Hot hot HOT!!

Summer is not quite over. I think we will still have some hot ones to come for this year. Stay cool and take advantage of summers’ bounty of fruits in one fell swoop while getting heaps of vitamins and anti-oxidants! Buy extra berries at your local farmers market. Wash and cut fruits into bite sized bits and freeze in ziploc freezer bag. (If desired, dust lightly in turbanado sugar or other brown sugar, but I think a bit of tartness is nice!)

When it gets hot, simply take a few tablespoons out and suck on the fruit bits and voila! Frozen vitamins!

By Melissa Beaugrand

Personalized Chef

This entry was written by mbeaugrand, posted on October 11, 2009 at 6:14 pm, filed under Food, Nutrition, Santa Barbara and tagged Fruit, Melissa Beaugrand, Nutrition, Seasonal Fruits. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Seasonal Summer Fruits That Can’t Be Missed

Guest post by Tracy Hepler of YourDailyThread.com

Besides good weather, no school and beach days, what makes summer rock is the delicious array of summer fruits of the season. From berries to cherries—they are not to be missed. Check out our listing of delicious fresh fruit that is popping up at a farmer’s market near you.

….Pluots: A hybrid between plums and apricots—these interesting-looking fruits are super sweet and have a juicy pulp. Don’t be turned off my their ugly exteriors, beauty (or taste) comes from within.

…Gaviota Strawberries: These heirloom strawberry varietals are grown exclusively between Oxnard and Santa Barbara County. Though smaller in size and shape to store bought strawberries, these pack an aroma and taste that put the store’s to shame. They’ll be here till about August or so. Get them while you can.

Heirloom Tomatoes: Tomatoes—yes they are fruits, and heirloom tomatoes are so sweet you can bite into them like an apple. Again—don’t be turned off by their odd exterior—they just haven’t been genetically modified to look exactly like every other tomato. These don’t come cheap—at about $3 to 4 per pound, they have a hefty price tag. Truthfully though, they are worth it.

Organic White Peaches: We’ve all had yellow peaches (I secretly like them in a can). But white peaches are a serious treat. Their flesh is sweeter than yellow peaches, and a little softer too. Great over yogurt or cereal and would make a healthy dessert too. P.S. peaches are one of the fruits with the highest amount of pesticides because of their thin skins, so always be sure you buy organic.

Cherries: Cherries are in peak season right now. They can be a little messy (so if you’re like me, don’t wear white while you eat them.) They’re the perfect blend of tart and sweet. Any bakers out there—now is a perfect time for seasonal cherry pie. For the most seasonal varietal, see if you can find Lambert Cherries.

Organic Cantaloupe: Part of the melon family, cantaloupe is best eaten a bit chilled in my opinion. More versatile that most fruits, you can eat it alone or wrap it in Italian proscuitto for a sweet and salty snack or treat. See if you can find a Cavaillon, a delicious heirloom varietal that looks like a regular cantaloupe with green stripes.

Figs: Upon eating my first fig, I thought I had tasted heaven in my mouth. No joke, a perfectly ripe fig is one of the most divine things you could ever eat. Figs are also one of the world’s oldest fruits (a popular staple of ancient Greece and Rome.) It is also rumored that figs were the forbidden fruit that got Eve kicked out of the Garden. Good thing we can get them at the Farmer’s Market and in trees all over town from now through early fall.

Did we miss your favorite fruit? Let us know which one and where to find them.

Want to get even closer to your food? Why not pick your own at http://www.pickyourown.org/

More Resources:

Download the EWG’s guide to pesticides in your fruits and veggies

This entry was written by Soma Get Fit Guest Writer, posted on August 13, 2009 at 7:54 pm, filed under Nutrition and tagged eating lower on the food chain, Green Living, Green Santa Barbara, Local Food, locavore, Seasonal Food, Seasonal Fruits, Sustinable Food. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.