BeyondWonderful.com: Barbara Adams, Beyond Wonderful Baking, Cheese, Produce, and Wine Culinary Experts


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	Dan's December Best of Season Fruits Apples Ambrosia apples Honeycrisp apples Lady apples Pink Lady apples Citrus Buddha hand citron Cranberries Cranberries Dates California dates Grapefruit Texas Red grapefuit: Kiwi California Kiwi Kumquats Kumquats Lemons Meyer lemons Limes Sweet limes Oranges Bood oranges Navel oranges Satsuma mandarin oranges Texas juice oranges Pears Asian pears Bosc pears Comice pears Concord pears Forelle pears Red pears Seckel pears Persimmon Fuyu persimmons Hachaya persimmons Pomegranates Foothill pomegrantes Wonderful pomegrantes Pummelo Pummelo Quince Quince Star Fruit Star Fruit Tangerines Fairchild tangerines Vegetables Broccoli Rabe Broccoli rabe Brussels Sprouts Brussels sprouts loose Brussels sprouts on a stick Cardone (Cardoons) Cardone Endive Belgian endive Mushrooms Truffles Wild mushrooms Nuts Almonds Chestnuts—Italian Walnuts Onions Leeks Pumpkins Sugar-pie Pumpkins Root Vegetables Celery root Fennel Parsnips Squash Hard squash varieties includes: Acorn (green, orange, & white)) Butternut Carnival Delicata Kabocha Spaghetti Sweet Dumpling squash Sunchokes Sunchokes Sweet Potatoes and Yams Sweet Potatoes Yams Beauregard Yams Garnet Yams Jewel Watercress Watercress Winter Greens Green Swiss Chard Kale (curly) Kale Lacinato (Dino) Mustard Greens Rainbow Chard Red Chard Turnip Greens Columns to Savor Dan Avakian Apples: A Great American Harvest, and Quince Green Beans— They're Not All Green! Summer Cherries Celebrate Spring with Fresh Strawberries, Artichokes, and Fresh Favas

Produce Expert
Dan Avakian

Getting Fresh

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere!

Pomegranates: They’re Not Just for Staining Your Clothes Anymore!

IIt's that time of the year again, when the produce stands are filled with bins of mini pumpkins, jack-o-lanterns, gourds and baking pumpkins.

Although many people just think of the pumpkin as a canvas for carving, it’s really a splendid vegetable for baking into muffins, quick breads and—of course—pie. My favorite pie pumpkin is the Australian Queensland blue. Don’t be put off by its gray-green exterior; inside, it has gorgeous, dense deep orange flesh with perfect sweet flavor for pies. Unfortunately, many growers skipped the Australian Queensland this year in favor of a variety called jarrahdale, which looks similar and holds up better, but doesn’t taste as good. Lucky for me, I have a jar of Australian Queesland seeds in the basement, and will be putting them into the ground next year.

Other good baking varieties include the white pumpkin or lumina. This is also a dense-fleshed pumpkin with thick seeds. The traditional New England sugar pie, mystic, little ironside and cinderella varieties are also excellent bakers.

Illustrated How To Roast Pumpkins

Illustrated How To Roast Pumpkin Seeds.

Pomegranates:
They’re Not Just for Staining Your Clothes Anymore!

Throughout the San Joaquin valley pomegranate trees are flush with fruit. A pomegranate tree is really a big shrub, and it requires lots of warm summer weather to produce a good crop. In autumn, when the fruit has a pinkish to red color, it is ready for harvest. For those who are unfamiliar with pomegranates, they are unusual in that we savor the seeds, but discard the flesh. Peel back the inedible rosy red skin to reveal a spongy interior chock-full of brilliant ruby seeds that burst with juice when eaten. The scarlet juice is delicious, and also notorious for staining.

I used to make juice from pomegranates off of a neighbor’s tree that hung over my fence. Pomegranate juice is a bit labor intensive, but well worth the work. I would share the recipe, but nowadays I find myself buying a product, new to the market in recent years, called POM Wonderful. It is by far is the best commercially produced pomegranate juice that I have come across, and all of the work is done by someone else! Another product that I have enjoyed immensely is the already-seeded pomegranate. Fresh pomegranate seeds can be found in the refrigerated section of the produce department, packed in 4 and 6 oz plastic tubs. No mess, no Spray n’ Wash moments.

Illustrated How To Peel and Seed Pomegranates.

Guido Ferro and Dan Avakian are newspaper columnists and the hosts of their weekly radio program, "Dan the Produce Man and Guido the Gardener". Guido and his mother, Rita Ferro are the the Beyond Wonderful Internation Home Chefs, Italy.

Read more about Dan Avakian.

Dan's Web site www.producepair.com



	Deep Dish Vermont Pumpkin Maple Pie Pure Vermont maple syrup deepens the flavor of this beloved holiday classic. For a truly memorable pie, it’s well worth the effort to roast and puree your own fresh pumpkin. Recipe



	Pumpkin Ginger Mousse Spoon or pipe this luscious concoction into pretty glasses and garnish with crystallized ginger or crushed gingersnaps. It's also a delectable and unexpected filling for cream puffs. Recipe



	Double Pumpkin Brulee There’s nothing like playing with fire in the kitchen! Fancy gadget stores carry “culinary” propane torches, but buying a small one at the hardware store is an even better bet. It will burn hotter and last longer. Recipe



	Pumpkin-Spice Bread Skip the candles and potpourri and bake a batch of moist spice bread instead. There’s no better way to make your house smell amazing—and it tastes good too! Recipe



	Pumpkin-Spice Cake with Ultimate Cream Cheese Frosting This is a great anytime cake; perfect for dessert, an afternoon snack or even a slightly decadent breakfast. You won’t be able to identify the kick of cayenne—you’ll just notice that the cake is exceptionally flavorful. Recipe



	Pumpkin-Spice Ice Cream Another great way to enjoy fall’s favorite vegetable! Try a drizzle of pure maple syrup and a sprinkle of toasted pecans on top. Recipe

Barbara Adams Beyond Wonderful features large recipe collections of full-proof quick and easy recipes, classic family favorites, global cuisine, and party ideas. Get illustrated cooking tips and techniques,cooking for beginners, food features, and expert advice on baking, cheese, produce, and wine.

Barbara Adams, Recipe Collections, Quick and Easy Recipes, Party Ideas, Global Cuisine, How To
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