Ode to Pomegranates

I've recently discovered that I love pomegranates. I may be obsessed with them a little bit actually.

I love them a lot. I love to just eat the actual fruit.

I love pomegranate juice. I could drink a gallon a day. I kid you not. Unfortunately, pomegranate juice is rather expensive, so this is not a possibility.

I drank something called Pom-Lite the other day because it was cheaper and "healthier" (said the bottle). But it didn't taste enough like pomegranate juice. It tasted like dragonfruit juice...which is fine except for the fact that it does not taste like pomegranate juice.

I like pomegranate smoothies.

I like pomegranate tea.

I've heard there's pomegranate frozen yogurt. I'm sure I like it, too.

The other night I ate a PB&J.

It was peanut butter & pomegranate jelly.

I might have a problem.

Supposedly, pomegranates are good for your skin, though.

So I should have awesome skin soon.

Do you know the ancient myth about Persephone?

In case you don't, I'll give you a short synopsis. I did a project on Persephone for Latin class in high school because I thought it was an interesting story.

Persephone was the beloved daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. Persephone lived a wonderful life until one unfortunate day when Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with her. Hades, being the charmer that he is, abducted her and held her captive in the Underworld.

Now there was a rule which stated that if you ate any food while in the Underworld, you were forced to stay in the Underworld...FOREVER!!!!

Ancient Greeks and Romans were a bit melodramatic with their myths. Just a bit.

Hades, being the manipulative jerk that he is, finally managed to trick Persephone into eating some fruit.

Just a few seeds of fruit, mind you.

What kind of fruit, you ask?

POMEGRANATE!

So Persephone was doomed.

Doomed!

Melodramatic, I tell you.

Demeter eventually got Persephone back from the Underworld, but because Persephone ate the four to six pomegranate seeds (different legends say a different number of seeds), she must return to the Underworld to be with Hades six months of the year.

Demeter, being the goddess of the harvest, mourns the loss of her daughter during these six months and as a result, the flowers and leaves die and nothing grows.

When Demeter is reunited with her daughter, flowers bloom, the grass turns green, and trees grow.

Alas! We have winter and summer.

Now you know.

Due to my love of pomegranates, I can understand how Persephone made such a fatal mistake and ate the fruit.

Actually, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the forbidden fruit Eve ate was pomegranate.

I can see how she would be tempted to eat a pomegranate.

I told you. I'm addicted to pomegranates. I have a problem.