Sacramento Digs Gardening: Persimmons put seasonal twist on California favorite

Date-walnut tea bread is a California-grown favorite representing both ends of the state. Our dates come from Indio; walnuts represent Sacramento Valley.

Persimmons – super-ripe like sacks of jelly – give date-nut tea bread a seasonal twist and fruity moistness. Plus the bright orange fruit adds some extra antioxidants, another bonus.

After harvesting a prolific Fuyu persimmon crop that’s finally at that jelly-soft stage, I appreciate recipes that use several fruit. (We can eat only so many cookies.) This tea bread recipe takes about four persimmons per large loaf.

Super-ripe Hachiya persimmons (the pointy kind) also can be used in this recipe.

Persimmon date-walnut tea bread

Makes 1 large loaf

Ingredients:

1 cup ripe persimmon pulp, mashed

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tablespoons cognac or brandy (optional)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground mace

1 cup dates, pitted and chopped

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions:

Prepare a 9-by-5-by-3-inch baking pan; lightly grease and line with parchment paper, if desired. Set aside.

Loaf of tea bread in pan — Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together mashed persimmon pulp and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until well blended. With an electric mixer on low speed, add eggs, one at a time.

Add persimmon pulp to butter-sugar mixture; blend until smooth. Stir in cognac, if desired.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves and mace. Add flour mixture by thirds to persimmon mixture, stirring after each addition. Fold in chopped dates and walnuts.

Transfer batter into the prepared pan and smooth to even. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 80 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Check for doneness after 70 minutes.

Let cool in the pan at least 10 minutes before removing. Slicing is easier if the loaf is fully cool.

Store in the refrigerator.

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes persimmons dates walnuts. baking quick bread breakfast side dish produce management backyard produce farmers markets Sacramento gardening orchard fruit

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

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March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

Send us a gardening question, a post suggestion or information about an upcoming event. sacdigsgardening@gmail.com

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