Pom- elated

So the luncheon thing is over, and I ate too much. So basically everything turned out like I planned. The Chocolate Damnation went over well with the chocolate lovers. I’ve never been a big fan of lots of the brown stuff. I like it as an accent, the icing on the cake, dessert, but not the main course, and that was rich enough to be the main course. The pear cake went over pretty good too. It was like a carrot cake, but with pears. I personally think Carrot cake is one of the best types of fall/ winter cakes, and this one is more subtle. I like that. While making it I thought of a rendition I could do next time. It involves my favorite fall fruit, and I’ll ramble on about that below.

My all time favorite fall fruit is the venerable pomegranate. I’m pretty sure my cousin was the first person to introduce me to pomegranates when I was around 7 or so. My neighbor even has several pomegranate shrubs that grow in his backyard, but the weather here doesn’t lend itself to the fruit ripening properly.

I dearly love the sweet and tart arils from the inside of the fruit. It’s kind of like eating crab legs or crawfish. You have to work and be patient to get to the good stuff. If you are in too big a hurry, you end up with a mushed up mess. It’s a nice contrast to the fast paced world around us. You can’t just sit down and chomp through a pomegranate in a hurry. You have to make a decision to set aside 20 – 30 minutes to work on the fruit and savor the rewards. I find it calming. It’s a good combination of detail oriented finger activity with oral and olfactory rewards. I’d say it’s even better than crochet, which I also do. Yes I crochet. It’s one more thing that makes me better than you so nyahhh. I also change my own oil and regularly use power tools.

I was shocked and gladdened when a few years back Pom juice started showing up at grocery stores. It comes straight and mixed with several other kinds of juice. I will tell you right now, straight Pom is quite strong. It really does need to be cut with something. At first I was using it as an additive to my strawberry daiquiris. I would use Daily’s Strawberry mix, Pom juice, Blue Curaçao, Bacardi 151, Cruzan light rum ( 2 year), and ice. We called it a Purple Pommelator, because one will beat the crap out of you. In fact more than one person refuses to drink them anymore, because of the aftereffects.

Then a friend of mine mentioned that he mixes Pom with orange juice. Well now, it just so happens that one of my favorite drinks is a screwdriver: 35-40% vodka (Tanqueray, FRIS, Kettle One, etc.) to the rest orange juice. I like the pulpy stuff too, cause I’m weird. Well depending on the amount of Pom you like, you end up with two different drinks. With about 7 -10% Pom you get what I call a Rusty Screwdriver. If you add about 15- 20% Pom you get what I call a Bloody Screwdriver. Now if you want to go all out you use Blavod, which comes in a nice insulated cover that is perfect for 22 oz Ks. The Blavod will make a Bloody Screwdriver into the most sickeningly gray color you have ever seen, and that I call an Old Steamex Water. That’s just a good tasting drink right there, and you don’t have to worry about anyone else touching it.

Anyway, next time I make the pear cake, I might try adding some pomegranate arils. That might be good.