As many of you may already have guessed, when you live in a tropical country, "seasons" as we know them are non-existent. Here in Panama, we only have two: "summer" and "winter," which are better described as "not rainy" and "rainy." "Not rainy" lasts from the end of December and into May (in my region, which is dry), and "rainy" starts in May and lasts for the rest of the year.
Instead of thinking in terms of precipitation, I prefer to measure my seasons in terms of available fruit, as that seems to change on a basis more similar to that of my home country's seasons. Better, right? Along with the tropical fruits that we know thanks to imports, there's a whole marvelous slew of new fruits that I get to try. Another perk? Students like to bring the teachers fruit and teachers bring fruit to the teachers lounge that overflows from the trees in their houses.
In other words, what I am lacking in vegetables I'm consuming in deliciously fresh fruit. Here are a few pictures of the season for your education:
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| Plantains and bananas from the backyard |
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| Ciruelas (see-roo-el-ahs): means "plum," but that is not what these are. A somewhat tart and crunchy fruit. |
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| Marañon, or "cashew fruit." Yep. Where the nuts come from. Makes an AMAZING juice. |
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| The mango tree in the backyard. Manna from heaven. |
3 comments:
Thanks for the update Chelsea! Well as you guessed it, summer is pretty much upon us here in the 'Burque. Had a great time at Goaltimeet yesterday but it was a long day of heat which I was not accustomed to! xoxo
Mmmm....There is nothing as satisfying or mouthwatering as going to a tree, picking and ripe fruit and eating it.
Have you cooked with the plantains?
So will you get cashews from its fruit?
@Sar-b: Say hello to the ulti community for me! I miss it! Glad to hear you're all doing well.
@M:We cook with the plantains A LOT--fried, boiled, sweet or salty--you name it, I've probably eaten a plantain that way. We don't harvest the nuts from the cashew fruit, but we take off that little brown part on top, throw the fruit in the blender, mash it up and squeeze out the juices, to which we then add water and sugar cane to make what is possibly my favorite juice in Panama...
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