I have been very lucky in my life to have lived in different places that offered different types of food, fruits, and veggies. I especially have my parents to thank for introducing me to a lot of different tastes at an early age (crab legs before the age of 5? Yes please!)
So I really do think that helped shape my desire to be a foodie and try out different things and recipes, which I hope to pass on to Gabriela.
scrambled eggs with fresh dill from our garden
And in moving to Puerto Rico our arsenal of fruits and veggies available to us (via little small side of the street vendors) is pretty awesome!
Case in point: La quenepa. We had this when we just moved here (almost a year ago! WOW!) But we hadn’t had it since. Right now is the peak time for these little guys so there’s someone selling them everywhere. We picked up this bunch for $2! We also got some free advice from the seller that you can use these to make infused rum. I’m totally into this and apparently is a specialty over in Vieques called Bilí.
It’s some work to get the minute fruit that’s in each pod but it’s still oh so good.
bunch of fresh quenepas!
So I wonder…how do these fruits get discovered? In fact, how did any of our fruits, veggies, beef, pork, chicken, seafood…what-have-you, get introduced to society? Who was that person who looked at these pods and said, ‘yea, I think we can eat these!’? And even makes me wonder MORE are those foods that have to be cooked to certain temperatures in order for them to be no longer fatal. How did that all work? Who would volunteer for THAT job?!
Food is wonderful and amazing and should be sought after for its unique and differing tastes and textures. I’ve been lucky enough to have worked in many places that helped expand and shape my palate that I just crave good, quality food. I try to pass this on to my family by cooking at home daily and also exploring new and innovative restaurants/shops that also take pride in their product. While I live with two ‘meat and potato’ kinda guys, ever so often a little foodie comes out in them. And I’m hoping the same will be true with Gabriela.
So, as Andrew Zimmern says, ‘if it looks good…EAT IT!’
cheese plate from Lenel’s in Arecibo; from the weekend
sorry…couldn’t help but include a little pool action
Tagged: arecibo, Puerto Rico, quenepas, rum, wednesday
My kitchen musings! 
I’ve seen street vendors selling those too but I had no idea what they were. How do you eat them? What do they taste like?
Also, that cheese plate looks awesome! Is that a restaurant in Arecibo?
Hola Laura! Yes, the cheese plate is from a restaurant called Lenel Restaurant and it’s off of the square in Arecibo. The place was ah-mazing! My only complaint was that it took forever and a day to get our entrees. But we also had to wait for two tables of about 6 people each get their food first so I’m thinking it was just bad timing, so this won’t deter us from going back!
So the quenepas: you just bite the peel in the middle (it’s pretty thin) and it just pops right off, exposing the fruit. Then you sorta just suck the pulp (and kinda chew a bit) off of the seed that’s in the middle. It’s a bit of work and you don’t get very much but it’s so worth it. It’s a little sour at first but then the sweetness kicks in. I highly recommend them. Gracias for stopping by. ☺️