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One of my earliest memories is that of using money my grandmother had given me to buy candy to buy a pomegranate instead. Oh, I loved them. I loved the fact that we kids had to dress up special in our worst clothes in order to eat them. We had to eat them outside, too (it's still pretty warm in November in Los Angeles where we lived when I was a kid), and spit the seeds out into the shrubbery. Messy, juicy, sweet food that involves sanctioned spitting? We were in heaven.

Now we have our own pomegranate tree and we get to hang out in pom heaven come every November. (No more seed spitting, we grown-ups eat them whole.) Here's the thing to know about pomegranates (other than the juice stains) - just because the fruit is red doesn't mean that the seeds inside are ripe. We don't pick our pomegranates until they begin to burst at the seams. This usually happens a few days after a rain. The seeds absorb the moisture and the skin cannot contain them anymore. Once the skin has cracked to reveal the seeds the pomegranates must be picked immediately, and used up quickly, or they will get moldy.

The best way to get to the seeds is to slice the pomegranate almost in half, from crown to halfway to the bottom. Use your fingers to break the two halves apart, and then tear away the connecting membranes and remove the seeds over a large bowl, half filled with water. The seeds will sink to the bottom and the membrane will float on the top. Skim off the membrane and strain the seeds of water. To juice them, put the seeds in a blender and pulse a few times, just enough to break up all the seeds. Let the mixture sit for a minute for the hard seed bits to settle and pour through a strainer. Add sugar to taste. (See step-by-step photos in How to Cut and De-Seed a Pomegranate.)

Here are a few pomegranate recipes you'll find here on Simply Recipes:

• Pomegranate and Persimmon Fruit Salad
• Eggplant Lentil Stew with Pomegranate Molasses
• Pomegranate Molasses
• Kiwi Pomegranate Salsa
• Pomegranate Jelly
• Golden Beet and Pomegranate Salad
• Chiles en Nogada

Here are some terrific food blogs with recipes, tips, and discussions regarding pomegranates:

• Pomegranate and Pistachio Yogurt from Delicious Days
• Carrot and Pomegranate Soup from The Wednesday Chef
• Pomegranate Truffles and Pomegranate Guacamole from Brownie Points
• Pomegranate Wine on BoomerBlog
• SFist on Pomegranates
• Quince-Pomegranate Cranberry Compote on Seattle Bon Vivant
• Baby Pomegranate Pavlovas on Lex Culinaria
• Pomegranate Granita on Too Many Chefs
• Pomegranate and Walnut Chicken from Fresh Approach Cooking
• Trick to getting the seeds out of pomegranates from In Praise of Sardines
• Butternut Pomegranate Pistachio Muffins from Sourdough Monkey Wrangler
• Raspberry Pomegranate Brownies from Habeas Brulee
• How to make homemade grenadine from Cupcake Project

Here are some pomegranate industry sites you may find informative:

Pomegranate Council recipes
PomWonderful