Approximately three years ago I met Chris and we started dating. I say approximately because there has always been the question of what day is our actual anniversary...When we first went out? when we first kissed? when we declared we'd see no others?
To further compliKate® matters, when writing an article for Edible Ojai about southern food traditions for New Year's Day, I put the wrong date entirely as our anniversary. Now Chris doesn't remember it at all and I remember what may or may not be the right date only sporadically. This year when I went along shopping and thinking of anniversaries and he didn't well I just decided until we clarify it for good, our anniversary will span the entire month of January so...Happy J'anniversary Honey!
This year I started our J'anniversary by making eggnog chocolate chip cookies but as usual, I adulterated the recipe and by using too much graham flour they tasted well, very healthy and very very rich between it and the nog. So I also went shopping at our local farmers' market and found a beautiful small coffee cake and a gorgeous heart-shaped cherimoya (which some spell cheramoya, I'm not sure which is right.)
We let it ripen for a few days and right before eating it Chris reminded me we should photograph it. We both pulled out our Verizon Droid phones and started to play. By the time we couldn't take it anymore and really wanted to eat it, we called it quits and then each sat across from one another at the dining room table staring down at our Droids, manipulating our chosen image (I know, romantic, huh? damn artists), while taking delicious bites of our bananay-pineapply, soft, luscious fruit. Oh my! it was incredible.
After spending time reading about cherimoya and learning it originated in Peru, grows in very few climates and has to be hand-pollinated, I learned it was even more special. We've saved the seeds from the heart-shaped "love cherimoya" and hope to grow a tree from the seeds. one blogger describes the fruit as "Lumpy, costly, but the flavor turns some people rhapsodic!"
Cherimoya season in California is from January to May in California, so keep an eye out at the markets for them. For those of you back in Louisiana and other places, I found an exotic fruit club that will deliver them to your door. :)
I also discovered several recipes for cherimoya souffles, parfaits, and fruit salad that I may try if I one day have an abundance but for now it's almost impossible to not simply cut and eat them with a spoon!
Meanwhile, back to the he said/she said part of the program. Here are the photos Chris and I came up with on a lark. Using basically the same phone, flash and fruit and then later, perhaps a couple of photoshop adjustments...We each staged our own shots but then as always happens had the collaborative help of the other but when it comes to which photo we chose and what we did with them, that's all in the chromosomes and personalities baby...(I think his looks a bit like a Lachapelle.
(the photo at the top is one I did afterward when writing this blog, nothing to do with our original j'anniversary photos.)
Enjoy
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She said:
