sugar is amber in color. Remove from oven and stir in cream. This will create a caramel sauce. Top with panko ‘crisp’ and serve with a small scoop of butter pecan ice cream.

Ruth Dearborn’s Pumpkin & Mincemeat Pie 

This is very clever, yummy and highly aromatic!

Prepare your favorite recipe for pumpkin pie but before putting the pumpkin custard into the pie shell, spread a layer of prepared mincemeat on the bottom crust and carefully spread the pumpkin  custard over the mincemeat. Proceed as usual with the baking. Your guests will be so surprised! To serve, top each wedge with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of finely grated orange zest.

 

Tip: For the freshest and best fruit purchase what is in season. The anticipation of special seasonal dishes enhances the enjoyment and makes them even more appreciated. 

…I have given you every…tree whose fruit yields seed…Genesis 1:29