Fruits provide 'sunshine' during dark winter days

The practice of eating locally grown produce, while a good and practical one both for health and the local economy, sort of loses its thrust in the North Idaho wintertime. Our high country climate is not conducive to the growing of certain fruits such as pineapples, bananas, citrus, dates, figs and other exotics like papaya, pomegranate, mangos, coconuts and avocados.

While we love and need many of these things, we must depend mainly upon the largesse our most beautiful state, Hawaii. Too, the fact that Hawaii’s islands do not allow the use of herbicides and/or pesticides so as to protect their unique environment is an extra bonus. Since much winter produce also comes from California and Arizona, Organic is the rule of thumb when visiting the supermarket.

Today we offer some simple and healthful delights to stoke up the Vitamin C in our snowbound meat and potatoes diet. Enjoy!

Pineapple Salad bowl:

Cut a fresh pineapple in half from top to bottom, retaining the pretty leaves on top if you wish, trimming them a bit if necessary. With a sharp knife, cut pineapple out of the halves, leaving a good half-inch outer shell for the bowls. Cut up the removed pineapple over a bowl to retain the juice, then add other fruits in season as you desire. For now, that could include some beautiful huge seedless red, green and black grapes, a couple of bananas (tip – cut them into a bowl of lemon juice and toss to coat completely; this keeps them from browning too quickly and adds a little tang to the salad). Use your favorites: kiwi, papaya, pears, naval or mandarin oranges. I don’t use a dressing for this salad, simply letting the juice serve as moistener. Sometimes I pour a little icy ginger ale atop the fruit. It’s a delicious no-fail beauty whatever you do! You can also cut the pineapple into fourths for smaller servings. If you do this, you’ll need to serve them in shallow bowls.

As a one-dish salad, toss the pineapple pieces with chopped grapes, celery, solid-pack tuna chunks, avocado, walnuts if you wish, using your favorite dressing. Following is another savory possibility.

Orange, Fennel

& Red Onion Salad

6 servings

1 cup fresh orange or other citrus juice (such as tangerine)

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 large shallot minced

½ bay leaf

1 tablespoon fine olive oil

3 oranges, or 5-6 tangerines (depending on size)

1 large fennel bulb, trimmed, sliced very thinly

1 fresh bunch of arugula, rinsed, dried, torn, thick ribs cut away

½ large red onion, very thinly sliced

Boil juices, vinegar, shallot and bay leaf in a heavy medium saucepan until reduced to a generous ½ cup (about 10 minutes); discard bay leaf. Pour mixture into bowl, cool a bit then whisk in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Working over the bowl, cut peel and white pith from oranges (or tangerines), allowing juices to fall into bowl. Cut between membranes to release segments, pulling any pithy strings or seeds away from pieces; cover and chill segments and the bowl of juices (separately).

To serve, arrange orange pieces around edge of plates. Toss fennel, arugula and onion with the dressing in the bowl and heap in center of plates. Pour and pass extra dressing in a serving pitcher.

Most all fruits lend themselves to dessert – often beginning as per our earlier salad suggestion. Fruit Sundaes are the perfect example. For a great dessert, hollow out pineapple shells as directed – or cut large oranges in half and cut out fruit to serve as cups for fruits, ice cream or other chosen fillings for mini-sundaes.

For the pineapple shell, refill each half with diced pineapple, placing one or two lengthwise sliced banana pieces along the sides; add two scoops of ice cream (one vanilla and one coconut is good) and top with hot chocolate sauce and a sprinkle of chopped walnuts or coconut.

Smaller orange cup sundaes with banana slices and ice cream and hot fudge are to die for!

Note: Buy real ice cream that doesn’t have a bunch of unnecessary additives: Breyer’s, Alden’s and a few others are pretty pure. Read the labels! Too, make your own chocolate sauce. Simply melt real chocolate chips and drizzle atop the ice cream.

How long has it been since you made – or enjoyed that old-time classic Pineapple Upside-down cake? So easy to do and great topped with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, it’s time to resurrect this one! I’m providing the “from-scratch” recipe, but you can cheat and use a favorite cake mix or your own favorite.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

1½ cups brown sugar

Pineapple rings cut (or canned) to cover bottom of 9x13-inch pan

Cake:

1 egg

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ cup milk

1 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Set oven to 350. Mix all cake ingredients together well. Evenly spread brown sugar over bottom of pan. Top with pineapple rings, pressing into the sugar, placing about ½ to 1-inch apart (You may center each ring with a maraschino cherry if you wish). Top evenly with cake mixture and bake in preheated 350 degree oven 30 minutes.

Remove when done, cool slightly and carefully invert onto a platter or serving tray. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream as you wish.

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com or by phone at 208-265-4688.