honey dew nectarine, strawberry papaya, & dragon fruit

i got some goodies at

 last week's trip to whole foods.

 

 a honey dew nectarine                           a strawberry papaya                                 and a dragonfruit

 

 

the honey dew nectarine                        whole foods is a liar --                         and the dragonfruit

tasted like a nectarine                          the strawberry papaya                                was great,       

and looked like a honey dew.                was just a regular papaya.                               per usual.            

such a creep,                                            boring.                                                                     

but good.                                                                                                                            

another successful creepy fruit adventure.

champagne grapes

it has been a while since i've found some creepy fruit

but that is not for lack of looking.

this week i finally found something --

champagne grapes.

they are tiny, tiny grapes.

and they are sweet and happy. 

but kind of a pain to eat.

they are small and delicate

and the stem is delicate, 

so a lot of the time you get the stem

with the grape. 

annoying. 

but you can eat 15 of them at a time.

win.

 

delicious.

everywhere i look i see skwinkles.

i went to the candy shop. 

they were having a huge sale.

i couldn't resist.

so i spent approximately 30 pesos

and got all of this:

 

score.

basically skwinkles are tubes of candy

filled with different flavors 

and covered in a chili and chamoy seasoning. 

they are pretty rockstar.

the skwinklote was a huge pineapple flavored tube

filled with a tamarind flavor paste. 

delicious.

 

the classic skwinkles

and the pocket size skwinkles 

are the same flavor:

chamoy. 

good but boring.

another mildly boring flavor

was the black skwinkles rellenos --

strawberry tubes filled with strawberry goo. 

boooooring.

(and, because it is still made of strawberries

delicious.)

the pink package of skwinkles rellenos

was especially confusing.

on the outside it says

"red berries flavor hot candy strips

with mango-apricot flavor filling"

but the strips are mango-apricot colored

and the filling is red berry colored. 

huh?

and the taste didn't help either. 

i mean it was good,

but it didn't taste especially like red berries

or mango-apricot.

whatevez. 

it was still delicious.

tamarindo, three ways

a couple of weekends ago, 

rcg and i were walking through liverpool

and we were bombarded with tons of candy.

we split up and looked around

and we each bought some goodies

to take home and try. 

he bought chocolate, 

(duh)

something akin to rice krispy treats

but made from cheerios,

and baklava.

i got some fancy tamarind treats.

the first treat was a tamarind bean

covered in a hardened honey-like substance.

the second was a tamarind bean

covered in chili. 

and the third wasn't even tamarind -- 

it was a mango squishy candy

covered in tamarind flavoring.

weird.

but worth it.

ps. i may have a slight tamarind obessesion.

jugos

whenever i go the a grocery store alone

i always end up with some weird stuff. 

this last time is, 

obviously,

no different. 

(i did, however, control myself a little.

i wanted to get these tamarind, chile, and salt fruit roll up things.

delicious.

but i still have tons of candy from my birthday.

so it seemed like a little overkill.

whateverz. 

i'm coming for you next time, fruit roll ups.)

this time i just bought juice:

 

um. 

awesome.

guanabana -- 

totally great. 

i can't really explain it, 

just trust me, 

it's phenomenal. 

guayaba -- 

(aka. guava) 

is also great. 

eating guava is weird,

something about the texture just throws me off

but the flavor is totally growing on me.

it's pretty sweet, 

but the smell is really what gets you -- 

it's so fresh and happy.

i totally dig it.

tamarindo -- 

that kind of tastes like grape juice. 

or totally generic fruit punch. 

not like all of the amazing candies i've been eating. 

but definitely worth a try.

and the baby food juice is because why not?

plus, it also kind of tastes like the tamarind juice.

weird.

a dream realized.

 

chapulines

grasshoppers.




creep city.

nances

 go to mexico and not see nances everywhere.

i dare you.

it's not freakin' possible. 

they are falling off of every other tree, 

people are selling them on every corner 

and in every market.

(or at least it seems that way)

after three and half weeks of wondering,

obviously i bought some. 

$1 for a small bag. 

ok. 

deal.

too bad they were super weird.

maybe they weren't ripe. 

they were kind of like small apples, 

but had a totally different smell. 

i can't really explain it. 

but i can say that my hotel room smelled to high heaven 

for two days 

after i brought them in 

and gave them a chance.

gross.

what i really wanted to try and find 

were these lychee looking things.

but after some research on the internet,

i have discovered that the fruit i wanted was

the rambutan.

a super fuzzy koosh ball looking thing,

that is apparently related to the lychee

(and the mamoncillo)

wait for it,

but i got back to the states

and jb brought me home a creepy fruit,

the quenepa. 

also known as the mamoncillo.

small world.

flan natural

flan is not creepy.

flan is delicious. 

unless, you ask for flan and they ask you "natural or neopolitano?"

um... natural?

cause who wants vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry flavored flan?

no one.

and then they bring you this.

not the beautiful pie shaped piece of flan you saw the people next to you order. 

an oversized jello shot of yellow. 

but it's flan.

and frankly, 

while totally creepy looking, 

it's pretty good. 

callo de margarita

so it's not a creepy fruit

(which we all know i'm totally in love with)

but it is totally creepy.

for days we watched this man wade into the ocean
and return with some sea creature in the biggest shells i've ever seen.

and people were buying them like hot cakes.

obviously i would need to try them.

and obviously by the time I gathered my courage
and figured out how to order them in spanish
he was sold out.

obviously.

(and obviously i still had no idea what these creatures really were.)

did that stop me?

has it ever?

so i came back the next day.
and ordered them.

and ate them.

well,
i tried.

but those bad boys were definitely moving.

um, gross.
and, obviously, totally awesome.

it wasn't until i was almost halfway done 

that figured out i was eating a flippin scallop.

associated, say what?

so i was just stopping in to get more sugar. 

(i have big plans to make some strawberry ice cream 

with the first strawberries of the season. 

hence the need for more sugar.)

and i was walking around my grocery store.

(not the white people grocery store, 

the associated.)

and i found all sorts of creepy cool things. 

tres leches cake.

jicama.

persimmon.

tamarind juice.

sugar cane juice.

um, 

yes please.

i used to see the tres leches cake there all the time,

and i was always hesitant.

because i know that it can never live up.

 two years ago i had the most amazing tres leches cake ever.

nutmeg tres leches cake from red cat.

to die for.

but i recently i have been living wildly. 

trying new things.

spending money. 

going crazy. 

so i figured, what the h?

and it's not bad.

it's no red cat, 

but it gets the job done.

jicama. 

apparently i recently had this in a salad 

and i thought it was to die for. 

so i'm all about that. 

and looking at a how to website,

it looks crazy easy to make. 

done and done.

and persimmon i've seen at the associated before,

but i've always been like, 

whatever, 

it's the associated,

and i have dismissed it.

well, no longer.

(and apparently it is supposed to make good sorbet,

so maybe that will be happening in the near future.)

and the juices were just too weird. 

it had to be done. 

recently i've been consuming a lot of tamarind margaritas.

a lot. 

and i love tamarind.

it is creepy and crazy. 

and i don't understand the thing at all. 

but i am loving it, 

100 percentage points.

passion fruit

the most delicious of the creepy fruit.
and actually, it's not too creepy anyways.



but once it is actually ripe,
(it looks super wrinkled)
it is definitely creepier.

ugli fruit!

it just tastes like a tangerine.

ish. 

also,
stellar name.
stellar.

lotus root

i don't know,
 i don't really have anything to say about this thing.

it was near the other creepy fruit
and i thought,
what the heck?
i'll try it.

so i get home,
look up how one is supposed to eat it,
and realize that it is creepier than i ever could have imagined.

 but the website i found said
you peel it,
slice it,
and boil it in vinegary water for about 5 minutes.

 

so that's what i did.

and it's pretty good.

it kind of has the flavoring of hearts of palm

but the texture of bamboo shoots. 

it's good though.

if i didn't have such a small sampling,

(and if half of my sample wasn't moldy. boo)

i would have saved it for dinner
and put it in a stir fry type thing.

but as it is,
it is a nice little snack.

even if it is totally creepy.

cactus pear

so it's creepy fruit time.


it's been a while.

this time when i went to the fruit exchange i got quite the score:

cactus pear. 
ugli fruit.
(yeah, it's called ugli. amazing.)
lotus root. 
and,
passion fruit.



rockstar.

the cactus pear,
or prickly pear cactus.

this sucker has a lot of seeds.

and isn't too sweet.
but it is an amazing color.



so i decided to mash it up and freeze it.
make a sorbet,
if you will.

but with only two
(they were 2 for 99 cents, 
how could i pass that up?)
it didn't make a lot.
obviously.



but now my curiosity about prickly pears,
the one that started with baloo in the jungle book,
has been answered.

and frankly i'm not too sure why baloo was so into those suckers.


but apparently it is supposed to be popular in mexico,
so maybe i will know more after my vacation this summer.

the kumquat, a pepino melon, and a cherimoya

so remember when i said i love creepy fruit?

well, 

i found some more---

the kumquat

a pepino melon 

and a cherimoya.

first of all, 

the kumquat.

what a great name? 

i mean it is delicious just to say it. 

i feel like i've had a kumquat before in some fancy restaurant,

but never as a solo act.

and as a orange-ish type thing, i thought you would peel it to eat.

but apparently you do not.

you just pop the whole thing in your mouth. 

crazy.

and awesome.

kind of sweet 

and a little sour

(maybe i got it a little under ripe?)

and awesome.

according to my research
the pepino melon
has many relatives---
(and not relatives i would have expected)
namely, the tomato and the eggplant.
(and less distantly melons and pears)

but i am still unsure of how one eats this bad boy.
um...
cut it open and eat?

ok.

well,
it smells like a tomato.
(which i guess makes sense,
seeing as how they are related and all. 
it is still creepy though.)

and it kind of tastes like a cucumber.

but with the consistency of a honey dew melon.
(which is what it looks like.)

basically,
i don't get it.

and it's creepy.
not creepy looking,
(it's actually kind of cool looking)
but just creepy.



the cherimoya
is an actual creepy fruit. 

(the kumquat and pepino melon are weird for sure, 
but not necessarily creepy. 
or at least not creepy like the cherimoya is creepy.)

it is wearing a suit of armor. 
like an armadillo.
weird. 

and one place i was looking said it was from
"the tree of the ice cream".

um,
it's a fruit.
not ice cream. 
what??


well, i like ice cream,
so whatever,
let's give this sucker a go.

um.
hello, super creepy.

first of all,
those seeds are out of control.
they are the size of almonds.
weird.

and secondly,
the taste.

???

it has the consistency of a papaya,
maybe.
or maybe a custard.

it tastes like a tropical fruit.
but there is no way i can place the flavors.

one website i found said it had a combo of flavors---
papaya, banana, mango, passion fruit, lemon and pineapple.

i don't know about all of that.
but it is good.
but weird.

this sucker is not like anything else i've every tried.
and even as i sit here eating it,
i am still intrigued.
and confused.


one thing i do know--
it is 100 percent creepy.
for sure.

i think the real question is --
have these wild and crazy fruits
turned me off of buying weird and cooky fruits?
um,
no.
not by a long shot.

kiwano and buddha's hand

so i have this thing with buying creepy looking tropical fruit. 

as in, 

i do it whenever possible.

i mean, 

who doesn't want to eat something that looks as creepy as these??

so the yellow, many fingered hand looking one is
the buddha's hand. 

(apparently it is some sort of citrus fruit.

all rind though. 

i'm intrigued.

obviously.)

and the orange spiky looking thing is
the kiwano or horned melon. 

i found a website that explains how to eat it. 

something about sucking out the sac of fruit. 

sounds creepy.

i'm down.

so after doing some research, 

i am not quite sure what i am supposed to do with the buddha's hand.

so i decided to make a sorbet water ice thing.

now there are no recipes on the internet. 

but there is some restaurant in LA who makes it.

so it must be doable. 

i checked out dolcetto's lemon verbana water ice for inspiration.

if it works i'll post the recipe.

but i'm mildly skeptical. 

i mean, 

it's just a lemon. 

ish.

now the kiwano is a whole different animal.

and a super creepy one at that. 

check out the inside. 

 

um.

orange outside. 

lime green inside. 

what?

new name: scary fruit.

because, hello, that sucker is scary.

and creepy weird.

what island did this bad boy come from?

what kind of animal eats this that it needs these wild colors to survive?

and the fruit sacs?

um.

weird. 

they are the consistancy of jello.

but taste like star fruit?

maybe?

i am so confused.

maybe i'll try and make sorbet out of this too?