FRUIT OF MONTH - OCTOBER: CITRUS

Wow - the pages of the calendar are flipping by so quickly and I still haven't posted photos of the Fruit of the Month workshops for October and November yet! So, here is the first...

OCTOBER: CITRUS FRUIT

Even though the early October snow storm a week kept us from meeting on our originally scheduled date, we finally did get together (still in October!) to sample nearly every citrus fruit we could find that month (except for one, which you'll see in November's photos). We even included a few other seasonal fruits that we found at the grocery store. In photo at left, clockwise from 12 o'clock high: orange, lemon, lime, key lime, passion fruit and fig.

Fortunately, we did get the passion fruit in the very short window of time it was available, as Dorothy has been waiting ALL YEAR to get to look at the inside of the passion fruit and to eat it, as well as to introduce the rest of us to it!

The photo at left is a little out of sequence, but I just wanted you to see right away the passion that drove Dorothy to lick the passion fruit juice from the sample plate when we were done with the workshop!

I have to admit, although the inside of the passion fruit does not seem very attractive (see photo below), it was quite tasty. And really, it is not all that slimy to eat as it looks in person ... the photo does not do justice to the real fruit. Especially the slimy-ness!


However... IF you ever happen to see the passion fruit at the grocery store - unless you are fortunate to live where it grows and you have greater access to it, I highly recommend that you try it.

It is somewhat pricey for its size ... a little larger than a golf ball, and very wrinkly on the outside (when it's ripe), but worth the experience. And, hey. The cost of one passion fruit from the grocery store is certainly a whole lot less than a trip to Hawaii! So, splurge a little if you get the chance!

We also sampled figs. Now we just need to find the right glass colors that will work well with some of these pink-ish fruits.

Here I thought it was difficult to get pink grapefruit color way back in the beginning of the year... try matching glass colors to passion fruit and figs!

Actually, I think we're getting pretty close... See the photos for November Fruit of the Month!


But... back at the ranch... it was still October...

Kathy brought her orange place mat for inspiration and reference, and she also brought a plate of lemon bars that were superb.

Sorry... I neglected to get a photo of the lemon bars, and I still need to get the recipe for them! Trust me... they were beautiful and tasty, and I'm hoping to add them to my Christmas cookie trays this year if she'll share her recipe with us.

I'll post the recipe here when I get it!




Now... take a look at the dishes that were made...

The photo at the left shows the finished pieces. "Before" photos are below.

In photo, clockwise from 12 o'clock high: Patty's lemon, Sara's lime, Kathy's orange, Dorothy's orange.






Dorothy's orange - before.











Kathy's orange - before.

Stringers used to divide orange into sections.









Patty's lemon - before. Note the use of stringers for the pulp in the flesh of the lemon. Frit used to divide lemon into sections.