So I was walking past the fruit stand near my work today when I did a double-take and walked back. Amidst all of the bananas, peaches and apples were these little green things. They kind of looked like tiny limes, but I just had to find out. I asked the guy running the stand what they were.

“Try one,” was his reply, as he handed me one. I took it an hesitated, unsure of what to do.

“Um, just pop the whole thing in my mouth?” I asked.

“Yep,” he said. So I did. The rind split with almost surgical precision, giving way to a very thin layer of tart, slightly sweet orange flesh covering an enormous pit. It almost had the texture of a lychee, but a little chewier.

“What are they called?” I asked the guy.

“Well, I forgot the name,” he admitted. “Want some?” I bought a pound, at $2.50 not the worst investment I’ve ever made.

I brought them back to the store, where I shared them with a co-worker (the same one with whom I shared the mangosteens), who thought they were “pretty good.” In walked another co-worker, who blithely asked “Oh, you guys are eating ganepas?”

Apparently they are a popular Puerto Rican fruit, sold mostly at roadside stands — kind of like the one I bought mine at.

Update: Also seen labelled as “quenepas”.

I think crepes get a bad reputation — everyone seems to think they are pretty hard to make. I first made them last year while making canneloni and found them pretty easy to make. All you really need is a small non-stick pan and some simple ingredients. I was looking for something to do with those not-so-sweet peaches I got from the Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago, and here’s what I came up with.

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Went grocery shopping one Sunday in Chinatown. After a whole week of eating out my wallet and bank account were feeling the pain. I decided to make a giant pot of Japanese curry that will last for a whole week! My favorite chain Japanese curry restaurant, Curry House is own by House Foods America Corporation. Japanese style curry is really easy to make because it either comes as a ready-to-eat-just-heat-it-up-sauce mix or a block-shaped-roux-like mix. I got the latter at Jaz Mart few weeks before. Anyways, so at Chinatown I picked up a 2.5lb pack of pork spare ribs, 5 medium sized potatoes, 2 carrots and 1 big onion.
I need a knife handling lesson!! Took me so long to cut and dice the potatoes, carrots and onion. After slow cooking it for 2hours it was done! It came out so good, I’m a good cook.

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The Farmer’s Market this week was once again overflowing with colorful bounty. Today, in addition to the cantaloupe they had last week, one farm brought red seedless watermelons. Is watermelon the perfect summer fruit? All signs point to yes.

Dear Reader, I have been remiss. I have not yet told you what I did with those wonderful artichokes I got at the Farmer’s Market a couple of weeks ago. In fact, it has been so long that I’ve gotten artichokes in the two subsequent weeks. To make it up to you, here are two simple and delicious artichoke recipes you can try at home.

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This is a follow up to the post I made last week entitled Good Food, Fast. You don’t have to read that one in order to get this one, but it would be nice.

Although you can make a great meal in less than 10 minutes, sometimes it pays to spend a lot of time cooking. I had picked up a nice Italian eggplant at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday, and decided to make a fresh caponata.

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