By Cal Orey, The Writing Gourmet
There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won't, and that's a wife who can't cook and will. -- Robert Frost
Today, while swimming in a pool (almost all mine) I pondered, "Why am I so eager for summer to be over?" After all, the sun felt warm, the water temperature was perfect, and all the fresh fruits that are still in season...these are a few reasons why we shouldn't rush Mother Nature...
The other evening I watched the film City of Angels with Meg Ryan. I simply love the scene at Lake Tahoe when she is in a comfy cabin amid towering trees, preparing a beautiful breakfast fresh fruit salad. She puts her heart and soul into it. You can almost taste it as Maggie did the pear and described the sensory details (like Ernest Hemingway does in his fine works of art) to Seth (played by Nicholas Cage). Ah, falling in love and tasting fresh produce are two pleasures in life.
Back to Tahoe present-day in the summertime of 2009. So, this afternoon while I was enjoying the breaststroke (my favorite, backstroke second), lap after lap for 30 minutes, I got vivid images of fresh fruit of the season. And now, after a store stop, I'm looking at the pineapple on top of my fridge. There are apricots, bananas, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, red grapes, and fuji apples--waiting for me to wash, slice and put into a half of a cored pineapple (you can get a gadget to do this chore). I am excited. Why rush fall when summer is still at its best. And this fruit salad is oh so healthy...
Apples: Crunchy, full of fiber, no fat and one apple contains only 81 calories.
Apricots: Apricots are water-rich, so they're filling for only a few calories and are fat free.
Bananas: Great tropical fruit and high in potassium, B vitamins.
Blueberries: These gems are full of vitamin A and C.
Raspberries: You get flavor, potassium and more than the recommended daily requirement for vitamin C, not to forget its fiber.
Red Grapes: Full of disease-fighting antioxidants such as resveratrol which is heart healthy.
Strawberries: Rich in the anti-stress vitamin C, low cal and delicious.
Combining it all together--the bright splashes of colorful summer fruits--into a pineapple--is the fun part and the perfect fruit to include in a fat-burning plan or for a summer delight. Not only does this sweet carb satisfy your sweet cravings, it contains no fat or sodium. It contains fiber, postassium, and a trace mineral, manganese, which aids the body's metabolism. I almost went with a coconut (health perks, too) but decided to go with this exotic juicy fruit...
Next step. A dash of cinnamon, the juice of an orange, and a bit of honey is all that it takes. Oh wait. A few dark chocolate shavings on top. Perfect for one. I can almost taste it now.
But hold the phone. Isn't that how the bittersweet film City of Angels ended up, too? No salad for two. Surprise ending this time around. I named one of my Brittanys after the character Seth (I was finishing a Barnes and Noble book tour in Southern California and it seemed appropriate) so I can eat my salad in real life tomorrow morning, noon and tonight next to a canine angel. How sweet is that?
P.S. But remember, NO grapes or apples for dogs. And to be on the safe side keep the fruit salad for you and give the pooch(s) an all natural gourmet doggie biscuit and walk.
Watching the Food Network Channel and you should see the pro chefs compete with tropical fruit...wow. They cut flower shapes out of a watermelon and other fresh fruits. It's an art. Awesome.
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