Tropical Dried Fruit Fritters

Tropical Dried Fruit Fritters are made with one 8 oz container of dried tropical fruit from Paradise Fruit  Co. The batter is made with the usual cast of characters; flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs and milk. The fritters are rolled in cinnamon-sugar while still warm. The batter is originally used to make apple fritters but I wanted to see how dried fruit held up when used to make fritters. Well let me tell you, tropical dried fruit works beautifully in fritters.

Outdoor Activities

February is in full swing and that means it’s still bitterly cold outside. Along with the cold, we have our fair share of snow here in northern Wisconsin. The cold though doesn’t seem to stop people from heading outside. Tropical dried fruit fritters are delicious served with cups of hot chocolate after a long day spent outside. Snowmobiling, ice fishing, or sledding, all of which I’ve participated in at least once or twice in my youth. On a personal note; This post is dedicated to my brother “Stumpy” and his lovely wife Theresa, whom after all these years are still enjoying life to the fullest! Happy Snowmobile Trails and Birthdays to you both;)

Not being the “outdoorsy” type, and not one for any outdoor activity. (I’d much rather stay in the house, preferably in the kitchen) Back in the day, what would start out as an outdoor activity, ended up being an indoor activity, “beer drinking.” For instance, Saturday afternoons were spent “Bar Hopping” on snowmobiles. A group of friends would meet at a predetermined destination, get on snowmobiles and head on down the snowmobile trails.

Bar Hopping

“Bar Hopping” on a snowmobile might sound like fun but standing around a bar, drinking beer, with all of your snowmobiling gear on, well let’s just say it made bathroom time interesting to say the lest. On top of that, the ride back to wherever your car was at, was cold, bouncy, and uncomfortable. Beer jostling around in the stomach, along with salted peanuts in the shell equals a stomachache, big time!

Ice Fishing

Again, this winter past time involved a group of friends that met on a predetermined lake and at so and so’s ice shanty. Everyone would drive on the lake to so and so’s shanty and proceed to go ice fishing. Ice fishing is something I just don’t get. It looks like a lot more fun in the movie Grumpy Old Men or even Grumpier Old Men, than it actually is in real life. (I know this because my hubby loves both movies and I’ve seen them both literally 100 times, each.)

Back to ice fishing, staring down into a hole of black murky water, again drinking beer, while waiting for a fish to “tip” the line is over-rated in my book. Again this outdoor activity usually ends up being an indoor activity. A bar. Thankfully, I only had the pleasure of going ice fishing once. A very long time ago and now a distant memory, I went, looked down a hole and proceeded to walk to the nearest tavern “on the ice” where it was nice and warm.

Sledding

Sledding is one outdoor activity I actually liked. As a kid we’d walk down to Packard Hill and go sledding all afternoon. We’d walk home, half frozen, with icicles hanging off our hats and mittens. During my teenage years, in the 70’s, sledding turned into the more sophisticated “tobogganing.” Friday and/or Saturday nights consisted of wapatuli parties, grass (not the kind that grows under your feet) and tobogganing. We’d use pieces of cardboard or metal flying saucers that went down the hill like greased lighting.

What Are Fritters?

Fritters are a small, sweet or savory, deep-fried cake made either by combining chopped food with a thick batter or by dipping pieces of food into a similar batter. Some of the more popular foods used for fritters are apples, corn and crab. Fritters can be made with anything, really. Pick a fruit, vegetable, clams or whatever and get to frying! Papaya Fritters,  Sourdough Corn Fritters, or Clam Fritters with Spicy Cocktail Sauce, to name a few.

Here are more recipes made with Paradise Fruit; Fruitcake Gems with Paradise Fruit, Welsh Tea Cakes, and Georgian Baklava or Pakhlava. Recent Post: Chicken Noodle Soup With Turkey Meatballs