During one long, hot summer day, I decided to search for a refreshing new food as an alternative to the endless watermelon wedges filling my plate. At the market I noticed a shiny object; an intriguing-looking vegetable called Chinese bitter melon. It looked like a pickling cucumber; but gnarly instead of knobby. Even the…
Chayote – Out of Your Gourd
If one didn’t know better, one could easily mistake a Chayote (Chy YOH Tee) for a pear having a major meltdown. While it shares the pear’s shape, size and colouring, this Mexican gourd’s skin is fraught with folds of what could be misunderstood for fatigue and worry. But once you peel back the furrowed, light-green…
Okra – My Pod
Seedy and slimy are not my usual favourite qualities in friends or food, but I’ve made an exception for Okra. A flowering plant in the mallow family (related to cotton and cocoa), Okra produces beautiful green fruit in long, slender, curved pods. Sometimes referred to as lady fingers, Okra is also known as ‘gumbo’ particularly…
Yuca – Bark is Worse Than the Bite
I have food sensitivities – not just lactose intolerance or a curious allergy to cucumbers; I mean I’m queasy about the appearance, texture, and even names of certain foods. By my early 20s, I overcame most of my childhood food aversions, but occasionally some still crop up. Like yuca. It sounds so bad; it has…
Baby Bananas – The Best of the Bunch
It was about 12 years ago in Rome when I first spotted them at an outdoor produce market. Amidst the vibrant shades of red, purple, green and orange, my gaze centred on the little fruit with bright yellow skin, sparsely flecked with tiny brown dots. Baby bananas! How adorable! What is it about miniatures…
