Chrysanthemum and persimmons

This is what happens when I go to Lidl on my own - you never know what I'm going to come home with. On this occasion: chrysanthemum and persimmons.

The persimmons, because they were the fruit of the season when we were in Japan, and they were served to us in many different guises, but I actually had never eaten one fresh, and I thought it was high time to try it.

And Chrysanthemum? Because it's November, it's about the only flower that survives at this time of the year, and we put potted chrysanthemum on graves on the 1st of November in Belgium. But mostly because they were a gorgeous colour that I thought would make for an interesting painting! Then of course when I started painting them, I was more interested in the leaves than the flowers. Go figure?

And did the persimmons taste nice? We just tried one this lunchtime and it was delicious - just wash, dry and cut like an apple. The flesh texture is a bit like mango, but not as strong a flavour, and it's a lot less sweet. We'll have the next one tomorrow.

Here is the setup that was in front of me.

And here are persimmons hanging outside a house in Japan - they peel them and hang them in the sun to dry them.