Loco for Loquats
Throughout this pregnancy I've had a real thing for fruit. Now before you get annoyed and think that I'm one of those pregnant women who only crave healthy food, I should also mention that I've also had a real thing for chocolate and a real thing for cheese and a real thing for peanut butter and a real thing for lemon curd bars and so on and so forth. When I was pregnant with Nico we lived in Japan and the only kinds of fruits that we could buy without going into debt were apples and bananas. In Spain however, just like in the US, there's always a great selection of seasonal fruits at reasonable prices. Recently I had to write about loquats (nisperos in Spanish) for the Spanish food/wine magazine that I write for and having never tasted a loquat, I got curious and bought some to try. Turns out that if you get good ones, they're absolutely delicious (sort of sweet and tart at the same time). While eating one the other day, the idea of making an entire loquat-themed dinner for friends popped into my head.
First I made a salad out of spinach, goat cheese, sliced loquats, toasted pine nuts and serrano ham. To counteract a bit of the tartness of the loquats, I mixed them with the goat cheese and some grated palm sugar (brown sugar could be used as well) and set them aside as I prepared the rest of the salad. For a dressing I just used some almond oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar.
For my loquat dessert, I was inspired by this recipe for loquats poached in raspberry syrup. However, instead of serving it with shortbread, I made shortcake biscuits (Joy of Cooking recipe) and served the poached loquats with the biscuits and whipped cream, strawberry shortcake style. Delicious!!
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I loved your Brain, Child piece “Talking Smack.” We have similar stories and I’ve wondered about the merits of “full disclosure” too. I completely agree about not wanting to lie to the people I love so much (11 year old twins). But I have an older son from a previous marriage who I have told and it’s really been a blessing to have shared this information with him. In fact, I have started talking candidly about my past generally over the last few years, and so far it’s been a pretty positive experience. I am proceeding with caution on all fronts. Thanks for sharing!