Feeling Fruity

It was a typical Friday at work.  A paperwork, bill paying type of a day.  To match the mood of doling out the dough, it rained… quite heavily at times.  The old cliche “when it rains, it pours” sure rang true this Friday afternoon.  However, there is something quite nice in the late afternoons when everyone has gone home and the rain is falling outside.  It’s a little spooky. It’s a little soothing.  The creeks and the pops that go on in a building when you sit all alone, listening to the rain fall, can trigger wild thoughts and exotic imagery.  You have to let your mind ride with it. That’s when we can be most creative.

Let’s get out of la-la land and back to reality.  Upon arriving home, our friendly UPS man was parked at the end of the drive.  He handed me two Harry and David packages.  My pulse began racing in excitement.

There was a huge Golden Pineapple, packaged separate from the rest of the fruit. An extra fancy grapefruit, an extra fancy orange, and extra fancy pear, and an extra fancy apple. 

1. Note on the pear:  Test for ripeness by gently pressing near the base of the stem with thumb. When the flesh yields slightly, they are ripe.  If not fully ripe, keep at room temperature and check daily. Once ripe, refrigerate up to 10 days.

2. Two recipes were included for the pineapple.  1. Tropical fruit and mint salad and 2.  Golden Pineapple with Basil.

1.  1/2 pineapple, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pcs.   Papaya, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pcs. Bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pcs.  Mint sauce:  1 more papaya prepared the same as above. 5 TBS sugar. 3 TBS lime juice. 1 1/2 TBS fresh mint, coarsely chopped. Puree sauce ingredients ’til smooth. Refrigerate. Mix the fruit together and spoon into serving dishes. Drizzle with sauce. Garnish with coconut.

2.  2nd Recipe:   1/2 pineapple. 1 tsp sugar. 1 tsp lemon juice. 2 TBS chopped fresh basil. Peel and core pineapple and cut into bite size pcs. Gently toss the pineapple with the sugar, lemon, and basil. Serve garnished with basil sprigs. Serves 4.

Nutrition Facts on Fruit: None of the following has any fat. All have 1 g of Protein or less.

• Pineapple: 2 3″ slices Cals=50 Carbs.= 13 g. Fiber = 1 g Sugars =10 g.
• Grapefruit: 1/2 fruit  Cals=60 Carbs.=15 g. Fiber = 2 g Sugars = 11 g
• Orange: 1 fruit  Cals = 80  Carbs. = 19 g. Fiber = 3 g Sugars = 14 g
• Pear: 1 fruit Cals = 120  Carbs. = 31 g. Fiber = 7 g Sugars = 19 g
• Apple: 1 fruit  Cals = 110  Carbs. = 28 g Fiber = 4 g  Sugars = 20 g.

 

As an added bonus, Harry and David gave us this wonderful gift card just in time for Easter. Watch out for your Easter gift Mum and Dad!

Now it’s Happy Hour! Time to toast the coming weekend.  We did this with a wonderful glass of Gewurztraminer.  “Valckenberg”. 

It is a full bodied, medium dry wine with an aroma of roses and flavors of ripe peach.  The finish is drier with hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove. What a way to start our Friday night!

Tune in tomorrow to see what happened with the intended 10K Fort to Fort. Hope I don’t bail!