More TEFL Recipes: Fruit

wooden-fruit298x4321.jpgWhen you’re living abroad, you may be trying to cook for – and heck, just feed – yourself under new and unfamiliar circumstances. Here are two recipes to ensure you eat enough fruit:

Fruit Smoothies
Directions: Well in advance, peel and slice one banana per person into a Tupperware-like container. Select your second fruit: my favorites are pineapple or strawberries. If you choose strawberries, cut each in half and add to the container with the banana. Cover and leave in the freezer (pineapple does not need to be frozen). When both fruits are frozen, add orange juice and yogurt (optional) and blend…If you followed my advice in Top 10 Kitchen Tools, you will already be in possession of a hand blender.

Curried Fruit
Credit for this treat goes to Jessie of the Italy Logue – in fact, I believe, to Jessie’s mother. Jessie was kind enough to share it and I made it for my most recent Thanksgiving dinner. Needless to say (once you have a look at the recipe) it was a hit:

Ingredients
1 large can sliced pineapple
1 large can halved peaches
1 large can halved pears
1 sm-med can plums, pitted
1/2 to 3/4 stick salted butter
3/4 to 1 c. brown sugar, loosely packed
2 tsp. curry powder

Directions
* preheat oven to 350 Deg. F
* drain all canned fruit & pat dry lightly (just try to absorb most of the excess syrup)
* layer the fruit in a 9×9″ baking pan
* in a small saucepan, melt the butter
* add brown sugar & curry powder to melted butter and stir constantly for a few minutes, just until everything is combined – the mixture will be pretty thick – just be sure you don’t burn it!
* spoon the sugar/curry/butter mixture over the fruit, trying to get some of it to go into the cracks to the lower layers of the fruit (although it’ll get there eventually)
* bake, uncovered, for 1 hour, and then cool (it’s nice to serve warm, but not hot)