"Merde, sacre bleu et quelle domage" I said to myself.
I tend to go all European when upset but don't know enough French to be much good at it. I should really try German as swearing sounds so much better in German.
"What to do ?" I thought, reverting to my native tongue.
A trip to the supermarket ? Not an option.
Home delivery ? Definitely not an option.
I went outside to have a think and the answer came to me. Actually the answer was hanging before my very eyes in the form of our orange tree.
And so it was, dear readers, that I went orange picking and what fun !
As you can see, even the oranges on the highest branches were not safe from my picking prowess.
I did prefer plucking the ones nearer the ground but they tended to be too small to be of much use.
After about 45 minutes, Stage 1 was complete and I had 2 large pails full of juicy succulent Honeybell oranges.Never heard of Honeybell oranges ? Here is a description.......
"Honeybell oranges are exceptionally sweet and juicy citrus fruits which only reach peak ripeness during the month of January. Also known as Minneola tangelos, Honeybell oranges are not actually oranges at all. They are a hybrid or cross between the Darcy variety of tangerine and either the Duncan or Bowen variety of grapefruit"
I'm not sure I like the idea of them being anything to do with grapefruit as I'm not allowed to eat those. Ah well, I'll let you know !
Stage 2 involved a bit more work. I brought the oranges to the kitchen counter and, with an electric juicer doing most of the hard work, started the squeezing process. Sweet juice flowed like tap water and in no time at all, a delicious orange liquid was filling the container.
Soon there was enough to pour into an empty and well cleaned out gallon milk jug and I was finally ready to have my glass of orange juice !
Stage 3 and it was simply the best OJ I've ever had. No question. Sweet and juicy, like they said it would be.
Tonight I'm fixing salmon for supper and I'll probably want to squeeze some lemon juice over it when it leaves the griddle and hits my plate.
What to do ? Hmmmmmmmm.
Yes we have a lemon tree too.....just next to the grapefruit tree and on the other side of the 2 orange trees.
Have I told you how much I love wintering in Florida ?
My father-in-law used to have all those kinds of trees in his back yard in Orlando. Loved going to visit him...loved, loved, loved.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely sight! No, not you, all those lovely oranges and lemons. How lucky you are. :)
ReplyDeleteMy mouth is watering at the thought of freshly squeezed juice from oranges you picked yourself.
ReplyDeleteIt takes me back to a 3 month sojourn in Israel when I was 5 years old. We had the citrus trees but nowhere near as much crop and I don't remember any juicing going on.
Lucky you. I hope your cup doesn't runneth over.
I love orange juice. Can you email me some, please? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOh come on! You're just trying (and succeeding) to make us all jealous!!
ReplyDeleteLooks great. I'd love an orange or lemon tree. Not so much grapefruit though as it does a number on my stomach (as they say in America). See? I'm trying to join in, though still in the land of St George.
BTW - I'd check with the doc about that juice. If it's a grapefruit hybrid ...
Thanks as ever for the comments, peeps.
ReplyDeleteJay, actually yes I do have concerns about drinking the juice as I take an atorvastatin drug (Lipitor) which reacts with grapefruit. Research by the USDA shows that these hybrid oranges do NOT contain the compounds found in pure grapefruits but even the drug manufacturer, Pfizer, has no info on the subject (I rang them) as the oranges are so unique to central Florida. I'm still researching........