strange fruit

[ironymaiden]

i forgot to write the long introspective post about turning 30. now i've got the laptop on the abundant free wifi at McHugh's while i eat a juicy burger and warm my bones with alcohol and hot tea.

the last two days have been about fruit. mentioning sharing a pomegranate at work led to the topic of the mysterious contraband mangosteen. i looked up a picture online, which was sighted by a Vietnamese coworker, and then the learning about asian fruit began. Mangosteens are in season and cheapest in April, should you be in the Great White North. frozen ones are available here, but they suck. buy your asian fruit fresh on Jackson St - "that Japanese store" (Uwajimaya) is way too expensive. that conversation brought the delivery today of Japanese Persimmons to try. those are available here, and look very much like an heirloom tomato, yet they have a mild sweet, almost musky flavor (reminiscent of something else that you will recognize only if you've tasted it). soon will follow the home-steamed peanuts. and the pho up by Ballard HS is considered far superior to Than Bros. now that i've opened the door it may never close. i'm okay with that. and this is why i live in a port city.

today at lunch i learned where to find kataifi relatively nearby, in Greenwood. i consider it superior to baklava. mmmmm.

now i've almost finished my Drambuie, and should fold up Parsifal, head home and be domestic.

Comments

[brother-che.livejournal.com]

oh, have another drambuie. When that's around, there's never a need to be domestic...

[raevnos.livejournal.com]

Somewhere with better pho than Than Brothers? Is that possible? I guess I'll be finding out soon...

[the-monkey-king.livejournal.com]

Wait, is there somewhere local that sells mangosteens in April?

It's a bit of a family legend that mangosteens cannot be found in the US. My father would be thrilled to learn otherwise.

[ironymaiden]

Mangosteens are in season and cheapest in April, should you be in the Great White North

only if you consider BC local. my sources say you can buy frozen in the ID, but that it's not very good. sorry. we really can't get fresh ones.

[frabjousdave.livejournal.com]

All the more reason for everyone to come visit me next April. That's what I say.

hi.

[butterflydrming.livejournal.com]

I grew up in the L.A. area, and we had a garden full of fruit trees (thanks to my Mom's green thumb), one of which was a persimmon. Our fruit was the squatty, tomato-looking kind, not like the pointy Fuji. Anyway, I just wanted to point out that persimmons taste best when they've become really, really ripe, and the inside has to be spooned like custard. Then, they are as spiced-tasting as chai, but sweet like Medjool dates. Musky, too, but in a good way.

Re: hi.

[ironymaiden]

nice. the ones i had were the squatty tomato kind. my friend at work insisted that they were best when crisp. but i'm intrigued by the idea of the soft ripe flesh. i wonder if we can get something that fragile here? do they continue to ripen after they're off the tree?

Re: hi.

[butterflydrming.livejournal.com]

I think that if you put them in a brown paper bag (especially with a banana, that works for everything) that they will ripen enough. My mom does that, but I haven't tried it myself. Nothing quite like the combination of treee-ripened and nostalgia, for me.

And most importantly....

[gyngersnap.livejournal.com]

Happy Birthday!!!!!!