My 7 year old and I are persimmon obsessives. I never ate them as a kid, despite growing up in California. I just have no memory of them until I was living in Belgium one winter. My parents are in Portugal now, where they are cheap and plentiful. The first year, we had to explain that we needed at least 2 a day, so my mum staggers her purchases so they’ll always have perfectly ripe persimmons waiting for us at Christmas.
That is amazing! Persimmons are a thing in certain communities in Northern California. I happen to live in one of them. My parents covet them annually.
It’s fascinating that they’re popular in Portugal but come to think of it, the climate is similar? I’m thinking of latitude. Happy to know you are in the persimmon fan club!
I grew up in the Far East Bay, so more Mexican grocers than anything else. A colleague and I were thinking about how diaspora patterns influenced what we ate as children. I didn’t eat my first curry until I moved to the UK, but even as a white kid from a meat and potato family I had Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese pretty regularly, and of course, tons of Mexican food. Chinese was our special occasion dinner, because the restaurant had white tablecloths and cloth napkins. And that food culture has stuck with me, when I began cooking on my own, I looked for cookbooks with those familiar cuisines / flavours (and now love your work). So my half American, half English raised in Scotland son has sushi preferences and loves pho.
What a full life you've had, just described through food. I'm incredibly honored to know that my books and recipe are now part of your cooking life. Preparing the flavors of different cuisines well enriches our lives and community. Your son is fortunate.
The chile lime persimmon salad sounds divine! I would most likely add pomegranate for even more color and texture. I understand that the lime juice would prevent the green apple from browning. Do persimmons brown after cutting/slicing? If I were to take this to Thanksgiving dinner, I would most likely have chilies on the side that people could add (my MIL is more sensitive to heat than anybody I’ve ever known). Also, I will have to revisit VFAD for BS ideas.
I will be looking for persimmons at the farmer’s market this morning. What lovey neighbors you have. We’ve had the same amazing next door neighbors for 21 years and I can’t imagine it any other way.
I love Brussels sprouts and I will certainly try them with the the shira-ae; that should go together really well, but I would not add the beet here. (If I would have guests, I would steam some beets and turn those into a beet cubes & feta & walnut salad.)
As for sprouts, I normally parboil them for a couple of minutes and then cut them in half and stir-fry them. I hardly ever eat meat anymore but some cubed bits of good bacon would go very well with it, and I always add a few dried cranberries to the wok too.
My 7 year old and I are persimmon obsessives. I never ate them as a kid, despite growing up in California. I just have no memory of them until I was living in Belgium one winter. My parents are in Portugal now, where they are cheap and plentiful. The first year, we had to explain that we needed at least 2 a day, so my mum staggers her purchases so they’ll always have perfectly ripe persimmons waiting for us at Christmas.
That is amazing! Persimmons are a thing in certain communities in Northern California. I happen to live in one of them. My parents covet them annually.
It’s fascinating that they’re popular in Portugal but come to think of it, the climate is similar? I’m thinking of latitude. Happy to know you are in the persimmon fan club!
I grew up in the Far East Bay, so more Mexican grocers than anything else. A colleague and I were thinking about how diaspora patterns influenced what we ate as children. I didn’t eat my first curry until I moved to the UK, but even as a white kid from a meat and potato family I had Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese pretty regularly, and of course, tons of Mexican food. Chinese was our special occasion dinner, because the restaurant had white tablecloths and cloth napkins. And that food culture has stuck with me, when I began cooking on my own, I looked for cookbooks with those familiar cuisines / flavours (and now love your work). So my half American, half English raised in Scotland son has sushi preferences and loves pho.
What a full life you've had, just described through food. I'm incredibly honored to know that my books and recipe are now part of your cooking life. Preparing the flavors of different cuisines well enriches our lives and community. Your son is fortunate.
The chile lime persimmon salad sounds divine! I would most likely add pomegranate for even more color and texture. I understand that the lime juice would prevent the green apple from browning. Do persimmons brown after cutting/slicing? If I were to take this to Thanksgiving dinner, I would most likely have chilies on the side that people could add (my MIL is more sensitive to heat than anybody I’ve ever known). Also, I will have to revisit VFAD for BS ideas.
I will be looking for persimmons at the farmer’s market this morning. What lovey neighbors you have. We’ve had the same amazing next door neighbors for 21 years and I can’t imagine it any other way.
Persimmon Power!
I love Brussels sprouts and I will certainly try them with the the shira-ae; that should go together really well, but I would not add the beet here. (If I would have guests, I would steam some beets and turn those into a beet cubes & feta & walnut salad.)
As for sprouts, I normally parboil them for a couple of minutes and then cut them in half and stir-fry them. I hardly ever eat meat anymore but some cubed bits of good bacon would go very well with it, and I always add a few dried cranberries to the wok too.
Try the beet and Brussels combo with the shira-ae. Just a little bit. It surprised us!
Bacon and Brussels are classic. Bacon is a good accessory, not the main feature, at my house. Good idea about the cranberries.