Pomegranates 101

I was surprised to see pomegranates show up so early in my local market this year. Growing up, my mother tempted my sister and I with exotic fruits. Persimmons, litchi nuts, qumquats and pomegranates. We rejected her offerings with distain - tongues sticking out. No way! Afterall I ate Campbell's Clam Chowder for lunch every day religiously. I'm glad I saw Rick Burn's documentary on Andy Warhol last night. I feel slightly better now about all that Campbells soup.A trip to Venice brought pomegranates back into my life. In October '02 I noticed poms in all the Bologna street markets. I was surprised - it seemed early in the season for pomegranates. Later in Venice , I found boxes of pomegranates in the Rialto market. They were yellowy-red, not the candy-apple red you see in the US and much smaller. Size isn't an issue over there. I bought one to paint back in my room and it sat over my bed for a week. I never got around to painting it. It's picture hangs on my kitchen cabinet as a reminder of Venice.Remember the power of the complimentary colors RED + GREEN and their subliminal effect at Cafe de Flore? Go back and check tout suite if you forgot :) Anyway my local greengrocer on 31st street puts his red pommies next to the green grapes and pears.I found a Moroccan pom in Paris before I headed off to Arts in Provence to paint pink villages. Every morning I would get up and paint that pomegranate sitting on my window sill - more fun than the pink villages.This post is a HEALTH REPORT. These days pomegranates are supposed to cure cancer, Alzheimer's, old age and stop terrorism in it's tracks. I can't say about that, but I have another theory and this one I've put into practice. Since my Venice encounter with the pomegranate 4 years ago, I noticed that if I eat them all winter long I don't catch colds or flue. This is the honest truth! Ask my sneezing, sniffling co-workers or any NYC strap-hangers I encountered last year. For whatever reason pomegranates do protect against winter cold germs. But soon as I stop eating the magic seeds my protection is lost. Last year I went to Chinatown and loaded up. I put the seeds in freezer bags - almost as an experiment. But hey it worked! Just a few tablespoons of seeds a day will do. AND DON'T CHEW! It's 4 years I've been on this regime. BTW I just eat the seeds plain. No fancy stuff. Drinking the juice doesn't work for me. It was years before I tried my mother's pomegranates, but now every winter morning I eat them religiously. The Campbell's Clam Chowder is long gone from my menu. Thanks Mom