Oh My Darling...Oh My Darling...Oh My Darling Clementine...or did you mean Satsuma!

It is that time of year my friends when California produce switches out its summer clothes to its winter garb of kale, cabbage, onions, chard, carrots, beets, turnips and citrus. We go through cycles of eating all that is local and just about the time we get sick of eating persimmons (do we EVER tire of eating that glorious fruit, Ingrid!) the small and unassuming satsuma becomes comes ripe and ready for us to devour her delicious nectar. The nectar of the gods. She is tender, seedless and full of sweet juice. You can't have her prematurely, however, because she needs time to grow and develop. The warm fall days and cooler nights of October and November ensure that she will be plump and ready to eat. I love the way her skin peels back so easily revealing the soft orange color of her flesh. The first bite of the season reminds me of Thanksgiving and the winter solstice, another year gone by. My kids eat her sweet gifts by the dozen...literally eating a dozen in a day. Thankfully, we have local organic choices in our area. Five pound bags of these beauties are available at our local Coop and Farmer's Market from November to the end of December.

For all who are interested, the satsuma is a member of the mandarin family. It is a very cold hardy citrus fruit that has recently seen a revival in the Central Valley of California. It is a seedless, thin skinned (don't tease her) easy to peel fruit that originated in Japan some 700 years ago. It was brought here in the 1800's and by the 1900's over a million trees had budded in the United States. The name satsuma comes from the Satsuma Province in Japan.

Our girl, satsuma, boasts a whopping 30 calories per fruit and her flesh and juice provide ample of amounts of calcium, zinc, vitamin C and fiber. According to Chinese Medicine, her dried peel proves useful for digestive ailments. We are lucky to have her come into our lives with gusto this time of year. Go to the Capay Satsuma stand at the local Davis Farmer's Market and get yourself a bag or three of these joyful fruits.

Satsumas are a delicious addition to a winter salad. I like to eat them mixed in with chopped romaine lettuce along with some argula and endive with a light dressing. Add some roasted almond, maybe some steamed yellow beets and that is it. Personally, I think that eating these fruits by themselves is best. My favorite recipe is as follows: carefully and lovingly make a pot of chai with steamed soy milk or milk of your choice, break off a chunk of dark chocolate and peel yourself a satsuma. Sit in your favorite chair with a good book or magazine...perhaps with a cat nearby and enjoy a moment to yourself.