Spiced Persimmon Muffins
April 30, 2013
April 30, 2013
Have you ever been in the situation where you have had friends cancel a catch up at the last minute? That is what happened to me this weekend just passed and I have to say that I was (and still am) more than a little bit annoyed….
I am sad that I have not seen my very good friend since late last year, and now am unlikely to do so for some time. I was also sad for the (hopefully) fabulous Seasonal Sunday Lunch that was not to eventuate. In addition to a significant amount of (weeks) time planning a special vegetarian menu for my friends, I had also shopped for it, sourcing many new ingredients, and had started preparing the dishes when I received the phone call to cancel. The phone call left me with an abundance of food and a plan for multiple courses that would not be required by my little family, especially as our Sunday dinner is taken care of via our regular Dumpling Sunday tradition.
The upside was that I got to share some of the produce that I had purchased for the lunch with my parents and I discovered a new fruit. Persimmon.
What is a Seasonal Sunday Lunch?
Seasonal Sunday Lunch is an activity anyone can participate in to celebrate, share and discover the food of each season. Mark it by a lunch shared with family or friends. There are no rules, invite people to lunch and create and serve a menu you choose, or ask your friends to bring a plate. You may wish to visit one of the participating restaurants hosting a Seasonal Sunday Lunch if you don’t want to cook.
Why?
I love that this idea allows people to discover new ingredients (such as Persimmons for me), add a new recipe to your collection and become more familiar with what produce is in in season. Maybe you will discover a new way to cook or prepare one of your favorite seasonal items. You can find more about seasonal eating here. You can see some of what is currently in season on the right hand side of this page.
Persimmons are in season now and are a new ingredient discovery for me. They are in season in Australia from end February to June. Visit the Persimmon Australia website to finding out more information about this fruit. I am looking forward to trying many more recipes with it soon.
The vibrant color and dense, heaviness of the fruit made me curious but I had no previously inclination to give them a try. Soft, and very sweet, the flavor had my kids bouncing around the kitchen requesting more. I am adding my remaining supply to plain yogurt as the tartness of the yogurt balances the sweetness of the fruit. This fruit would make a glorious jam or jelly.
The Seasonal Sunday Lunch menu that I had planned to cook is shown in the image below (with a few minor changes):
I had started lunch preparation with one of my home grown pumpkins on Saturday when I received the phone call from my friend to cancel. I had chopped into it and had pieces baking in the oven for my Pumpkin Zucchini Dip . This left me with a fabulous fresh pumpkin to use up….Thankfully my parents were visiting for the weekend. They left on the morning of the planned lunch but this allowed me to share some of the pumpkin with them and other items that I had purchased for the lunch. I also made:
The other menu items for the lunch evolved to the following:
Although it did not occur as planned, I loved planning this event and discovering Persimmons and a new recipe. I am looking forward to creating a Winter Seasonal Sunday Lunch when the season rolls around.
Have you tried Persimmons? What is your favorite way to enjoy them?
[…] feel like cheating as it is so simple to put together. I made these up a little while ago for my Seasonal Sunday Lunch event (that ending up being […]
[…] you read my post earlier this week you would know that I had a Seasonal Sunday Lunch planned on the weekend that went awry. The change in plans left me with an abundance of gorgeous […]
What a shame, but at least nothing went to waste! We had a great friendship with a couple only for them to go a little spaz and cancel on us in excess of 6 times in a row. As you can imagine I do not make any effort anymore and have left the ball in their court only for it to stay there!
What a bummer! Such a pain when that happens. The menu looked so amazing. Confession – I’ve never tried persimmon! I will have to give it a go!
wow i love the idea of the seasonal sunday lunch….i’m not quitre sure i grasped completely how it works…do we organise them independently? i love persimmons – i come from italy where they are way way softer than the ones here..a compeltely different texture! i must get on to the ones here and try use them in some of my recipes! x
Hi Giulia – yes you do organise the lunch yourself. There is a suggested date each season but you can change it to suit yourself. Look forward to hearing about any new recipes you come up with. K
just beeeeeeautiful!