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Try this delightful persimmon pudding

Recipe: Old favorite made with (finally) ripe Fuyu

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Persimmon pudding is a delicious, easy dessert based on a Midwest classic. Add raisins if desired.
(Photos:
Debbie Arrington)

Fuyu persimmons take awhile to get to pudding stage. Several weeks after harvest, my Fuyus are finally reaching that jelly texture needed for baking and puddings.

This delightful pudding is legendary in the Midwest. For three decades, it appeared as part of the directions for using Dymple's Delight canned persimmon pulp.

Dymple's Delight was the creation of Dymple Green, who operated with her husband, Vernon, a persimmon packing company that shipped the sweet pulp worldwide. The Greens used only native persimmons, a variety that grows from Virginia to Indiana.

Mrs. Green passed away in 2012, but her pudding lives on. Her hometown of Mitchell, Ind., celebrates an annual Persimmon Festival each September. The top prize goes to the best persimmon pudding.

Persimmon puddings have a slightly lighter texture and different flavor made with Fuyus or Hachiyas, the persimmons most commonly found in California. But they still make delicious pudding.
In this version, I scaled the recipe down for 1 cup of pulp (about two or three large persimmons) and added raisins.

Dymple's Delight persimmon pudding

Adapted from Dymple's Delight
Makes 9 servings
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This recipe can use ripe Fuyus, the flatter persimmons, above,
or Hachiyas,
which are more heart-shaped.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup sour cream or buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup persimmon pulp
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.

Sift together flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside. Stir baking soda into sour cream or buttermilk. Set aside.

Combine persimmon pulp and sugar in a large bowl. Mix well. Add egg, beating well. Alternately, add sour cream/buttermilk mixture and flour mixture. Stir in cream and honey. Add raisins, if desired. Fold in melted butter.
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After an hour of baking, the pudding is ready.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Smooth surface with a spatula. Bake until the center is set, about 55 to 60 minutes. Serve warm, with whipped cream if desired.

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Find our summer recipes here!

Garden checklist for week of July 12

Get out early in the morning to take care of garden chores. Temperatures are expected to stay below 80 degrees before 10 a.m.

* Remember to water early and deep; your garden depends on you.

* It’s not too late to add a splash of color. Plant petunias, snapdragons, zinnias and marigolds.

* From seed, plant corn, pumpkins, radishes, winter squash and sunflowers.

* Keep your vegetable garden watered, mulched and weeded. Water before 8 a.m. to reduce the chance of fungal infection and to conserve moisture.

* Water before fertilizing vegetables and blooming annuals, perennials and shrubs to give them a boost. Feeding flowering plants every other week will extend their bloom.

* Feed vegetable plants bone meal or other fertilizers high in phosphate to stimulate more blooms and fruiting.

* Don’t let tomatoes wilt or dry out completely. Give tomatoes a deep watering two to three times a week. Harvest vegetables promptly to encourage plants to produce more. Squash especially tends to grow rapidly in hot weather. Keep an eye on zucchini.

* If your melons and squash aren’t setting fruit, give the bees a hand. With a small, soft paintbrush, gather some pollen from male flowers, then brush it inside the female flowers, which have a tiny swelling at the base of their petals. (That's the embryo melon or squash.) Within days, that little swelling should start growing.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushy plants and more flowers in September.

* Remove spent flowers from roses, daylilies and other bloomers as they finish flowering.

* Pinch off blooms from basil so the plant will grow more leaves.

* Cut back lavender after flowering to promote a second bloom.

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Muffins and pumpkin

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Lemon coconut pancakes

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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series

Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening

WINTER

Is edible gardening possible indoors?

Hints for choosing tomato seeds

Starting in seed starting

Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees

When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

How to squeeze more food into less space

Potatoes from the garden

Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Win the weed war by tackling them in winter

Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables

Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

Ways to win the fight against weeds

FALL

Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden

Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it

Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come

Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying

Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?

Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden

Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden

Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers

Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air 

Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets

Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty

Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?

Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest 

SUMMER

Sept. 16: Time to shut it down? 

Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch

Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning

Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?

Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you

Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water

Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers

July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?

July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty

July 15: Does this plant need water?

July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions

July 1: How to grow summer salad greens

June 24:  Weird stuff that's perfectly normal

SPRING

June 17: Help pollinators help your garden

June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests

June 3: Make your own compost

May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?

May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth