Buddha Hands and Bananas, and Here Comes the Sun
My
husband, whom before we met wouldn’t know a piece of fresh fruit if it mopped
the floor with him, now loves bananas.
I went for bananas this morning for the
smoothie, and there were only eight left. To put this in context: I never have
fewer than 25 or so bananas in the house at a time. I made a peanut butter and
banana sandwich last night, so there were a lot of bananas missing.
I learned
that he ate several as a late-night snack, and put a bunch aside to take to
work. This fact thrills me.
But between you and me and this blog post, it was all
part of a master plan. I believed that if I kept a large bowl of colorful, fresh,
organic bananas, mangos, oranges, papaya, pineapple, limes, and star fruit
where he would pass it every morning, he may be tempted. Especially if he’s
cleaned the pantry of all the junk food he stocks.
Turns
out I’m a genius. He started on oranges a couple of months ago. Now, he’s
hogging bananas. The fact that this is going to cost me money isn’t a concern.
I’d pretty much sell my long hair to buy fresh fruit so he can eat something
besides the dead, processed ‘foods’, meats, and dairy that make up most of his
diet.
I’ve
committed to donating to Soi Dog Foundation with every paycheck. There are not
many causes I throw my money at, but Soi Dog is a non-profit in Thailand that’s
doing the most important work in that country - saving dogs from the illegal
dog meat trade. Check out my earlier post on Soi Dog.
If I
had a million dollars, Soi Dog Foundation would get it. But since I’m a working
girl, I can guarantee just a part of my paychecks. I’ll send more their way
when I have it. Check them out here and consider sharing a few of your dollars
to help keep these beautiful dogs off the dinner table:
I made
the weekly fruit/veggie haul over the weekend. Tons of bananas, 12 green mangos, about 20
limes, three large papayas, navel oranges, four pineapples, 12 avocados, pears,
arugula, bok choy, broccoli, garlic, and two large Buddha Hands. The Hands were
on sale for $8.99 a pound, which is a great price for organic.
If
you’ve never tried a Buddha Hand, do. Substitute it for lemon or lime zest in
anything; steep the zest in boiling spring water then chill in the fridge for a
fragrant lemon water; or do what I do – add the zest to your morning smoothie. This
weekend, I’m going to add some of the zest to espresso.
The
Buddha Hand really has no flesh, only skin and pith. No juice. The pith is good
only for composting, but the zest is like exotic lemon perfume. It’s a unique fruit
with an amazing flavor that I’d like to grow it someday. Word of advice: be
sure to buy organic, as it’s only the skin you’ll use.
Speaking
of growing, the pomegranate seeds haven’t germinated yet. So yesterday, I had a
pomegranate for an afternoon snack and retrieved more seeds. This is going to
happen.
The Basjoo
banana trees are ready and waiting to be potted up. And great news – remember the
two Basjoos that were delivered last month apparently dead? Well, with a little
love, one of them has rebounded. The other was cut to the soil line, and
although it’s not showing any sign of life, I’m keeping it warm under the grow
lights and feeding it a little nitrogen. You never know what the root system
will do. Never give up.
The
Thai Black Stem banana trees we grew from seed are developing slowly, but are
still only about 5 inches tall. What an amazing difference in growth rate
between the Basjoos and the Black Stems.
Temperatures
have dropped to the 30s and 40s during the day. We’ve had virtually no snow. In
a few weeks, the days will begin getting longer as we move again toward the
sun. Although it won’t feel like it, it will be the very beginning of the new
growing season. Color me joyous.
Live
in peace.
