In our previous house we had a prolific pink grapefruit tree that produced more prize specimens than we could even hope to eat. OH! The blossoms smelled so wonderful in late Fall! I used to juice gallons of pulp and drink pink grapefruit juice till my little heart was content. And we would pick bags and bags of them and set them on the sidewalk with a sign that read FREE! People always took them. They were delicious!
Now that Larisa and I are going organic… and eating two grapefruits per day, I was wishing we still had that lovely tree. I have contemplated how tacky it would be to go and knock on our old front door and ask for fruit….. but I haven’t stooped that low yet. We have been paying $1 per grapefruit and they haven’t even been the lovely pink ones…. they have been the yellow, sour, involuntarily-squeeze-your-eyes-shut kind. Ewwww. But we have been eating them faithfully.
Tonight Rick and I visited the neighborhood Trader Joe’s and purchased two bags of grapefruits. I’m pretty sure they are the yellow tart variety, but it was all they had. After Joe’s we went to pick up Larisa at a party. We parked out front and Rick went in to find our daughter. As I was admiring their large grassy yard… I spied four fruit trees… with fruit on the ground. I jumped out of the van and found lemons and oranges… HUGE lemons and oranges… the size grapefruits are supposed to be. Rick returned and I told him I was going inside to visit the party-hosting mom to find out if they have grapefruits. SURE ENOUGH! I chatted with her kind husband about their home and land… and then said, “I noticed your fruit trees out front. What kind are they?” Oh! Did I score! He was so excited to tell me about them, as he had planted them 13 years ago with his own hands. (I was jealous at that moment.) Then he named the fruits: tangerine, lemon, orange and (BINGO!) grapefruit. Following was the question of the hour, “Do you like grapefruit?” I greedily answered, “We ALL love grapefruit!” And he loaded us up, as I knew he would, being that I used to be a prolific grapefruit tree owner. We were doing him a favor! (wink wink!) They are mammoth! It was the motherlode! Seriously, the size of a large head of lettuce! WOW!
So we are GOOD for pink grapefruit for at least 10 days, no …. more. YES!
My Sister's Jar 