Food Finds

On Monday someone knocked on our door and when I looked out, all I could see was a bunch of fruit sitting there -- either plantains or bananas. Since they both grow here, and I've tried neither of the locally grown species, I wasn't sure of their identification. These were shorter and stubbier than bananas I was used to seeing, so I needed some kind of verification. I tried looking on the Internet to find photos of both to help me decide, and after some searching, I came up with the obvious solution: have Vince eat one and tell me. So, he peeled a perfect yellow specimen and pronounced "banana!" And, it just wasn't a banana like we are accustomed to back home -- this little gem had the sweetest, most banana-licious taste I had ever experienced. I was ecstatic because now we had about 30 of them on the stalk, some yellow and others a bright green. (We later learned that the folks who had placed them on our doorstep had thought they were plantains and also thought that we would know what to do with them -- their loss, our gain!)


Then on Tuesday, neighbor Bob asked Vince to go fishing with him -- since Vince had a midnight shift coming up, he had most of the day free until his evening nap prior to work. So fishing they went, and my, were they successful! They caught about 20 fish and came home with the 13 that were worth keeping -- mostly yellowtail snapper (You can't see them all in the photo -- I was standing on the cooler and wasn't up high enough!) After divvying up the fish, we had quite a bit to cook. So, we were blessed with three nights of fish -- baked one night with olive oil and seasonings, broiled the next night with smoked paprika, and fish tacos with some of the leftovers the third night. It was all absolutely scrumptious, and I can't wait for the fishermen to get back out on the bay.


Another fruit I have been curious about but unable to obtain is the familiar coconut. There are certainly many coconut palms growing here, but you have to know how to get the fruit. So, today, my friend Hope gave me two coconuts -- her neighbor had given her four, so she shared with me. Since we didn't have the favored tool to cut them open -- a machete -- Vince borrowed a small ax and began to methodically hack away at one of the fruit. I didn't realize that coconuts have an additional outer husk that we don't see when we purchase them at home. These shells are extremely hard -- and I was getting more than a little nervous as Vince sat cross-legged on the lanai, with the coconut positioned between his knees, swinging the ax, and singing a working man's song....no, I take that last part back about the song -- I was getting carried away with my recollection.



Anyway, he finally was able to pierce through both layers of husk and shell, and we were disappointed to see only fermented coconut mush. Apparently these coconuts had been sitting on the ground for too long and were past their prime. Which was too bad -- but we will look for another opportunity to acquire some newly fallen coconuts.