So Many Dishes

We consume a lot of fruit in this house. It’s always a part of breakfast, and Ken and I often finish our lunch with some fresh fruit, too. It’s hard to choose just five!

If I could only have one type of fruit for the rest of my life, I’d choose blueberries. When I was a kid, they were a summertime treat. Now, they’re available in the market all year round, which makes me very happy. I’m happy eating them out of hand, mixed with yogurt, on top of cottage cheese or cereal, in desserts, you name it. Ken does occasionally ask if we can skip buying blueberries when we’re in the store, because otherwise I’d probably always have some in the house.

Cherries. I’d really have to say that blueberries are cherries are kind of 1 and 1A 😄 Cherries, unfortunately, aren’t available all year, but when they are, there is almost always a bag in the fridge. We just finished the bag of first-of-the-season cherries from California. Sadly, this is a fruit that does not grow in Florida.

Peaches are another seasonal favorite. I’m very partial to the fruit that come from Georgia and the Carolinas. Peaches picked in California to ship across country arrive as hard as hockey pucks, and often turn mealy when they ripen. But nothing beats biting into a sweet, juicy peach and having the juice run down your chin. Oh, now I’m hungry for my annual peach pie!

Maybe it’s cheating, but I’m lumping all the citrus together. There are always lemons in the produce drawer, and usually limes, too. We love mandarins for snacks. I became a grapefruit fan when we first moved to Florida and our landlord had a grove on the property we rented. These days, because of medication interactions, neither of us should eat them, but every once in a while we’ll split one for breakfast.

I have to include apples. I grew up eating them fresh and in pies. I still love them, and still make the occasional apple tart. I like the sweet-tart varieties; my favorites are Envy and Jazz. Now I’m hungry for more pie!

That’s my five. Do I really need to stop? I haven’t gotten to apricots and mangoes and cranberries and kiwis. Melons! How could I forget melons??