Fruit-elicious!
TLDR I love fruit
I have a soft spot for fruits. I love them. I love growing them. I love eating them. What else do I need to say?
Obviously I need to say more! Arriving in a new country, I have the wonderful opportunity to try new varieties of fruits, and fruits so ripe they burst with flavor. First of note was the bananas. Holy bananas! They are incredibly tasty and there are so many varieties! Some green, some yellow, some big, some small - all delicious with subtle different flavors! We arrived at the end of the dry season, which is when the prime time for citrus. For every lunch we were able to enjoy sweet grapefruits, clementines, and oranges which Guineans eat by slicing of a bit from the end and squeezing/drinking it like a fruit juice pouch.
As training came to a close, a couple mangos started to appear. They were met with some funny comments that were along the lines of ‘Why would you ever buy mangos’? Not because they were not liked, but because there are mango trees everywhere. In about a month, mango season would start and previous volunteers joked that you will get sick of eating mangos. Challenge accepted! Sure enough, Hannah and I arrived at site and the mangos were hanging heavy on the trees. We have been given mangos in many forms: handed mangos, boxes of mangos, and sacks of mangos, and plates with roasted mangos.
Each night I chuckle as I hear the cracking of twigs and the inevitable *Thump* as a mango falls from the tree next to our house. So far, not sick of mangos yet! We have become very crafty with how we find new ways to eat them before the go bad.
Next is a fruit that is new to me! I had tasted one before in Dubreka during training, and I incorrectly guessed that it was a different fruit: sapodilla - a fruit I had also ever had before, but the interiors just didn’t look the same. I confusion was quickly set straight when at site, I was sitting at a cafe and across the road from grand beautiful tree.
A couple fell to the ground and I gathered them up, where I learned that they were called ‘kura’ (This might be the name for the tree or the fruit, I am unsure). A storm happened quicky upon us, knocking more to the ground so I had my pick of fresh kura to eat while we waited out the storm.
It is a complex flavor, that I can only describe as rich banana bread and brown sugar. Easily a new favorite! Finally after searching the internet deeply, I was able to finally track down the common and Latin name for the fruit: Mabola Plum (Parinari curatellifolia)!
Next fruit that is in-season: Avocados. I can’t wait to start making guacamole!
This was SO fun to read Sean. Could absolutely feel your excitement! (Great pics too).
So now what about protein... 💪🏼😂