Persimmon and Grapefruit Yogurt Parfaits with Gingersnap and Pecan Crumbles

We look forward to, anticipate, build up some upcoming experiences.  Daydreaming about what it will be like. Crystal clear pictures of the amazingness form in our heads.

Which, are then, of course, subsequently crushed.  Shattered.  Destroyed when reality sets in.

I was terribly excited to go to the East Coast.  To visit friends and family.  But mostly to experience the fall weather that they supposedly have out there.  Visions of sweater wearing while galloping through piles of fallen leaves danced in my head.  Hay rides with toasty plaid blanket after blanket piled on top of me.  Warm cinnamon-spiced apple cider consumed while plucking bushels of apples right from trees.  Tromps through pumpkin patches with my tall boots.  It would be a perfect autumn week.  A super cliched autumn week.

Until I arrived in Pennsylvania and became aware that the weather was hot.  Like hot.  Like maybe I hadn't actually left the state of California hot.  Like wow, I'm glad I packed sandals hot.  Like take the small child to the park in the morning and want to go back home within 5 minutes because the sun is so hot.  Clearly, this wasn't what I had been hoping for.

Sometimes, though, life hands us exactly what we had been envisioning.  I wanted to stick a spoon into something creamy, something sweet, something fruity, something with a little bit of zing to it.  This parfait has all of that.  Persimmons and grapefruits mixed together.  Creamy Greek yogurt flavored with vanilla and orange.  Topped with crushed gingersnaps and chopped toasted pecans.  Each spoonful so satisfying, so unique with its own proportion of fruit to yogurt to gingersnap topping, that I would immediately look forward to the next.  And this time, I wasn't disappointed.

Need more information about persimmons, a most wonderful fruit?  Here is a useful article from Cooking Light!

Ingredients
1 cup chopped persimmon
1/2 cup segmented grapefruit
1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup crushed gingersnaps
2 tablespoons finely chopped toasted pecans

Instructions
In a small bowl, gently toss the persimmon and grapefruit.  In another bowl, stir Greek yogurt, vanilla, honey, orange juice, and orange zest.  In another bowl, mix the finely chopped pecans and crushed gingersnaps.

To serve, layer the fruit mixture and then the yogurt mixture, then top with the gingersnap mixture.