Have you ever heard of loquats? Until about a week ago I had never heard of this small yellow fruit. Now that I know it exists, I’m recognizing the seemingly ubiquitous little fruit everywhere.

Loquat trees typically grow in mild temperature climates and full sun, and the fruits, which grow in clusters, become ripe in late winter and early spring. If these trees are growing anywhere near you, do NOT let the fruit go to waste! Loquats are in the same family as apples and pears with a similarly tangy, sweet flavor. They are high in anti-oxidants, vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium, iron and manganese and have been used in Chinese medicine as an expectorant, to soothe the throat, and to ease digestive problems. Source

My sweet friends Sheila and Tom have a loquat tree growing in their backyard that has never produced fruit until a couple of weeks ago. In fact, not knowing what type of tree it was, Sheila wanted to cut it down last year. I’m so glad she didn’t! When the tree recently began producing small green fruits for the first time, Sheila decided to do some research and discovered that it was a loquat tree and that the fruits are not only edible, they’re considered a super-fruit! Now, she and Tom have been bringing large bags of the loquat fruit to work each day! Which means I have been taking them home to experiment (Thanks guys!)

To my surprise, loquats can be used in many different ways, such as in jams, jellies, salads and pastry fillings. Of course, I decided to try them as a pastry filling first

But this proved to be a bit of a challenge. Your typical pastry consists of flour, sugar, milk, butter, shortening, and/or eggs. Since I try to avoid all of these ingredients, I had to come up with a recipe for an easy, gluten-free, dairy-free pie crust (easy is just always better). Aside from the pie crusts I use in my raw pies (such as the Cacao-licious Pie), I’ve never made a bakeable gluten-free, dairy-free crust before and I must admit that I was a little wary at first. But, as it turns out, the recipe I decided to use (below) is not only extremely easy to make, it’s delicious, AND healthy, too! Honestly, what more could you ask for?! Here is a picture of the crust in my mini pie dish before the filling had been added:

A little rough around the edges, but it’ll do.

And now here is a picture of the final product:

Mmmm…just makes me drool. I have to admit, my first experience with loquats and with this gluten-free, dairy-free pie crust recipe has made me excited to use them both again soon! I’m completely hooked! I hope you enjoy, too!