happy birthday, mommy!

Mommy's birthday nineteen years ago, with me and my little brother

I can never remember how old my parents are, but thank goodness for the Chinese zodiac, because I can remember their signs. Usually I'd go all out and make a three-layer cake, but my family and I are working on eating healthier, especially cutting down added sugar, so that's unfortunately a no-go for cake. Then I thought of baked apples, but we didn't have any apples, and so that too was a no-go.

everything but the allspice

But what we did have a lot of was persimmons. Most recipes I found tend to use Hachiya persimmons, the pointier ones that you eat with a spoon when super squishy, because they're a lot sweeter. Ours weren't ripe yet, and they tend to be stringy and astringent, so I didn't want to go that route. But I did find a recipe which uses Fuyu persimmons, the flat crunchy ones, and only a little added honey, so I decided to go with baked persimmons.

pre-oven

You can serve these baked persimmons with ice cream, whipped cream, or cake, but we had them plain with a sparkler candle. Happy birthday, Mommy.

post-oven

BAKED PERSIMMONS
via The Kitchn

4 Fuyu persimmons
2 Tbsps honey
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1 cup hot water

Preheat oven to 350F. Peel and cut tops off persimmons, then slice in half horizontally. Place cut side up in a large baking dish.

In a small bowl, combine everything else, and stir until dissolved. Pour mixture over fruit.

Cover dish with foil and bake until persimmons are soft, 40-50 minutes.

Remove foil and spoon syrup over fruit. Place dish under broiler under persimmons are browned, about 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings, but can easily be scaled up or down.