You know what I am loving these days? Oranges. I know winter is nearly over, and oranges should not be my fruit obsession but frankly, we are still months away from strawberries and raspberries and peaches that taste good, even months away from the plucky rhubarb, so oranges are it. Oranges so juicy that when you peel them, you end up sucking pockets of juice from your cupped hands so you don't waste it. Soft, succulent oranges with thick, fragrant skins. Or tiny, jewel-like oranges with thin skins and miniature sections almost too cute to eat (almost). Or the exotic blood oranges, whose taste I don't actually like that much (kind of musky to me) but whose colour of sunsets is too beautiful for words, and makes me marvel as I open them.
We have been inhaling oranges around here lately. Also a lot of kiwis. As far as our local food convictions go, this is a no-no. But this winter, we just couldn't do it. We caved. We couldn't subsist on only apples, the same apples from the Farmers' market, apples that ended up turning brown and soft by week's end, apples that just discouraged me. We stopped buying the pears that never seem to ripen but stay hard as rocks. I decided not to feel guilty about buying oranges. Why should I? I decided it was more important to eat a lot of non-local fruit than to let the local apples sit in the bowl and get mushy.
We have oranges piled around the apartment. In a shallow green pottery bowl on the side board, in a black metal slope of a bowl on the high shelf. They look beautiful, glowing and bright. They make me happy. For now, the apples can go into muffins and cakes. I'll eat oranges and kiwis until the first fruits of the summer.
5 comments:
I've been eating my fair share of grapefruits this winter as well. I might feel some shame...but it evaporates as soon as the refreshing citrus flesh hits my mouth. Yum.
I made orange marmalade this year and it was amazing. Much easier than you'd expect, too. The orange flavour is much more intense than the store bought marmalade and the bonus is, as always, that I made it! Hooray for oranges and the love they bring.
Have you tried the Cara Cara orange. Once tried - there is no going back. They sell them at Planet Organic.
:)
Valerie
You and my daughters, they are obsessed with kiwis and oranges right now. At least it is still seasonal food. That's how I justify it.
I go through waves of eating various fruits. Right now it's apples. Lots of apples. But, last year, I couldn't get enough of those asian pears. Ate them ALL the time.
Post a Comment