Sweet and Sour

Aloha,

Each season in the islands yields different fruit...Today I realized that we are in the "sour" season. The lilikoi, aka, passion fruit is Going Off!! This is the time of year that they drop from the vine onto the cul de sac and escape down the hill, rolling their way to Makawao Ave. I have the more common yellow lilikoi, and the sweeter purple ones. Sweet is a relative term here. They are actually lip puckering, palette cleansers. I like them, and right now I have a guest who loves them. He is in lilikoi heaven, and feeling quite satisfied at breakfast.

The Surinam Cherries are also falling from the bush. They are super high in Vitamin C, and their flavor is face wrinkling, eye squeezing good. I can eat them all day, but then, I like adventure. The same guest also got a kick out of the cherries as well. They are tiny and bright red and really pack a punch. Today I learned that there is a dark purple version of this fruit that is a lot sweeter. I hope to get one of these growing soon.

The 2lb Winter Pear Avocados are my main meal right now as well. They are so buttery, creamy and delicious. My guests laugh when they see them. I always hear about the scrawny $5 avos that people buy "back home".

After sour season is pau, it will be sweet season. I am including a shot of my beautiful, luscious mangoes that are getting bigger by the day. This is a high altitude mango that is usually ready in time for the holidays. They are so juicy and sweet.. Something else to look forward to!

As always, the land provides, and I am blessed. I love sharing my garden bounty with my guests.

I look forward to breakfast with you soon!!

Mahalo, a hui hou......

Cherie

Upcountry Bounty

Yum, yum Aloha....

This ono (delicious) organic bounty was picked from the organic garden of the Hale Ho'okipa today. My garden produces an abundance of food. The Winter Pears, avocados, are so creamy and filling, a meal in itself. I serve them in the morning for breakfast. My famous combo is avocado and chili peppa jelly on toast. I have made many converts at the breakfast table.

The papayas are also pumping out now that the rain has come. I had the good fortune of getting a Mexican papaya which produces really large fruit. In all the papayas I have served for breakfast, I've only found one seed from this variety. I'm wondering when I will come across another one to germinate. The Hawaiian sunrise papayas are my favorite, and are the sweetest.

It's been a bumper year for the lilikoi, passion fruit. I have three varieties producing fruit, and two more varieties that are keiki's, young plants. With lilikoi, the more wrinkles, the sweeter they are. (Ah, more good things to be said about aging...) The passion fruit has a very bold flavor, and it makes great toppings for cheesecake, or fish, and they really add a zing to my morning fruit salads. People wake up in a hurry when they slurp a passion fruit. I always get a little chuckle out of the surprised expressions.

Being such a dry and windy spring, most of my cherimoya blossoms sailed away on the wind. They look like little helicopters, and their fragrance is so special and subtle, like an apple, pear combo. The flesh of the cherimoya is white and super sweet. I call it ice cream fruit. The local name for it is custard apple. They have a very short shelf life because of all the sugar. I am usually trying to give away lots of them, or scrapping them up off the driveway if I did not get to them in time. But, it has been a precious few this year.

This tropical bounty is very satisfying...even so, I have to admit that I look forward to cherries in the summer, and apricots. I do have three special upcountry peach trees that are heavy with peaches in the summer.
We are so lucky to be able to grow year round here. Come on over for breakfast, you'll be glad you did!

Malama ka aina , care for the land...and it gives back to you.........

With Aloha,

Cherie