~~~
Wednesday, November 23
~~~
One of the first things I usually do when we arrive at Sam Rittenhouse’s house is to see what is going on in his orchard and yard.
Our purpose for going was for Cerwin to help Sam with the small propane heater he uses to keep his greenhouse warm during the winter. Cerwin hauled propane for 40 years and still remembers some of the tricks of the trade. It wouldn’t stay lit for Sam.
Most of his yard and orchard is ready for winter – except pine trees which still look green and healthy.
Sam doesn’t keep as large an orchard as he did years ago (he is in his early 90s), but the apples have been picked – leaving only a few rotten ones hanging on high branches.
I think I may be able to find a Bible verse to go with these apple pictures – maybe something about a withering soul.
Or maybe something about what God considers to be rotten.
Then I saw this – branches filled with what looked like small, ripe fruit.
They weren’t apples, but I couldn’t decide what they were.
I picked one from a low branch to show Sam and ask what it is.
He said, “That is a persimmon.”
He asked if I thought it was ripe. I didn’t know, so we broke it open and each took a bite.
He said, “No, they are not ready yet. It tastes chalky.” I agreed. 🙂
I am not sure that I ever saw or tasted a persimmon. He said they almost have to look rotten to be ripe. Maybe the one on the left is ripe.
Following my outside tour, and Cerwin and Sam getting the heater working (Cerwin fixed the thermal coupler), we had a delicious lunch – cooked by Sam.
Everything was delicious. We had bison burger, salmon, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce. My favorite was the carrots. I love freshly cooked carrots. He said he used butter and a bit of honey and maple syrup to sweeten them.
It is a special treat to eat at Sam’s table. He specializes in eating and cooking natural foods.
Lunch sounds and looks yummy! I love persimmons – but I generally eat the cultivated ones. We had a couple trees on the property where I grew up, but they generally weren’t any good until a good hard freeze had hit them. If they aren’t ripe they can really pucker your mouth! When we were in Israel I had a couple persimmons every day for my “dessert” instead of cakes, cookies, or puddings. I like to buy them whenever I can. “Grown in USA” aren’t bad, but when I can find some that are a product of Israel I load up. 🙂
J. Jutzi
I will have to look for persimmons from Israel.
That is strange! We had a persimmon tree in our yard when I was growing up, and they didn’t look like that – when they were ripe, the skin was nice and smooth and a deep red. Maybe they were a different kind, or look different in tropical countries. I loved them, even when they weren’t completely ripe. But sometimes the tree had a few that we called “chocolate caquis” (“caqui” is what a persimmon is called in Brazil) – they were dark on the inside and the taste was so much better.
Thanks for the memory!
I had checked online to see the variety of persimmons, because I wasn’t sure what they looked like. There is a variety of colors and types.
I picked another 5 doz. today. They taste better than they look. Sam.
Five dozen. Do you sell them?
Honey & maple syrup on carrots?! Sounds heavenly! I generally use tons of butter and brown sugar!! I will have to try Sam’s way!
I can promise that they were delicious.