It’s November Fourth People! Did you get out and vote? I’m proud to say I was one of the first in line this morning at my Grover Beach polling station and the turnout was looking good! It makes me so happy to be an American. Being able to cast my vote and voice my personal opinions unlike some women in the world makes me feel very privileged and I don’t take that civic duty lightly! For those of you who don’t know, I covered town politics in the state of Rhode Island for years, including planning and school board meetings, council hearings and zoning board agendas too. Politics get me HOT, BOTHERED and FIRED UP… all at the same time!!
Honestly, I don’t like talking politics with friends, coworkers, or family for that matter. Mainly because I do my research. I study the little pamphlets and the voter information guides when they come in the mail and I am versed with each of the propositions. I walked down to the polling station and I cast my vote and I took the sticker and slapped it on myself immediately! And there it shall stay for the rest of the day. My brother Andrew and I both posted pictures after we voted and I like that it runs in the family. Now if only I could get my husband on board. Andy doesn’t vote. Never has. Probably never will. Unlike most people who don’t vote though, he never bitches and moans about the winners of the elections and he rarely comments or joins me in my rants. I’ve never heard him say a bad word about Obama and I know he doesn’t like the new Healthcare Act but he didn’t vote so he doesn’t get a say. And he understand this and I love him for this. But it’s time for you to vote Andy! No seriously, get off your ass and register already, please, for me. It’s everyone’s civic duty!
In college when I was reporting for The Standard-Times, a local RI newspaper, I would drive everywhere in my Volkswagen Jetta, armed with notebooks, pens and occasionally my take recorder for those feisty politicians who like to talk fast and beat around the bush. I loved the hours spent in town halls and back at the newspaper office where I would ferociously type away at my desk, everyone else at home or asleep. I enjoyed writing my stories alone, in the hundred-year-old office in Wickford, RI, overlooking the tree-lined streets and eclectic stores nestled within. Maybe I’m romanticizing it but it was one of my favorite jobs and times in my life and I’ll remember it how I want to!
Okay, enough about politics for today, I’m ready to talk food. My friend Lori picked a ton of pomegranates from her trees a few weeks back and I’ve been using them to create different salad combinations, salad dressings, garnishes on meals, and hopefully a jam that I’ll produce next week. One of my students gave me four persimmons the other day and I’m been combining the two and they make the perfect marriage! I was unsure of how and when to eat persimmons so I looked it up online and it depends solely on the type of persimmons you have.
First off, persimmons are a Chinese fruit and the only time to eat them is when they are ripe. Before this stage the fruit will be very bitter. Trust me on this one… I had to toss one out today after cutting into it prematurely. It tasted gross. It should be orange in color when ripe and for some persimmons, even a bright yellow color. After some searching, I found out that mine are Hachiya persimmons and need to be eaten when very soft in texture. And compared to apples, they have higher levels of dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron. Wow! So here’s a super quick salad for you and an even quicker salad dressing recipe too… this salad is inspired by one of my favorites from Trader Joe’s but it’s cheaper to make and if you don’t have a store near you then you need this recipe… Bon Appetite!
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Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad- serves one or two
Ingredients:
-1 pomegranate, seeds of
-1 persimmon, sliced finely
-4 cups greens (I used a variety of kale, arugula and spinach)
-goat cheese, crumbled
-handful of nuts (I used pumpkin and sunflower seeds and almonds)
-salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Slice the pomegranate in quarters and pull the seeds out with your hands or with a spoon.
2. Next, slice the persimmon finely, removing the leaf.
3. Add the lettuce, cheese, nuts and fruit into a large bowl and toss.
4. Add extra pomegranate seeds on top and maybe another quarter and enjoy with this Citrus dressing below!
Fresh, green and clean!
For this Citrus Dressing, all you’ll need is 1 T olive oil, 2 T each of rice and apple cider vinegar, the juice of one lemon and a dash of salt, sugar and pepper. Mix well!