STONE FRUIT LUST

o-m-gosh... feeling a little bit in love with stone fruit right this minute! what a great season for produce in europe (and the rest of the northern hemisphere i am going to assume) when the fruit and vegetable shops provide an abundant display of apricots, peaches, nectarines and cherries (or los albaricoques, melocotones, nectarinas y cerezas if you are hitting up the mercados in madrid like me)

for me stone fruits are a festive treat; with cherries and nectarines delivering a fragrant aroma, and sweet and delicious burst of christmassy-ness for your taste buds to enjoy! i am thrilled by the quality, abundance and reasonable price/kg of this wave of blushing fruits here in madrid - so i am determined to make the most by swapping my default apple and/or orange for a couple of apricots, hand-full of cherries or a sweet and juicy nectarine before they disappear. now the reference to christmas and stone fruit may be a little confusing to some - but i am from australia, so when the weather warms up... christmas is just around the corner! apart from enjoying my christmas carol repertoire, my housemates are also stocking their fridge spaces with plenty of seasonal delights!

if such a great supply for tasty fruit was available back home (and at such a reasonable price) i can just imagine my mum whipping up numerous batches of delicious jams to fill the pantry and share with the fam!

if you too are enjoying the sunshine in the northern half of the world right now, i encourage you to explore the many possibilities of the stone fruit season, whether it be in (vegan) fruit pies, crumbles or cakes; eaten fresh or as the basis of a refreshing juice or smoothie; or made into plentiful jars of glistening, deep red, orange and/or yellow sweet and sticky preserves! yummm!!