Cafe Liz

It seems there’s quite a demand for a loquat sorbet recipe. I’ve actually been planning to make one for a while, but a request from a reader in Malta (echoed by others in Israel) told me that now’s the time — after all, the season’s almost over. So, as the weather becomes warmer, what better way to serve our last loquats than frozen into a smooth sorbet with mint and lemon?

These waffles are light and fruity, probably because they contain nearly half a kilo of fruit. This is a good way to take advantage of Spring’s bounty with a decadent breakfast. I’m still going through my bucket of loquats, which are sweet and ripe. Peaches are definitely coming into season, because two weeks in a row we’ve come home from the market with little specimens that turned out to be sweet and juicy. I blended the two fruits together to [...]

Spring fruits make great desserts, and I’m not just talking fruit salad. Have you ever noticed how fruit salads tend to contain mostly fruits you don’t like as much? Anyway, this isn’t a fruit salad. It’s strawberries and loquats topped with an aromatic vanilla sour cream. The sour cream topping was so good that Eitan volunteered to clean out the pastry bag with his tongue. Loquat season is now in full swing here, and I’m still going through the bucket [...]

Quick to put together and fun to eat, these toasts take advantage of the onset of loquat season. I picked up a whole bucket of loquats at the Carmel Market for about 3 shekels a kilo this weekend. Admittedly, they were somewhat bruised looking, hence the price, but that means they’re super-ripe and sweet. Anyway, they actually go very well with cheese and basil.

I’m always sad to see the various fruits fade out of season, to return only in a year. Fortunately, others are always arriving in their stead. At the neighborhood greengrocer today, as I was mourning the present passing of the citrus fruits, soon to be followed by strawberries, I was pleased to see that plums and loquats were ready to fill the gap. Well, not really. All fruits have their own special place, at the very least in my heart [...]