Interlude: When You Fail and Succeed at the Same Time

When I was last at the store, I wanted persimmons. I hoped to find Fuyu persimmons--the best kind--but all they had were Hachiya persimmons. When you are visiting the store at best on a monthly basis (hey, holidays, winter, and other stress!), you can't shrug off these things and hope to find your favorite seasonal fruit next time.

Instead, you pick up the Hachiya persimmons, cut one open when you think it is soft and ripe, and discover it's still an astringent mess.

Well, I wasn't going to waste it, so I decided to make muffins. Or try to. I found a recipe for apple and persimmon muffins I thought I could veganize by substituting applesauce for the egg. It already had flax seeds and a generous amount of baking powder, so I figured it would work out.

These are not quite muffins. They can't be eaten like muffins. You have to eat them with a spoon, as they are sticking to the paper liners and are still so full of moisture that they don't hold together. It's more like a fruit crumble than it is a muffin.

But. They are extraordinary. They taste like nothing I've ever made. Somewhat warm, I don't think there is anything I've enjoyed as much as this all year.

So I come to you, internet hive mind: How might I use this recipe in the future? Do I add more flour/oats? Do I try to make this into a cobbler? Do I accept the quasi-muffin for what it is and secretly eat it on my own?

I am at least grateful that the cooking got rid of the astringency of the persimmons, because that would have been really disappointing otherwise.