Pom tree in my backyard

It’s pomegranate season and I love pomegranates! They are beautiful and delicious. Great eaten straight out of the hand, or seed and juice to use in recipes, and pretty to dry and use in floral, household, and holiday décor.

Plus pomegranates are a “Super Food”.  A single pomegranate or 1/2 cup of its juice provides 40% of an adult’s recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, and is a rich source of folic acid and vitamins A and E. One pomegranate also contains three times the antioxidant properties of red wine or green tea.

Researchers report that the pomegranate’s antioxidants can keep bad LDL cholesterol from oxidizing (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2000). In addition, pomegranate juice, like aspirin, can help keep blood platelets from clumping together to form unwanted clots. Researchers has found that eight ounces of pomegranate juice daily for three months improved the amount of oxygen getting to the heart muscle of patients with coronary heart disease (American Journal of the College of Cardiology, Sept. 2005). Pomegranate compounds help prevent prostate cancer or slow its growth. In mice, treatment with pomegranate extract delayed the development of tumors and improved survival (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Sept. 26, 2005).

To juice a pomegranate, cut it in half (as you would citrus) and juice using a citrus juicer or reamer. Pour mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. One large pomegranate will produce about 1/2 cup of juice.

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Me at 2 years old

I finally took on a task that I’ve been putting off for months… OK, not months, years!  Scanning pictures that are “pre-digital” onto my computer. See, this is what happens when your kids leave you for college – you do things! I found this picture in the stack and just couldn’t resist posting it. I am two years old here, according to my mom’s writing on the back. With an apron on! Wow, who knew? Today’s tip has to do with fresh ginger root. It is something I don’t always have on hand but not something I’m willing to go to the store for if it’s the only thing I need. So I always buy a bit bigger piece than I’ll need, I peel the extra and slice it into “coins” about 1/2-inch thick. I have a jar in my fridge the I keep the ginger coins in that is filled with Sherry. That way whenever you need fresh ginger and don’t have it in the produce drawer, just pull out a coin or two, mince it up and you’re ready to go!  When working with pork tenderloin, you must alway trim away the silver skin. Silver skin is a layer of white connective tissue or membrane that you find on pork tenderloin and a variety of other tender meats.  It is tough as rubber and needs to be removed before cooking.  It is not difficult to do; cut it off in then strips, angling a sharp paring knife against the membrane, not the meat, then slide your knife along the silver skin, pulling back tightly on it and continue to do so until the loin is clean. See picture below.
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Ingredients for Pomegranate Molasses

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. I have served it as an appetizer (using leg of lamb cubes for little kebabs) and as a main course, as here with lamb chops, to literally hundreds of people and there has never been even one person who didn’t love it. People who had given up on lamb saying that they found it too “gamey” ask for the recipe! The pomegranate juice truly transforms the lamb into the most delicious meat imaginable. Pomegranate molasses can be found bottled in many Middle East markets, but it could not be easier to make yourself. You can see the 3 ingredients in the photo above. A couple items in the photo may look strange – allow me to explain. You ask, “What are those black sticks in your sugar jar?” Answer: They are dried vanilla beans. You see, every time a recipe calls for a fresh vanilla bean, let’s say crème brûlée… once I’ve finished with the bean, I dry it off, and stick it in my sugar jar. The sugar takes on a hint of vanilla flavor, a bonus for just about any recipe calling for sugar. Next question – “What is that stuff floating in the measuring cup holding the Pom juice?” Answer: Frozen lemon juice. Living in Scottsdale, we have an abundance of citrus trees and in December – February, that citrus is coming out of our ears. My one and only lemon tree produced a plethora a lemons this year. I was zesting and juicing lemons daily for months plus giving away boxes upon boxes of citrus. It was a huge pain then, but of course I am grateful and happy now with all the zip-locks bulging from my freezer. To freeze the juice, I fill standard size muffin tins to nearly the top (each muffin cup holds 1/4 cup of juice) and freeze the tins uncovered overnight. Next day, label a gallon size zip-lock freezer bag with the date and “1/4 cup lemon juice each.” Then pop out the frozen “juice muffins” and immediately get them into the labeled zip-locks and back into the freezer. They will keep for about 1 year, just in time to start the process over again.

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