So for the past month or so, I have personally been looking forward to the winter. Why? Because with winter comes a shift of seasons, a shift of feelings, and of course, a shift of flavors. I have recently become more strict with myself regarding when to eat certain foods, and when to just accept the fact that they are no longer in season. Throughout last Winter, Spring, and even into the Summer, all I wanted to do was to crunch into a nice and juicy granny smith apple. I would see them on my order sheets, and at the grocery store every time I went, and they would just leer at me as though they knew how much I wanted them. At first it was so hard for me to walk away, but then I took it as a challenge: discover what fresh fruits are available in the winter and spring.
My first instinct was to run out and buy as many varieties of fresh fruit as I could, but as soon as I ran accross pomegranates, my mission became postponed. On my next trip to the grocery store my infatuation with blood oranges began. Upon eating what seemed to be every blood orange and pomegranate in the Rogue Valley, I decided to re-visit my mission. The remainder of that Winter, I enjoyed oranges, kiwis, mandarins, and what seemed like a dozen varieties of tangerines, just to name a few. It wasn’t until around the middle of July that I even thought about those delicious fuji, granny smith, and braeburn apples, but by then, I knew it would not be long until fresh apples were available again. I was able to wait the month or so for the trees to be ready for harvest, and when the time was right, I enjoyed some of the tastiest, juciest apples ever.
It was amazing to me that, for the first time in my life, I was able to go nearly half a year without eating a fresh apple. Now that I have done it however, I realize that there is no better way to eat fruit than fresh from the farm. Currently I am able to enjoy apples, pears, pomegranates, and certain tangerines. As soon as possible though, I will once again have blood orange running through my veins.
The moral of this story:
Eat Fresh, Live Well, and save me a couple of blood oranges.
