One of countless thanks is for the freedom to grow and eat fruit — Thank God for it and YOU.
It’s Watermelon LOVE, what a surprise since it’s generally not one of my favorite flavors, though I always like it as Fresh Fruit and 100% Juice. Inspired by the request of Kids in the Kitchen, I discovered Shelly’s Jellies are superb when made from pureed Watermelon.
At first I didn’t think it was possible to create an intensely flavored Candy without using Citrus Juice and Zest — Since I’d made all available citrus flavors, I took a chance with Strawberry and Watermelon and both couldn’t have turned out better. Lexi and Hannah (pictured) loved the Watermelon and Bailee liked the Strawberry ones better. Blackberry Jellies are next.
None can say they’ve tasted a better, naturally flavored Jelly Candy. Thanks for the ideas kids!
Have you seen, tried or received an Edible Arrangement? They’re sure nice, but not cheap.
If you’re delivered one, save its bare bones — My Mom did and prepared them to live again. The frame of an Edible Arrangement is basically a pot with a foam insert and plastic skewers.
Just cut and ADD FRUIT for an anytime array.
See here for ideas, buy one for its eventual bones or assemble a kit with craft store materials.
Chef Bailee and Lexi of Kids in the Kitchen created a fruit bouquet for a family birthday party, but didn’t want to be seen on camera this day due to teenage makeup concerns — Well, okaaaay then. They enjoyed crafting it, an outcome sought most. And it’s tasty too!
Why not make it a family project? You can come out now Lexi. 🙂
Do you see the unfocused jeans draped over a chair in the distant background? CK would stay here and so would I — Not sure where it’s found, perhaps in the bizarro world, but it applies to this prominent food blog because… Do you see the Bowl of Fruit in the forefront with Champagne on the side? That’s enough with this photo, and then there’s the Fish. 😉
In a sea of Chocolate Confections, my Pink Grapefruit, Orange and Lemon-Lime Fruit Bursts stood out. They were just awarded Best in Show in Confections at the Orange County Fair.
My Roasted Peach Scones received an Honorable Mention — I’ll take it. Thanks!
And my Orange Zest Cheesecake with a Chocolate Ganache received a Second Place Ribbon.
I’m thrilled with the results and will soon be reporting more about OC Fair food.
I love me some FRUIT in Panera Bread‘s Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad — Not only does it have Strawberries, but Blueberries, Pineapple, Mandarin Oranges and Pecans. Yum!
I felt ready to walk miles after this healthy, refreshing Salad and Creamy Tomato Soup.
And a Strawberries and Cream Scone for the road — Fueled for a 5+ mile hike after.
Panera Bread — A good start for many things, though wish I had opted for the Chips, instead of an Apple with the Soup & Salad Combo. You get a choice of Bread, Fruit or Chips with it, and the Chips would’ve gone well with the Soup, as there was plenty of Fruit in the Strawberry Salad. It’s not all about health you know… It’s about taste too and all was well.
Considering the next color to be featured in our Food Coloring Series. Perhaps 50 shades of GRAY? We’ve previously highlighted orange, purple, yellow, green, blue, red, white, black, brown and pink. What color should be next? Gold is valuable. Rust isn’t. Silver? That’s gray.
Searching for an adaptable Peach Ice Cream recipe, I came across Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy’s Roasted Peach Ice Cream and it was over and on — I began roasting Peaches.
I had 5 Peaches, 1% Milk, Cream, Sugar & Vanilla on hand and made the best recipe with all.
Inspired by the linked recipe, I got lucky with the ingredients and measurements used to make the pictured Roasted Peach Ice Cream, and will happily make the same over and over again.
Always wanting to simplify a process, I merely blended the ingredients, and then transferred the mixture to an Ice Cream Maker to churn — And it couldn’t have turned out better.
It’s crazy good — I’ll roast Peaches forever for this Ice Cream.
A new favorite, Roasted Peach Ice Cream is documented below — Try it.
RECIPE: Halve, pit, and toss 5 – 6 Peaches with Brown Sugar (1 – 2 Tbsps.) and roast them cut side down in the oven at 400° for 25 – 30 minutes, and then set Roasted Peaches aside to cool. Add cooled Roasted Peaches (with skins) to a blender with 1/2 Cup of Cream, 2/3 Cup of Sugar and 1 Tsp. of Vanilla. Once well-blended, add 1 Cup of 1% Milk and blend a little longer to combine. Transfer mixture to an Ice Cream Maker and churn for 30 minutes. Viola.
Our Best Recipe for Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon-Lime, and Lemon or Lime Fruit Gems is HERE. Like an Emerald, a discovery was made, then cut and polished for optimum consistency and flavor. The pictured were made with Lemon and Lime Juice and Zest. All flavors are superb.
Homemade Fruit Gem Ingredients: 1 Cup of Corn Syrup, 1 Cup of Sugar, Zest of 1 (Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon and/or Lime), 3/4 Cup of Fresh Squeezed Juice (Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon and/or Lime), 7 Tbsps. of Fruit Pectin, 1/4 Tsp. of Baking Soda, and Food Coloring (optional to improve color). Recipe was fine-tuned after earlier posting and best measurements are noted herein, and amended in this post, for best clarity and color, though the previous variation worked well too. Step-by-Step instructions (and same recipe) are linked here. Irish eyes smiled this day — Should Lemon-Lime become the New March Madness?
I’m beyond thrilled to know it’s easy to create one of my favorite Candies, Fruit Gems, also known as Fruit Jellies aka Orange Slices, when flavored Orange, like the first batch I made.
I found a Raspberry Jelly Candy Recipe that I adapted to make the pictured Orange Gems.
Instead of Raspberry Extract and Water, used in the linked recipe, I substituted Orange Zest and Orange Juice — Technically the Juice of 1 Orange plus enough Water to equal 3/4 Cup.
Orange Gem RECIPE In Short: Boil 1 Cup of Corn Syrup with 1 Cup of Sugar and Zest of 1 Orange, and in a separate sauce pan boil 3/4 Cup of fresh Orange Juice with 7 Tbsps. of Fruit Pectin and 1/4 Tsp. of Baking Soda — Marry the two combinations, once boiled, and stir for a minute longer, then pour mixture into easily unmold-able pan (as shown).
Bendable, disposable aluminum pans work well for unmolding Candy.
Before dropping into Sugar, let Candy sit and set, loosely covered on the counter overnight.
Cut into strips, then squared gems and coat all sides in Sugar — Voila, they’re awesome!
They taste better than any I’ve purchased — If you love Fruit Gems, you have to make these.
All raved about them too — I made a second batch with Pink Grapefruit (below).
And a third batch with Blueberry Juice and Lemon Zest.
The Grapefruit Gems were superb, like the Orange ones, but the Blueberry Gems were comparably bland, and the Lemon Zest took over — Straight-up Lemon Gems would be good, or Lime Zest with Coconut Extract, the possibilities are endless. All natural first. 🙂
Do you remember Orange Guy? I thought he was so cute and wanted to peel him alive. Well, I gave it a try and created Orange Dude, if you see what I’m sayin’ — It just happened that way. The photos are minimized to tone down our rating. Enlarge each for a better peek. 😉
What excites me most here are these Orange Jellies I made for the first time — They are absolutely delicious! I will soon be posting more about them, along with an easy recipe adapted from another. All pictured utilized one glorious Orange. It’s a sexy, sweet thing.
Hi there said the Orange. He/she/it sure looks friendly and it’s only an Orange Peel. It’s funny how things come alive with eyes. Does it look easy to create? We’re going to give it a try. I have the feeling it’s going to be harder than it looks. We’ll see how it turns out and report in an update. Check back to see if we’ve got the knack to create this Cracker Jack. Try it too.
The camera took this photo on its own — Oranges and Tomatoes on the counter, a start.
Word.
The stunning orange photographs credited to others inspired this post — Food in every color, I say. Thank you Lord. And this time it’s green food that starts up-close with Kiwi, partly because I invented The Kiwi Game and got close to New Zealand for doing so.
As for the others, Vibrant Green Pea Soup by Foodie House looks amazing and probably is, since it’s on one impressive food blog — Its writer is a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher, like me.
How about Green Lemonade? Add a little green food coloring during October.
I wish to walk down this peaceful path for an Avocado, Apple, Grape and my Honeydew. 🙂
Chart of Green Fruit & Vegetables — Can you think of others? There are more of course.
Green Tea Macaroons and the recipe — Will someday venture to make ’em.
Green Tea — I drink it often, without Mint, but it looks prettier with it.
And Green Beer sometimes on St. Patrick’s Day.
It looks like Kermit sipped the Green Beer.
My favorite flavor is probably Orange — It’s what I choose most in everything.
And I’m currently based in Orange County, made known in About and About the Writer.
In addition to cooking adventures, mishaps, discoveries and more, Nibbles of Tidbits posts about Orange County events, restaurants, happenings, living, and everything food related.
To enhance all, an Orange County Food Blogroll is set apart — Met a few about town.
Peel open the OC with the list of Orange County Food Blogs linked on the right.
Orange Art — How to make Orange Guy.
Lovin’ these photos — Thanks and credit go here, here, here, here and here.
Ours looks better than it tastes, but it was refreshing — We’re searching for a better recipe.
Remember the Banana Experiment? We recently tested Clearly Fresh Bags to see if they truly keep a Banana looking prettier for longer. Well, um, I think I left the Banana in the bag too long. While waiting for the bag-less Banana to turn black, as when ready for Banana Bread, the bagged Banana got a bit furry and developed a bed sore — Thus due to our poorly run experiment, we cannot form an opinion on the bags, but will advise not to keep your Banana in the bag too long. 😉 On a related note, reading this will make you want a Banana.
07/26/11 UPDATE: Clearly Fresh recommends that Bananas be stored for up to 9 days. Our Banana was stored in a Clearly Fresh Bag for 12 days.
Testing out Clearly Fresh Bags to see what happens (left the slightly greener Banana out).
Will the bagged Banana last longer, as shown to do? If so, will it taste like an older Banana, though still looking spry? Stay tuned to learn the results of our experiment.
Watermelon is just so refreshing — And check out the Topsy Turvy (below).
One Nation under God — Happy Independence Day!
For some reason I always wanted to make Peach Iced Tea — It just seems like a refreshing Summer drink. The pictured was made using two Peaches and three Decaf Green Tea Bags.
To make it — Peel, cut and puree the Peaches in a mini food processor, then strain the puree through Cheesecloth to produce the juice pictured in the above pitcher.
Then pour boiling Decaf Green Tea over the Peach puree, directly into the pitcher.
The Decaf Peach Tea is then chilled and served over Ice.
It turned out good, but needed more Peach flavor — Four Peaches will be better next time.
Fresh cut Strawberries and Kiwis, if you get to them before the kids — Happy 1st Day of Summer to all and Birthday to Ami on the longest DAY of the year. Yeah we’re hap-happy…
Colored view from the HB Pier in June — It happened the same day as this.
I’ll soon be posting something new as Orange County Food Examiner, but would rather write for YOU! Inquire within regarding available Freelance Writing Services — The rest here is FREE.
* Recipe used to make the pictured Candied Orange (County) Slices.
Can you believe the weekend Strawberry Tours have already begun at Tanaka Farms? Time flies by too fast, but I’m happy to see it again. We went last year and loved the experience.
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