Fresh beginnings.

I am a breakfast person. And there is nothing I love more for breakfast than fresh fruit. So I try to take advantage of the fresh, organic fruit selections available at our weekly farmers’ market, and am always ready to try something new. Shown in the photo are a few staples like pineapple and mango along with some “new” items we wanted to try. On the blue plate is chocolate bread. Homemade bread with ribbons of organic dark chocolate. This is now a standard for our Saturday morning breakfasts! The prickly fruit in the back is a durian. I have read that this is an immensely popular fruit in many Asian countries. But, the kindest thing I can say about the durian I tried is that once you smell it you will never forgot the aroma. To open it I had to roll it on the ground under my foot until it cracked enough to break open. Judging from the reactions of our breakfast guests the durian must be an acquired taste. We threw it across the street into the jungle to keep the smell away…and the dogs did not run after it. The dark colored fruit at the front of the photo is a sapodilla. I was told that the sapodilla tasted a bit like our melons. I have since read the taste described as a mix of brown sugar and root beer. It was definitely unique. I could probably acquire a taste for this one. The bark of the sapodilla tree contains a rubbery substance called “chicle” which used to be a primary ingredient in chewing gum. Perhaps chewing the bark would be more satisfying to me.