As dinner potatoes roasted in the oven, I decided to try a recipe from the Life Changing Foods Book, by Anthony William. The Pomegranate Bark looked festive and I was eager to experience the creation of it. I’ve never used a pomegranate before. In fact, I’ve only eaten fresh pomegranate seeds once before, when a lovely Russian family invited me to dinner and the wife prepared one as an appetizer.
I knew the seeds were the edible part. Technically called arils, these juicy, somewhat tart capsules provide many health benefits and aid in dissolving gallstones and other calcifications. They also help with brain fog, confusion and even Alzheimer’s.
I purchased my first pomegranate this morning. Back at home, I watched a YouTube video on how to most effectively remove the seeds from the fruit.
It looked simple enough.
Following the instructions, I sliced around the middle of the pomegranate, cutting through the thin skin. Working carefully, I successfully separated the fruit into two halves. The arils looked beautiful! So far, so good.
The video showed holding each pomegranate half upside down over a bowl, and beating on the back of the fruit with a wooden spoon. On the video, the seeds fell gracefully into the container. I tried that. A few seeds dropped into the bowl.
Oh, wait!
I had forgotten a step. I was supposed to gently flex each half of the fruit, to loosen the seeds. I paused in pounding on the pomegranate in my hand, and flipping it right side up, I flexed it.
I didn’t stretch it gently enough. With a snap, the fruit broke in two and half of it flew out of my hands and splattered onto the floor. Just to reinforce this lesson on how gently one flexes a pomegranate, I tried the second half, with the exact same result! I now had more than half of my fruit on the floor.
I muttered a colorful word…almost as colorful as the sight of ruby red pomegranate seeds scattered across the counter, rug, floor…and even my phone. And then I laughed.
Ah well. No negative self talk occurred. I cleaned up the mess. The rug went into the washer and the rest of the spill wiped up easily enough. I didn’t have enough seeds left in the fragments that remained to make the bark. But those seeds popped right out!
Tomorrow, I’ll purchase two more pomegranates. And I’ll try again. I know now to very, very gently flex the halves, while holding them firmly against the counter. I’m still eager to make pomegranate bark.
Tonight, I will enjoy a bowl of freshly chilled arils, and appreciate the many health boosting benefits they provide. Pretty, aren’t they?
