Saturday, November 01, 2008

Persimmons and Pumpkins

Paula Erickson, who skillfully mans Hatch’s veggie stand during tourist season, stopped by the other day with her friend Nette to check out the bed & breakfast. While walking to the cottage, Paula noticed a tree that I had always thought of as obnoxious. Why? We sometimes stepped on the small bitter fruit that fell to the ground in the fall, tracking the pulp into the house. Paula, being a fruit person, saw our tree in a totally different light. She was ecstatic about it. The following day she left us a wonderful book, Cooking with Exotic Fruits and Vegetables. Sure enough, on page 30, after Pawpaw and before Pomegranate, came Persimmon and a recipe for persimmon fudge. Paula included the following note: "Methinks it is a common persimmon aka Simmon or Possumwood. Fruits are orange to purplish brown. Sweet when ripe but contains tannin; strongly astringent when immature. Here's to our local wild edibles!" Yesterday I could find no Halloween pumpkins on doorsteps. Today I spotted these beauties, evidence of such artistic ability that could not resist taking a photo.