Tuesday, June 07, 2011

prickly dessert


I just looked back at my last few posts.  A casual reader would assume I am a food obsessive.  And a quick look at my girth might confirm the assumption.


I’m not.  Or, I don’t think I am.  I am merely starting to get back into a normal meal rhythm.


For the past year, I have not been cooking for myself on a regular basis.  Eating, yes.  Cooking, no.


The six months I was in Oregon, I ate almost every meal either at the company cafeteria or in a restaurant.  When I returned to Mexico, I kept up the same habit.  I ate at least two meals a day at local places to help keep the tourist economy rolling.


But when I returned from my cruise, I discovered I would need to change my eating plans.  Most of the places where I ate are either closed until next November or have reduced their days of operation.  And thus my hunt for ham and cherries and other bits of exotica to spruce up my own cooking.


Some of that exotica is close to home.  At home, in fact.


There are several fruit trees in my back yard.  Limes.  Bananas.  Mandarin oranges.  Sour oranges.  Fruits I have known most of my life.


But there is one that I have been waiting for almost a year to taste.  A guanábana.  One of Mexico's gifts to the rest of the tropical world. 


It is an odd tree.  Spindly with huge fruit.  As if Twiggy had elected to sport a Mae West look.


During the past month, I have watched two guanábana fruits weigh down a single limb – almost to the breaking point.  Yesterday, the largest was on the ground.  In a single day, it had gone from unripe hard to as soft as a full diaper.


I broke it in half and gave a portion to my land lady.  Inside is a white pulp filled with an incredibly fragrant nectar (somewhere between apple and banana – think Juicy Fruit gum).


I pulled out the pulp of my portion and stored it in the refrigerator.  I grab a piece now and then.  It is simply too taste-explosive to eat a lot at a time.  But it is now one of my favorites.


The other large guanábana fruit is now under a daily food watch.

23 comments:

Felipe Zapata said...

I think I've seen those big babies on visits to the coast at Zihua. They don't grow up here on the mountain. They can be huge, right? But I, and others too I'm guessing, could have gone all day without that full-diaper image. You're a cute one.

Of course you're food obsessive. Clear as a sunny day on the coast. You need a lover.

jennifer rose said...

The full diaper simile ruined everything, including my day. 

Tafreeburn said...

i love guanabana.  when i was a little girl in cuba i had trouble saying the word, but not eating the fruit. have you ever had the juice from it-yum!!!

NWexican said...

The male version a guanObana? Bats might have something to say about that..

Steve Cotton said...

Sometimes, the prose just rolls along this merry little road.

Steve Cotton said...

I haven't had the juice, but I suspect it would be good.  Almost pure fructose.  I understand it is used commercially as a sweetener.

Steve Cotton said...

Ah, the joys of the Spanish language.

Steve Cotton said...

Lover?  My food is far less risky.

Steve Cotton said...

Lover?  My food is far less risky.

NWexican said...

Sorry, couldn't resist..

Felipe Zapata said...

Ah, interesting response. So love is risky to you. Perhaps we should dig deeper. Maybe we can get everything straightened out here . . . late in life. Better late than never, they say.

Art Moretti said...

From "full diaper" to "think juicy fruit" -  whiplash of the senses!
gotta love it.

from reading your blog, i gather that you are both loved and loving.
if you wanted to change your single status, probably would have no problem finding a partner. 

You seem happy.  Who's to say otherwise. Why rock the boat?

ANM said...

Gotta guanabana?  Wanna guanabana?  So longa guanabana?  I feel a ukele tune coming on.  I must go lie down at once and hope the feeling will pass.  (apologies to Orwell)

ANM

Nita said...

Could we have a photo of the big fruit? I'm curious.
                                                        Nita

Jsnoble said...

In Cuba (and the Yucatán and Puerto Rico), we used to make a drink called champola (de guanábana). If you've lived in México for a long time, I know you have a licuadora, he, he.
To make champola, you put the following in the blender:
a cup of guanábana pulp (you could freeze it first and skip the ice cubes),
a couple of cups of milk,
1/2 cup sugar (more or less, to taste),
and a few ice cubes (if you have them)
Whirl away until mixture is nice and creamy.
Pour into glass and sprinkle nutmeg on top (optional, but nice).
Chilled, it is divine. You are a lucky guy to have that tree! Just writing this brings back great memories.
You could even skip the milk and make it an Agua de Guanábana!

Kim G said...

Guanábana?  I love guanábana.  The Vietnamese are also quite fond of it.  You can buy it here in cans in Vietnamese markets under the name of soursop, though I much prefer the Spanish name.

F, unfortunately, despises guanábana, so I must partake in secret (or at least at a distance) when I'm there.

Saludos,

Kim G
Boston, MA
Where we have tremendous fondness for tropical fruits.

Steve Cotton said...

This is a page where resistance is futile.

Steve Cotton said...

Amy commitment is risky to me.  I thought that was a central point in these posts.

Steve Cotton said...

Simile through contrast.  A little trademark of mine.

Because I am happy, I have no plans on altering my status.  No personal ads coming from this address.

Steve Cotton said...

A ukelele tune is not what I feel coming on.  But a rest is always a good idea.

Steve Cotton said...

For a moment, I was confused. 

I should have stopped to take one on my return trip from Manzanillo this afternoon.  But we will need to wait for another week.  And then I will forget again.

Steve Cotton said...

It is a bit too sweet for my taste to consume as a drink.  But I certainly like it fresh.

Steve Cotton said...

One of the joys of living on the tropical coast is the abundance of fruit.  And the weather to produce it.