It’s the end of week two of my Veggie a Week Challenge and I am back to report on how things are going.
If you’ve only just tuned in, I have a started a challenge to try a new new fruit or vegetable every week for a year. The the previous posts are running at the end of each week’s post.
This week I am trying a fruit – Pomegranate and I used it in a drink – a cocktail in fact, but more about that later, let me tell you about Pomegranate first.
Despite being one of those fruits that are fairly common and often in the major supermarkets, I have always looked at Pomegranates and not known what to do with them. Even Mr T with all his cooking background as a chef didn’t know what they tasted like fresh - he’s only ever had the juice or syrup.
Pomegranates originate from Iran before spreading to Asia in ancient times and gradually making it to the rest of the world. Here in the southern hemisphere, they are in season from March to May (although I did find them in January so maybe they were imported).
In Spain they are known as Granada and the city of Granada was renamed after the fruit during the Moorish period. There’s lots of history to the Pomegranate and the entry on Wikipedia takes you through much of this if you are interested. There’s also some great health benefits as they are high in antioxidants and vitamin C.
I followed the instructions here and also saw a video here with an easy way to make juice. But on wikipedia these instructions tell you:
This would be a fun activity to do with kids.
There are lots of ways to use a pomegranate. You can use the juice to make sorbets, sauces or cocktails, sprinkle the seeds over a salad or ice cream or use it with roasted meat dishes.
Here’s a few recipes I found (with links back to their original site):
If you like the idea of this, just Google Pomegranate Cocktail and you will find heaps of ideas!
I’ve also pinned a few recipes to a board on Pinterest here.
My attempt at the mojito looked like this:
It was dark due to the pomegranate syrup Mr T told me to put in. I would leave that out next time and just use the fresh juice. We’ll be having another one tonight – it was really yummy.
How did YOU go this week? Were you able to find a new vegetable or fruit to try?
Week 1: Daikon Radish
{all recipe images except for those of my cocktail are linked to their original source in the description}
If you’ve only just tuned in, I have a started a challenge to try a new new fruit or vegetable every week for a year. The the previous posts are running at the end of each week’s post.
This week I am trying a fruit – Pomegranate and I used it in a drink – a cocktail in fact, but more about that later, let me tell you about Pomegranate first.
Pomegranate
Despite being one of those fruits that are fairly common and often in the major supermarkets, I have always looked at Pomegranates and not known what to do with them. Even Mr T with all his cooking background as a chef didn’t know what they tasted like fresh - he’s only ever had the juice or syrup.
Pomegranates originate from Iran before spreading to Asia in ancient times and gradually making it to the rest of the world. Here in the southern hemisphere, they are in season from March to May (although I did find them in January so maybe they were imported).
In Spain they are known as Granada and the city of Granada was renamed after the fruit during the Moorish period. There’s lots of history to the Pomegranate and the entry on Wikipedia takes you through much of this if you are interested. There’s also some great health benefits as they are high in antioxidants and vitamin C.
Ideas and how to use:
There is a bit of an art to opening a Pomegranate and getting out the seeds (which are the part you eat).I followed the instructions here and also saw a video here with an easy way to make juice. But on wikipedia these instructions tell you:
“After opening the pomegranate by scoring it with a knife and breaking it open, the arils (seed casings) are separated from the peel and internal white pulp membranes. Separating the red arils is easier in a bowl of water, because the arils sink and the inedible pulp floats. Freezing the entire fruit also makes it easier to separate. Another very effective way of quickly harvesting the arils is to cut the pomegranate in half, score each half of the exterior rind four to six times, hold the pomegranate half over a bowl and smack the rind with a large spoon. The arils should eject from the pomegranate directly into the bowl, leaving only a dozen or more deeply embedded arils to remove.”
This would be a fun activity to do with kids.
There are lots of ways to use a pomegranate. You can use the juice to make sorbets, sauces or cocktails, sprinkle the seeds over a salad or ice cream or use it with roasted meat dishes.
Here’s a few recipes I found (with links back to their original site):
And the one that inspired how I used Pomegranate this week:
If you like the idea of this, just Google Pomegranate Cocktail and you will find heaps of ideas!
I’ve also pinned a few recipes to a board on Pinterest here.
My attempt at the mojito looked like this:
It was dark due to the pomegranate syrup Mr T told me to put in. I would leave that out next time and just use the fresh juice. We’ll be having another one tonight – it was really yummy.
How did YOU go this week? Were you able to find a new vegetable or fruit to try?
Previous weeks:
IntroductionWeek 1: Daikon Radish
{all recipe images except for those of my cocktail are linked to their original source in the description}
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