Tag: Parke County Covered Bridge Festival

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SAVOR SPICY PERSIMMON PUDDING

If you live in flyover country, there’s a special fall treat awaiting you.  Along with the turning of leaves,  persimmons are ripe and ready to harvest. If you know someone with a persimmon tree, you’re in luck. That is , if you don’t mind the chore of picking the fruit, simmering  for hours, and then mashing it through a colander to produce the pulp.  That requires a dedication  that only persimmon lovers can understand.  Fortunately, persimmon pulp is available for sale at this time of year, if only you can find a place to buy it.  Typically, there are stands at fall festivals all through the country.  If not, you might find it at a fancy, specialty grocery store. It’s fairly expensive, but so what?  Persimmons only come around once  a year. It’s time to savor spicy persimmon pudding.

savor spicy persimmon pudding for an old fashioned holiday treat
SAVOR SPICY PERSIMMON PUDDING for an old fashioned treat.

It takes a special palette to appreciate persimmon pudding,  It’s one of those foods you either love or hate—there’s nothing in between. .  For some, it’s a passion to be pursued at any cost—even if it’s fifty miles away.  If you serve persimmon pudding, cookies, or cake  at a holiday meal, be sure to have pumpkin pie and other more conventional desserts for those who don’t enjoy the unusual flavor.

I used to make only one batch of this recipe at Thanksgiving, which provided enough  for those who wanted it. It’s best served warm, and covered with  cream.  But it’s good at room temperature and a dollop of whipped cream..

PERSIMMON PUDDING

2 cups persimmon pulp

½  cup melted butter

1 cup milk

1 cup half and half (it’s okay to use milk)

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp nutmeg

1  1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp  allspice

Mix pulp, eggs.  sugar, melted butter and milk.  Mix dry ingredients separately.  Then combine both mixtures. Stir well. Pour into greased 9 X 13 inch pan and bake for one hour at 325 degrees.  Stir several times while pudding is baking so that it won’t harden at edges of pan.

The pudding will turn dark, but that’s natural with this particular recipe. If you want a firmer, lighter product, you can find other recipes on the internet.

Memories are made with persimmon pudding around the holidays.

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10 GREAT THINGS ABOUT FALL

Have you ever taken one of those online weather-personality tests?  They’re designed to reveal  which season best fits your personality.  No surprise for me—I always knew which season I liked best.  Here are 10 great things about fall:

fALL FOLIAGE IN COLORS OF ORANGE, GOLD AND CRIMSON IS SPECTACULAR
FALL FOLIAGE IN COLORS OF GOLD, ORANGE & CRIMSON GIVES US A SPECTACULAR SHOW

    1.  No air conditioning.  Does anyone really enjoy air conditioning?  Yes, we like escaping from hot, humid weather.  But the feel of air conditioning  does not compare to a fresh, fragrant autumn breeze.

    2.   Less laundry.  Most summer days, I’m apt to change my sweaty  clothes at least once a day,  if I’ve taken a walk or done errands.  Summer clothes usually  can’t be worn twice.  Wash loads are typically twice as large as in the cooler seasons.

  3.   Fall is the sweet spot for arthritis. Summer make my joints swell, , and winter makes them creaky. For some reason, arthritics get some pain relief and improved  joint flexibility in the  cool fall weather.

     4. Better sleep.  Well, of course you’re going to sleep better when you’re not tossing, turning and sweating it out on a hot night.

     5.  Hope is in the air.  Fall is the time for new beginnings.  Kids return to school, go off to college with high hopes for the future.  Their optimism is catching.  For seniors, there  are  new shows and concerts to see, and adult education classes to take.

6.   Fall festivals are held nearly every weekend in your own  or surrounding cities. Here  in Indiana, the famous Parke County  Covered Bridge festival in the middle of October draws thousands of visitors from all over the USA.

Who doesn't love the flavor of juicy, homegrown tomatoes that ripen in the fall
HOMEGROWN TOMATOES IN THE FALL ARE A DELICIOUS TREAT

    7.  Homegrown  tomatoes.  Now is the time to enjoy the taste of red, ripe, homegrown tomatoes, which put the bland flavor  hot house tomatoes to shame.

8.. Curling up with a hot beverage.   What could be better than  savoring  a cup of hot tea, hot chocolate, or hot apple cider on a cold day.

9.  You look better— summer’s heat and humidity frizzes your hair and opens your pores,  giving your skin an oily shine.  . Come fall,  your skin looks smoother and hair is more manageable.

  10.  Fall foliage.   Nothing compares to the spectacular show of autumn leaves..  Trees with  every shade of orange, gold, and crimson create a dazzling display, especially against a clear blue sky.

Here’s hoping that you will enjoy an awesome fall!