Orange Stuffed Endive Appetizers

Summer is finally (sorta) here, and that means we’ve been getting quite a bit of rain and thunderstorms as well as sunshine and warm temps.

The other day I was at the grocery store, and just as I was about to leave, the sky opened up and it began to pour buckets of rain, like, load the ark kind of rain,  which reminded me of an incident from several years ago…….

I was in the same store with Tim when it began to monsoon outside.  We congratulated ourselves on having the good fortune to be inside as we watched several pour unfortunate souls try to get to their cars without needing the coast guard.  We were confident that the weather would clear by the time we were done, since it never rains that hard for long.

Wrong.  Apparently, no one had ever told Mother Nature that rule, and so, fifteen minutes later when we were ready to leave the store, it was raining even harder.  A river began to form in the loading lane that made the Mighty Mississippi look like a dry creek bed.  I’m pretty sure I caught a glimpse of Nessie somewhere out in the middle of the lake that sprang up halfway down aisle three.

As we huddled under the overhang with a small group of other miserable, sodden people, Tim reached the end of his patience and decided to make a run for it.  Ever the supportive wife, I wished him well and reminded him that I had left my umbrella in the passenger door.

He looked at me incredulously.  Wasn’t I going to go with him?

Um.  No.  Have we just met?  Do you not know me? Rain and I do not mix well.  I hate it and it hates my hair.  Of course I’m not going with you.

As I watched him sprint through the parking lot, dodging small ponds that may or may not have contained sharks and other dangerous sea creatures, one of the other poor unfortunates commented how lucky I was to have such a caring and attentive husband.

Before I could get too smug though, Tim pulled up in a giant tidal wave of water, unlocked the door and gestured for me to get inside.

Wait.  Did he miss the part about the umbrella?  It was at least five feet from the overhang to the car.  Five feet and about five hundred gallons of rushing water. And I had grocery bags.  Was I supposed to swim to the car with the bags on my back like a horse on the Oregon Trail?

Thinking the rain must have drowned out his common sense, I shook my head and pointed to the sky.  He shook his head and gestured for me to get in the car. I made the “umbrella” gesture.  He countered with another gesture.  I called upon my knowledge of sign language to come up with an appropriate answer.  The people watching swiveled their heads back and forth like bobble heads watching a tennis match.

Finally, he lowered the window an inch and a half and chucked the umbrella out in my general direction, only to have it land about six inches from the car right in the middle of Lake Erie.

I glared at him.  He glared at me.  Check and Mate is what he was thinking.  Dead Mate is what was running through my mind. Fortunately (for him), Mother Nature decided to help us out and the rain slowed enough that I was able to hop into the car.

Let’s just say it was a long ride home.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 heads Endive
• 1 orange, peeled, separated into slices and diced
• 2 Tablespoons minced scallions
• 3 Tablespoons diced fennel
• 1/4 cup walnuts, diced
• 3 Tablespoons pomegranate seeds
• 2 Tablespoons orange juice
• 1-2 teaspoons honey
• 1/8 teaspoon minced garlic
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the orange, scallions, fennel, walnuts and pomegranate seeds.  In a small bowl or container with a lid, combine the orange juice, honey, garlic and salt.  shake or whisk well to combine.  Pour over the orange/scallion mixture and toss well to coat.
2. Separate the endive leaves (I only used the larger ones, which yielded 2 dozen or so appetizers, not the tiny ones at the core).  Wash and pat dry.  Spoon the orange mixture into the leaves and serve immediately.

Enjoy!