Banana Grapes?

Well, that's what I thought these were the first time I saw them nestled next to the bananas in Sausalito's Molly Stone's. But banana grapes they aren't.  These are fresh Barhi dates, which the produce manager told me are rather bitter when yellow, but just leave them out and watch them turn yellow to black (the manager used the word black, but it's more of a deep caramel color), and then they would be sweet.  I bough a bunch and set them out, eagerly waiting for the transformation.  Wow!  Not only are these sweet when they turn dark enough but they have a rather fruity taste unlike any date I've had before.  The produce manager also told me that these are locally grown in California.  In their yellow state, they are called Khalal dates, and have a limited season in California, only being harvested in August and September. The first paragraph of this article says it all.  I'm going back for more!

$1.98 Organic Fresh Blueberries at United!

When I saw the United Markets ad in the Marin IJ for 6 oz of fresh organic blueberries for the same sale price as conventional, I couldn't believe it. $1.98 in January?! That's 33 cents per ounce. At that price these can't possibly be air freight. These are likely shipped via water up the coast from Chile, which is one of the most efficient means of transportation. So although not 'local', these would be pretty eco-wise from a transportation sense. I found that Safeway has a sale on FROZEN organic wild blueberries (different variety) for 37 cents an ounce, so this is really an unbelievable deal. The blueberries in the container I picked up were sweet, flavorful and there wasn't a spoiled one in the bunch. The blueberries were also a larger size than typical. The ad was silent as to the brand, but I was thrilled to see it was a major reputable brand, Naturipe Farms. That company has a very informative website. I borrow some of their notes on the health benefits of blueberries:

"Blueberries have often been recognized as the fruit with the highest antioxidant activity. These tasty super foods offer twice as many disease fighting antioxidants as spinach, more than three times as many as oranges, red grapes and cherries and more than four times as many as grapefruit, white grapes, bananas and apples. Blueberries are also thought to be helpful in improving memory function and healthy aging."

The berries freeze really easily too, you can rinse them, air dry and freeze them in the same container. I like using frozen blueberries to replace ice cubes in my filtered, alkaline water for a total health boost. Now I really have to clean a space out in my garage for a freezer!

By the way, United has these on sale through January 17th!

PS I found their price of 98 cents a liter for Tejava quite amazing too.

Golden Raspberries

For the finale of Father's Day dinner yesterday, I picked up some beautiful Driscoll's golden raspberries, some regular red raspberries and some Naturipe blueberries. These went over pound cake and topped with whipped cream. The golden raspberries were developed by Driscoll's using natural plant breeding techniques to bring out a recessive gene. These taste fabulous, and were large and juicy. What a pretty way to make a berry topping extra special!

Get them while they last!

"Everyone" has been raving about Blue Moon Organic strawberries. I had to get my hands on a box before yet ANOTHER person asked me if I'd tried them.

Yep, these are tasty alright! Small local sweeties which won't be around for long! I'd hurry and get a box if you like old-fashioned local berry taste! I got mine at Whole Foods.

Meet the farmer


And Anamika of The Sugarcrafter kindly awarded me the "You Make My Day Award" which promptly made MY day.

And here are the rules: “Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland! Beware! You may get the award several times!”

And here are some of the blogs whose writers "Make My Day" (not in any particular order):

I'm Mad and I Eat
Feeding My Enthusiasms
Becks & Posh
Zoomie Station
Pluto Demoted
Kalyn's Kitchen
Blue Lotus
The Ethicurean
Albion Cooks
Bunrabs (Daily Feed)

Two outta three ain't bad. I can't believe it! The SF Chronicle posted an article on sub-tropical fruits, featuring the two I blogged recently! Seems they are grown locally, in California.

Cherimoya. Found another intriguing fruit, this time at Whole Foods, and taking the advice of the produce manager, took a few home. Heat shaped with dragon-like scales, it seems quite a romantic fruit. There are several varieties of cherimoya, and this one appears to be the one called "Chaffey". The interior is quite seedy, but the seeds are big and easy to remove. The flesh has the consistency of a melon, but the flavor mixture of banana, strawberry and vanilla. Although it seems rare, exotic and new, it is actually an ancient fruit, and one of the first recorded from the New World.

On another note, I'm continuing to find out about Medicare and caring for the aging as I walk the walk with my 86 yo Dad. The latest is that he's developed a hairline fracture between his pelvis and spine due to osteoporosis, and I'm now understanding that walkers are also needed for the aging even if they have good balance because if their bones are weak, they could break for no reason and then the person will take a tumble (without a walker to grab) and break even more. Also, if there is a recommendation for equipment, always follow up with a request for a script for it from the physician as it then has a greater chance of being covered under Medicare. I feel a bit like a mother of a newborn since he seems more delicate now, not to mention being awakened suddenly in the middle of the night for 'emergencies' (which aren't really, but he needs help with something he can't get out of his mind). Feeling sleep deprived and eyes opened about what caring for the aging entails.

Strange fruit. Strolling the produce section of Safeway the other day, I was stopped dead in my tracks by an unusual looking melon. Bright orange with horny protrusions, it beckoned my curiosity to pick it up. Ouch! It was thorny not horny! Inca Gold "Cuke asaurus" the label read. Curiosity completely engaged, that was all I needed to put it in my basket. An instructional sign read that it was similar to a kiwi, and should just be sliced in half and eaten with a spoon.

I had my test panel try it out (Jo-Ann, Toran, Aurelia & Dad). The comments were: gelatinous, bitter seeds, limy-cucumberish, and from the Star Wars enthusiast- "a perfect food for Jabba the Hutt". Jo-Ann also thought it reminiscent of gooseberries, and we felt that strained of the seeds, it would make up into a good fresh-taste jelly. It is not rewarding to eat raw as it is rather astringent and full of bitter seeds.

A little research turned up a few more names for it: Kiwano, African Horned Cucumber, and Jelly Melon. It is native to the Kalahari Desert. Higher in potassium than a banana, and chock full of vitamin C, it would be a great fruit, except for the difficulty in eating, and as Purdue University notes: "A market for edible kiwano does not yet exist, because the fruit lacks taste. Increasing the sweetness and improving the aroma may give rise to a new product for a large-volume market." Enough said.