Pomegranates---They're In Season! Should I Be Excited?

How many times have you found yourself in the following situation?

You walk through the grocery store somewhere between October-December and then, staring you straight in the face, THERE THEY ARE! Those BEAUTIFUL pomegranates! Just waiting for someone to come along, have a burst of culinary inspiration, and place them in the shopping cart!

“No, not me,” you say to yourself. “They are beautiful, and I’m sure they’re delicious, but what would I use them for? Pomegranates are just one of those non-essential, fancy ingredients that I don’t need. Besides, I don’t even know how to eat one.”

But wait!

“I think I saw a post on someone’s blog about how to eat pomegranates!” you remember as you pull out your i-phone (or rush home to use the computer).

So, how does one go about serving a pomegranate? It’s easy! Just follow these 5 simple steps:

·         Cut the pomegranate in half. (Wear clothes that you don’t care about. Pomegranate stains! Believe me; I learned this one the hard way…shhhhh! ;)

·         Peel back the skin and empty the seeds and the white pulpy stuff into a bowl.

·         Fill the bowl about half way with water.

·         Separate the seeds from the white pulp. The pulp will rise to the top of the bowl and the seeds will fall to the bottom.

·         Skim the pulp off the top of the bowl, drain the water, and serve the seeds!

Now that we know how to make a pomegranate edible, what shall we use it for? Here are some delicious ideas:

-          Mix a refreshing Bellini

(a fruity non-alcoholic drink made with sparkling water)

-          Toss into salads

-          Sprinkle over fruit cocktails

-          Enjoy as an accompaniment to rich, dark chocolate

(as you can see in the picture…which I promptly gobbled up after taking!)