Eat it, it’s good fuyu!
By Monica on March 6th, 2008
Be still my beating heart, I have stumbled across a new Asian market. It’s not exactly next door at over an hour away, but it is in the same neighborhood as the Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s I visit when I trek into civilization for fancy-pants vegan items. Aisles and aisles of beautiful, fresh, cheap produce - I spent hours in there!
One of the new food items I came home with was a bag of “Fuyu Persimmions”. At 4 fuyus for a buck, I figured I’d take them home, Google what to do with them, and give it a whirl.
Google said I should make this Fuyu Bundt Cake, recipe courtesy of the California Fuyu Grower’s Association. Rarely is Google wrong. Who knew fuyu could be so delicious? (Ok, lots of people probably.) It was like some sort of gingerbread fruit cake, but better! If you ever find yourself with extra fuyus, definitely try this out.
I’m still trying to figure out what to do with my bitter melon, fuzzy squash, and other exotics. In the meantime, favorites like Sourdough Calzones balance out the new, strange goodies I’ve brought home. (Why I bought a can of “vegetarian mock duck” I can’t tell you…) Anyway, I like this dough recipe because it needs only 5 minutes to rise. For those of us with no little patience, that’s a lot better than the usual hour we have to wait for dinner. It’s an incredibly easy dough to roll, is crispy, and durable enough to make a calzone you can pick up and eat with your hands.
And lastly, I’ve been discovering the wonders of minute tapioca lately. Bryanna turned me onto using it in one of her recipes and this week I branched out into Tapioca Apples. This was a super quick way to use up my aging apples and though it’s excellent all on its own, next time I will serve it over vanilla ice cream.
Fuyu Bundt Cake
(I subbed apple sauce for the eggs, canola oil for the butter, and cashews instead of walnuts. I also had to bake mine for a lot longer than the recipe calls for, so make sure to check yours before pulling it out of the oven.)
Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Preheat oven to 350.
Blend 2 tsp. baking soda into 3 cups of chopped firm Fuyus. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup soft butter with 1 2/3 cups sugar. Add 2 eggs, 2 tsp. lemon juice, and 2 tsp. vanilla and beat until fluffy. Stir in Fuyu mix.
Sift together 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. ground cloves, 1 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg. Stir flour into Fuyu mixture just until blended. Add 1 cup chopped walnuts and 3/4 cup raisins.
Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 55 - 60 minutes or until toothpick tests clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Turn onto rack.
Sourdough Calzone Dough
1 package dry active yeast
1/4 warm water
2T vegetable oil
1t sugar
1t salt
6 ounces soy yogurt
2 1/2 cups flour, whole wheat or all purpose
In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sugar, oil, salt, yogurt, and 1 cup of flour. Mix until smooth. Mix in enough remaining flour to make sough easy to handle.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Cover with your bowl and let rest for 5 minutes.
Divide dough into 4 portions, roll out into circles. After filling and sealing your calzone, bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
Tapioca Apples
1/3 cup minute Tapioca
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2t cinnamon
1/2t salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups sliced apples
Bring water to boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat to low, and add tapioca and sugar, stirring constantly until mixture is clear and thick. Stir in cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice.
Put apples in a shallow baking dish or pie pan. Pour tapioca mixture over the apples and bake in a 350 degree oven 30 minutes.
Liz² says:
are you serious the calzones only take that long? that’s amazing! gosh, I might have calzones for dinner.
and fuyu gingerbread sounds like all kinds of awesome!
March 6th, 2008 at 8:55 am
VeggieGirl says:
can’t say that I’ve ever heard of fuyu… but WOW does it make for a gorgeous bundt cake!! yum!! :0)
March 6th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Jess - The Domestic Vegan says:
Oh, my gosh. YUM! Those calzones look AWESOME. Sourdough is my favorite, and dough that takes only 5 minutes is a true miracle!! I have no patience when it comes to dough… I’d rather just dig in & eat!
March 6th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Jess - The Domestic Vegan says:
P.S. Where are you thinking of moving? No more ruralness???
I am really overwhelmed (as you could probably tell), but I CAN’T WAIT! I want to go now.
March 6th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Chocolatecoveredvegan says:
Ooh, I want some fuyu bundt cake!
March 6th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Fairly Odd Tofu Mom says:
Wow! What beautiful persimmons! I love using them in baking especially!
And the canned mock duck? Oh my gosh, best seitan EVER! Just rinse the broth or brine or whatever mysterious liquid it’s packed in and add to curries, teriyaki sauce and pineapple over rice, or brown a wee bit and throw into fried rice with some vegetables…(my favorite way) VERY tender and tasty!! (My kids brown it and add to Top Ramen, yeah, SOOO healthy but I thought I’d add that thought. Heh.)
March 6th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Tori says:
Fuyus are always so enticing. I just am not crazy about them plain. Maybe we will get some more ones at the coop.
I love calazones. They are so much better then pizza! I can’t explain!
March 6th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Pamela says:
Hey, I read your blog all the way over in Japan! I really like it. Thank you.
Fuyu means winter in Japanese, so I guess these are winter persimmons, but they just look like usual persimmons to me. They are quite popular here, but I’ve only heard of people just eating them in the raw. I’ll have to try that next year when we have more.
March 7th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Lori- the pleasantly plump vegan says:
that apple dishes looks really good.
March 7th, 2008 at 10:39 am
madeinalaska says:
That calzone recipe is just what I need.. I have cravings for calzone but, ya, the whole being prepared for the rising time is a problem around here. thanks for sharing.
March 7th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Vegyogini says:
I have a huge Asian market right up the street from my house, but I’ve never ventured in there despite a huge desire to check it out. I think I’m a little intimidated, but I’ll get over it one day! BTW, I never once thought that I was risking food poisoning by marinating my tofu for so long. Should I have?
March 7th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Zlamushka says:
WHat a lovely lunch. My Tompa loves tapiocca pearls. Interesting twist, with the apples. I am very glad to come over here.
March 9th, 2008 at 2:22 am
Lyndsay says:
The bundt cake looks amazing! I am going to try and find them here in Brussels. Great site!
March 9th, 2008 at 6:05 am
Veggie says:
You have been awarded with an ‘Excellent Blogging Award’ at my blog.
Check it out here.
March 9th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Cakespy says:
It’s good fuyu–you guys crack me up
Those CALZONES look simply perfect!!!!! So does everything else of course…but the calzones…ohhh dream inducing goodness!
March 9th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Monika K says:
Persimmons aren’t exactly native Alaskan fruits, but I’d love to try cooking with them sometime (particularly if it meant I’d get some cake!). By the way, have I ever mentioned how much I love your name?! (-:
March 10th, 2008 at 4:38 pm