Fruit of Paradise

We had a beautiful weather this weekend here. 80 degrees and we just entered March. My daughter believes that it is summer already. With this weather, and unfortunate Influenza outbreak at our house with our nephew, we stayed out of the house most of the day. On Saturday, Ely and I went to the library for story time, and farmers market to stock up and boost up our immune system with vitamines and antioxidants with fresh veggies and fruits. Then we went to visit friends of ours who have a grapefruits tree and a lemon tree in the backyard. The trees were full of round evidence of California sunshine! Grapefruits have a botanical name so perfectly fitting, Fruit of Paradise, packed with vitamin C, and disease-preventing properties such as carotenoids, Limonoids, Pectin Fiber and other minerals.

We were going to get “some” but ended up with more than 50 grapefruits and more than 30 lemons.

We juiced them, made lemonade, lemon pound cake, and vegan fruit jello.


Vegan Fruits Jello

300 ml of water
3 teaspoons of Agar Agar powder
⅓ cups of sugar
300 ml of freshly squeezed grapefruit juiced (from 4-5 medium grapefruits)
1-2 cups of diced fruits of your choice (I used grapefruits, strawberries, and pineapple)

Mix Agar Agar powder and sugar in a pot

Add water slowly whisking rapidly, making sure there is no lump in the mixture

Put the pot on stove top whisking continuously to make sure that there is no lump

Turn the heat down to low once it reaches boiling temperature  (you will see it bubbling)

Continue whisking on low heat for about 1-2 minutes

In a different pot, warm the grapefruit juice for about 1-2 minutes

Turn off the heat of both pot, pour warmed (not hot) grapefruit juice into Agar Agar mixture whisking continuously (DO NOT DO THIS WHILE IT IS HEATED ON THE FIRE - the mixture will not get firm if you continue to boil it)

Add diced fruits into the mixture and stir lightly
Pour the mixture into the dish(es) of your choice. You can use one glassware or jello cups if you have them available.

Once it cools down, put them in the refrigerator for one hour or so until jello is firm and plump.

Enjoy!