Mild mannered start...

Sometimes it is hard to find something that is both new and enticing. I scoured both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods for a tempting delicacy that I had never enjoyed before. I ended up with an organic fuyu persimmon and a Panquehue cheese from Argentina. Both looked interesting. The Panquehue cheese was described as a soft buttery, mild farmers cheese. It was very mild and on the soft side when brought to room temperature. I melted it on some organic black beans. It was fine, although I think that the cheese producers in Argentina aren't any better at making a farmers cheese than our friends to the north in Wisconsin. Go Cheeseheads!

I wasn't sure as to how to prepare and eat the persimmon. Apparently there are two main types of persimmons - the fuyu and the hachiya. I tried the fuyu. It has a very mild flavor - not at all what I was expecting. It tasted a bit like a combination of a cantaloupe and a mango. It was very juicy and on the sweet side. This was a surprise to me, as I was expecting a fruit leaning more towards the tart side. I found a recipe using it in a salad - fresh spinach, mandarin orange slices, persimmon slices and pecans. I used a citrus vinaigrette and I have to say it was delicious. Light and refreshing and not too bad in calories.

This has been a mild gastronomic start of my quest to find new and interesting foods and travels in 2010. Now on to the first journey..