Spaghetti Pie?

So it's not all awesome adventures in tropical fruit here. I've had lots of weird adventures in food too. Mostly successes, but a few rather impressive fails. Take these for example:

They look innocuous enough, right? Some kind of desserty something? They're made of manioc, which I've learned can be either acceptable or a totally weird mess. I didn't understand the difference between the several varieties of manioc pies this woman had, so I pointed at yellow and brown. Yellow was blended to uniform consistency and tasted like nothing but the coconut flakes she sprinkled on top, yet managed to conserve the weird rubbery-gluey texture that is manioc.

Brown, however, was quite a surprise: When I bit into it, I discovered that it was spaghetti-textured! That was unexpected. And weird. Too weird. It again tasted like nothing except what can only be described as "mildly bad," but the texture flipped me out. I don't like spaghetti, and this looking like spaghetti but tasting another kind of bad was too much. I couldn't even look at it!

Try manioc for the experience, sure. Just don't get manioc spaghetti pie... I think I'll stick with fruit from now on. All of the less than one week that is "from now on."

Adventures in Tropical Fruit 5

I swear I do other stuff here than eat fruit. And the other things generate pretty pictures too. I will get a real post together sometime. Probably.

But for now, more fruit! I got this one on Mauritius actually (yes, I had a holiday away from my island that most people come to for vacations). I don't remember what the fruit is called there, but here it's called a kaki. Which I just googled and is persimmon, which I've heard of!

It looks like an orange tomato, and is very fibrous (soft fibers, but noticeable) on the inside. It's a really interesting flavor, a bit sweet and almost nutty, kind of like squash. I feel like a fake foodie snob describing it like that, but it really did have a weird/interesting taste. Recommended as an interesting one to try! Disclaimer: I just read that you're not supposed to eat the skin (oops) and that most people think it tastes like mango. Maybe mine was a different species or... unripe/rottenish? Like I said, interesting. Has anyone tried any version of persimmon before?

Adventures in Tropical Fruit 4

I bought more passionfruit. WHAT? Try them, seriously, if you ever get a chance.

I did branch out though. Guess what this is.

Hint: It's one of those things that's more technically a fruit versus one that goes in a fruit salad. [Aside: Love that quote: "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in your fruit salad." Miles Kington]. No, it's not a tomato.

Giant tropical avocado! Same general idea, only BIG. And weird. It's much less dense than ours and with less flavor. Kinda watery in both texture and taste. A definite eh--our version wins.

Good thing I have lots of passionfruit!

Adventures in Tropical Fruit 3

Remember how your mom always told you it's what's on the inside that counts? She's right. This wrinkly brown thing that looks remarkably like excrement:

is a passionfruit! You in fact chose the wrinkliest ones (they're at the right ripeness stage). This fruit, the fodder of dreams of tropical islands and the associated cocktails, is clearly never pictured from the outside in people's heads. But the taste does not disappoint--cut it in half and you immediately get a whiff of the tropics, and as you eat the crunchy seeds (we're talking corn kernel crunchy) and pulp with a spoon, you close your eyes and enjoy. Wouldn't want to catch a glimpse of the outside while you're eating... Delicious! My favorite so far.

Update: Adventures in Tropical Fruit 4: Yeah, I got more passionfruit :)

A balanced dessert

Balanced meals have lots of colors, yes? Am I doing it right?

Guava jam, lychee honey, and Nutella. Ignore my last question--I know I'm doing it right!

Adventures in Tropical Fruit

There is so much fruit here I don't recognize. Seriously, Google image "fruits réunion". What even is most of that stuff? I'm trying to figure it out. Whenever I go to the market (has to be the Saturday one, the grocery store has nothing interesting) I buy something I don't recognize and ask what it is and how to eat it. The first time I did it, I got a bag of goyaviers, which were at perfect harvest timing:

They look like baby pomegranates! Cute. According to the guy I bought them from, you peel them and eat the mushy inside. They're good--tart, but nice. Tons of seeds, which I didn't know to eat at first, but turns out you do eat them, which makes the fruit much more worth the effort. I recommend them if you get the chance. I do not however, know what they might be called in English. Nothing gives me a translation other than guava, which isn't right--goyavier seems to be Réunion-specific. Just eat the small red fruit in May, ok? So that's one thing to do with them. Another, according to the lady who walked up while the seller was explaining this to me, is to chop them in half and throw them in a bottle of rum for three months. I liked that idea too, so I now have my own rum arrangé brewing! I'll let you know how it is in a couple months. I just made this this morning (yes, this morning, no I don't know why) and it's already bright red... Scary or future delicious? TBD. So that was Adventures in Tropical Fruit 1. A smashing success.

Adventure 2 is an actual guava. A white one, which I was unfamiliar with.

It looks like a pear and smells heavenly (yes, it smells so good it warranted that cheesy an adjective). The guy who owns my apartment here has a disgustingly smelly old dog that the apartment usually smells like, but not while my guavas were in the kitchen! That powerful. You know how strong dog smell is. Anyway. I haven't ever had guava in another format than juice, so I don't know if the white ones are like the pink/red ones.  The texture is pear-like, but those seeds will break your teeth! I was really not impressed with the taste. It was like a bland pear, which isn't a fruit I love even when they're good.  So I wasn't going to get those again for eating anyway. Maybe for the smell.

BUT, since Saturday I have developed a truly fabulous bright red itchy lumpy swollen rash all over my neck and around my eyes. I am a sight to behold... The doctors (benefit of working in a hospital, instant access to many) said it's an allergic reaction, likely to food but maybe sugar cane flower, which has started blooming. The only new food I've had is the guava... My itchy cranky ass is therefore calling Adventures in Tropical Fruit 2 a bust. Guava is evil.

UPDATE: According to the doctor I saw today (again, benefit of a hospital) the allergic reaction is due to something I put on my skin, not food. So guava may not, in fact, be evil. But the white one still wasn't very good. So there.  (I'm still itchy and swollen and cranky, an you tell?)

Just some apples

I went to the market for apples. Only apples. I came home with this.

"This" contains no apples. It does, however, contain what will soon be the first installment of "let's figure out this tropical fruit I don't recognize!"