The Last Fruit of the Year

mortaltree

Quince should have a lot of uses. The trees are hardy, long-lived, productive and beautiful. The fruit are beautifully scented such that just a few fill a whole room with their sweet, sweet scent. The only problem is they are pungently, spicy-sour as heck!

Heather to the rescue. I tried out this recipe using just cacao powder rather than the specialty chocolate she recommends and way less sweetener. Do go with sweetener if you try this recipe. What I made I liked, as it was pungently spicy-sour chocolate. Most poeple who tried it thought it too pungent. Think of this recipe as an exotic, fruit based spice “cake.”

My urban homestead

Most of the trees in my yard are fruit trees, and many of them are coming into full maturity and bearing potential. I was looking forward to a succession of harvests this summer, when fate intervened in the form of one small, scrawny squirrel.  She showed up under my birdfeeder last winter, looking like she was near death. It was fun to see her crouched outside the kitchen door eating seeds, and I even put out a few special treats for her. She grew fat and sleek, and in late spring she reappeared after a disappearance with five baby squirrels bouncing around behind her.  They had a very high adorable factor, and when they destroyed some green fruit I did not make too big a fuss about it. Then they disappeared, and I began to see squirrels around the rest of my neighborhood. Then, predictably, mother squirrel showed up with…

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9 comments

  1. I tried my first quince last week (mixed with apple). It had a distinct taste which I would need to get used to but I didn’t find it unpleasant. I guess that like pears, apples etc, there must be different varieties, so the farm near me might have a type that it less hard to eat!

    Glad you are having some success with your new book,

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    1. Yes, not a bad flavor, but flavor at such a level of intensity that few other foods rival. I froze the cake and found the flavor mellowed out nicely.

      Yes, you’re right. There are several species and varieties of quince. The variety I used is ‘Toyo Nishiki’ -from Japan as you might guess. It has two colors of flowers in spring. One branch has orange-red flowers, another blush-pink.

      Have you been over to the kickstarter page yet Helen? You always have a knack for reviews, and I’ve been eager to hear what flaws and strengths your sharp sense had picked out from the campaign. I’ll likely release the first chapter later today. >

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        1. Well, yes, it is for crowdfunding. But you know me -I’d just as well give you a copy. So no worries about buying it or not. Sorry to hear you’re not in a good financial position right now. I appreciated when you let me know that Edgin didn’t seem appealing last year even though I wasn’t able to save the project, and thought you might have an opinion of the Intrinsic project. Thanks anyway. >

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          1. My pleasure, Luke. As a rule, I don’t actually buy books but borrow from the library.
            Anyway, thanks for your comments on my prior feedback. I will have a look at your first chapter later.

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