A couple new fruits this week

This week we're putting a little something in your basket that at first glance fails to impress. It's the weird looking lemon thing with a little hat on top. That's our Pakistani Sweet Lemon. Although the juice of the fruit is usable, it's not very sour. Where the jewell of this fruit lies is in its skin. The peel will impart a scented-geranium scent to baked goods and more. Here's how to use it easily: grate the entire fruit using a potato peeler, sharp knife or cheese grater. Throw in your Cuisinart or high-speed blender (I use a Vitamix) and add sugar. Blend. Let sit overnight in the fridge. Then use in baked goods, lemonade (limeade this week). It makes a killer sugar cookie.

Another easy use: grate and mix with lime juice, (you can use the juice of the Pakistani Sweet Lemon, too) good quality olive oil, salt little rosemary, a little bit of water (I actually use ice) and blend. It's a salad dressing with ingredients that appreciative guests have a hard time putting their finger on.

The other fruit new on the scene is the Wonderful Pommegranite. Here's how we were told, years ago, to avoid getting ourselves completely stained in the process of extracting the delicious, shiny juice pods: cut fruit in half. Place in sink or bowl of water and gently pry the fruit away from the skin, keeping the fruit completely emerged in water as you work. You can put the pretty juicy seeds directly on top of salads (swallowing the tiny seeds) or you can throw all your seeds (now separated from the rind) in your blender with just enough water or juice to make the blades work. Then sieve the gunk out, and enjoy pure pommegranite juice. This juice makes an incredible sorbet: freeze juice, add sugar, put in blender, serve. Top with a pretty sprig of mint.

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