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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Ripe Every Time

As the days fly by it seems like an ever more daunting task to maintain my sanity. I never feel like I accomplish as much as I should each day, and by the time I drag myself into bed my head is spinning with the ever lengthening list of things to do the next day. I always have an idea of what I hope to accomplish in a day, but by the end I can’t tell if I am setting myself up for failure by asking too much of myself, or if I’m just not pushing myself as hard as I should be to be able succeed. I am sure, ultimately, that it is a little of both. By setting myself up for failure I escape the true experience of it when it happens. If you never try… you can never fail. So I hold back and push off my goals until tomorrow… and then the next day… and then before I know it, it’s been a week and I’ve done little more than survive.

Recently though I am conscious of it, even resistant to it… and I think I am finally beginning to step out of the spiral and head for firm ground. I often use Jon as my anchor there, as a constant reminder of the importance of love, laughter and togetherness. No matter where life takes us, surely we will thrive as long as we have each other. So when I start to feel overwhelmed I try to resist the urge to isolate myself and make an effort to bring myself back to appreciating all the little things in every day, often by finding sanctuary in my kitchen. I like to put on loud and energetic music and lose myself in the rhythm of the chopping, cutting, stirring, cooking and baking. It is as if the methodic nature of the movements, the mere mechanics of it, can ease me back into a comfortable pace with myself and those around me; back into sync with my goals and dreams.


So, in the spirit of my last entry I will be going back to one of my favorite fruits for this week’s quick tip --> the pineapple. The pineapple is one of those fruits that does not continue to ripen after picking, but rather, progresses on to spoil whether peak ripeness has been reached or not. So in order to get the sweetest flavor out of the fruit you have to pick it ripe every time. But, good news! It is actually quite simple. Just take the fruit and place the base firmly in the palm of one hand. Gently tug at one of the leaves near the top center of the pineapple. If it releases easily you’re in luck and the pineapple is ripe. If it holds tight then the pineapple is likely to be under-ripe so put it back and try a new one.

Once you’ve selected the perfect pineapple try not to let it sit for too long because it will just start to spoil. Within 24 hours I’ll chop the pineapple and divide it up into containers for the fridge or freezer depending on the intended use. If the process of chopping an entire pineapple yourself seems a bit daunting, fellow food blogger the
Decadent Housewife has a fabulous tutorial on how to chop up and clean a pineapple.

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