Baked and Broiled Persimmons with Crème Fraîche

Baked and Broiled Persimmons with Crème Fraîche

//Persimmon: A fruit in season between late September and December. They can be used in both sweet and savory dishes, or just enjoyed on their own.  There are two different varieties to choose from, Fuyu and Hachiya.  Fuyu are tomato shaped, sweeter, and you can eat them when they are still firm.  Hachiya are acorn shaped and need to be extremely ripe before eating.  If you eat a Hachiya persimmon before it is very soft it is chalky and astringent, like eating a cotton ball. I made this mistake once while I was throwing a dinner party, I heard a few people gagging and everybody was running to get water to relieve themselves from the awful sensation. Oops. Don’t worry, when it is ripe, it is delightful.  Leave them on the counter until ripe.  When they turn, store in fridge until ready to eat.

Read More

The Meaning of Borboleta

The Meaning of Borboleta

A few terms...

//Mindfulness:  the ability to maintain a moment-by-moment sense of acceptance and awareness of our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and environment.  Letting the past and the future inform the present, but not control it.

//Slow Living: is the art of curating a life built around meaning, quality, and fulfillment. It is a voluntary simplification of how we live each day to create a deeper and wider sense of well being.  

The name borboleta was given to me by my grandmother Edith Maria D’Almada Remedios when I was a teenager.  It means butterfly in Portuguese.  My restlessness reminded my grandmother of how a butterfly jumps from flower to flower.   She would tenderly tap my nose and say “borboleta” as I kissed her and ran out the door to my next thing.

Read More