Valentine’s Day Gifts: Shrub Club Membership and a Sweet Recipe

Bridgetown Baby partner Sauvie Island Shrubs wants to help sweeten your Valentine’s Day! Each month, this Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) style membership offers one special shrub highlighting a seasonal Sauvie fruit, vegetable, herb or spice, with options for monthly membership or a 3, 6 or 12 month prepaid Shrub Club subscription - or even a one month shrub club trial, if you're not sure how much shrub is right for you! Shrub Club membership includes a monthly, seasonal shrub made exclusively for Shrub Club members and a recipe to go with it.

See below for the recipe for this delicious loaf!

And - special for Bridgetown Baby clients, partners and staff, Sauvie Island Shrubs is offering a 20% off discount for any Shrub Club purchase (or any other purchase) through the month of February! Head to their website and use the discount code BB20 at checkout.

The February shrub flavor is Persimmon Apple Gingerbread made with hyper local apples and persimmons. Serve it alongside hot tea or a non alcoholic version of a hot toddy with this month’s shrub: Persimmon Apple Gingerbread Shrub. Yum!

Spiced Persimmon Gingerbread Cake

• 1½ cups Fuyu persimmons, grated (about 1 pound persimmons)

• 1½ teaspoons baking soda

• 1½ cups brown sugar

• ¾ cup olive oil

• 2 large eggs

• 1 large egg yolk

• 1½ tablespoons fresh ginger pulp, finely grated

• 1 tablespoon vanilla

• 2 tablespoons Persimon Apple Gingerbread Shrub (or shrub of choice)

• 1¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ¾ teaspoon ground cloves

• ¾ teaspoon ground ginger

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• ½ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease an approximately 12-inch by 4.5-inch loaf pan with a light coating of olive oil.

Slice the leaf ends off of the persimmons, then use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to peel them. Use either a handheld grater or a food processor with the grater attachment, to grate them. (You will need 1½ cups.)

Add 1½ cups of the grated persimmon to a bowl and add the baking soda. Mix to blend and set aside. (The baking soda will thicken the liquid derived from grating the fruit.)

In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar with the olive oil and mix to blend. Then add the eggs and egg yolk and mix again. Once it's smooth, stir in the fresh ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, ground ginger, shrub, and salt.

Fold in the flour and mix just until it's fully incorporated. Then fold in the grated persimmon and crystallized ginger.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until it's golden brown, set, and beginning to crack on top, about 50 minutes.

Let it cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before serving.