A decade ago I was living on the east coast. My then-partner and I had decided to make a weekend trip from New Haven to Boston to spend some time with a couple who were friends of ours. We stopped by a fruit stand along the way and picked up half a dozen apples and a pear.
We arrived and were greeted by the couple and their small community that was often to be found painting, drinking coffee with heavy cream, talking, or playing with the two toddlers running around the warm home. As we settled in, we drew out the fruit and with a pocketknife began cutting each one into slices; each into their own bowl–red apples, green apples, soft apples, firm apples, and the pear for a bit of wild card variety. As if enjoying a wine tasting, we each drew a morsel from the same bowl and describe its character. Some were bland; some were juicy. Some were mealy, while others snapped.
There was one apple which stood out as a clear favorite all those years ago, still stands out as a pronounced favorite now. The Pink Lady was a wonder for everyone. Sweet, crisp, a little tart and wrapped in a blush that earns her a name.
The sticker on that pink lady that I’d enjoyed long ago said it was grown in Peru. While I love being able to explore the world through my taste buds, whenever possible, I’d rather travel the world myself and have my food have a simple trip down the road. So it was much to my delight that in this week’s CSA there were four beautiful Pink Ladies grown right here in Washington.
Recommended Pairings:
Cheese: A nice soft blue cheese
Music: “Lady Divine” by Alela Diane
This post was originally prepared as a writing sample for a fruit blog.
