Fruits in season

A few years ago, from a “good diet” primer, we got the information that five servings of fruits (and/or vegetables) are ideal for those who want to be healthy. How to do that? Take fruits in the form of juice. Fruits are surely better to indulge in than all the calorific dishes and sweets that we normally have.

Fruits are versatile. They can be enjoyed fresh, they can be served as drinks, they can be made into jams, and ice cream. Some can be used for salads and even as ingredients for main dishes. We normally mix orange juice with carrot or apple juice to make a refreshing drink.

Some fruits have medicinal attributes. There is even a fruit soup done in Scandinavia by making a puree of cooked apples, cloves and lemon combined with water, wine, cream or milk, spices and curry powder. Take note of the local fruits that are in season – avocadoes, guapples (a cross between guava and apple), caimitos (star apples), and mangoes.

We are al familiar with the avocado and its lush, buttery texture and mild, slightly nutlike flavor. Avocadoes are rich in Vitamin C, thiamine and riboflavin. We normally encounter the word guacamole in restaurants. This is a popular Mexican dip made of mashed fruit, lemon or lime juice, chili powder and red pepper, sometimes with tomatoes, green onion and cilantro. 

Guapple is perhaps a take off from the Asian pear raised in America. They are firm to the touch and crunchy to the bite. A friend has used these in a salad. Starapple is so called because, when cut crosswise, the flesh and seeds form a star. This is also called carambola. The flesh is translucent, juicy and fragant. It can be sweet or tart. In our hometown, this is often mixed with milk.  

We made our recent fruit rounds at the Landmark Supermarket, which we have not actually visited in a long time. The mall was very busy as usual, with lots of dry goods on sale at 50 percent discount. We descended the escalator and found more shoppers having their snacks in the fastfood section.

At the fruit section, we found the three items mentioned above, with prices ranging from P64 to P92 a kilo. Farther in is the corner where a kitchen continuously boils native bananas, camote (sweet potatoes), and corn, thus one can get them really hot. They have suman sa ibus, a bunch of five for P36.50, and suman latik at P28.75 per.

In the meat section, where Tenderbites is, the ground sirloin is at P290 per kilo. Another supplier has beef striploin for P550 a kilo and baby back ribs at P290. Other items we noted were tahini (a white bean paste native to the Middle East and Egypt) for P551 a bottle of 500 gms; Kwong Bee Chinese sausages from Cebu, P337 for a half kilo pack; Basso pure olive oil at P356 a bottle of one liter; and Spanish chorizo, La Norenense for P277.75 for a small tin which may contain only about five pieces.

Here is a fish recipe for the Holy Week –

Mustard-Splashed Tanguingue

Ingredients

4 pieces tanguingue steak (cut 1 inch thick)

1 tbsp onion-herbs seasoning

250 ml cream

1 tbsp prepared mustard

Small bunch of parsley, chopped

1 egg, slightly beaten

Salt and pepper

3 tbsp flavored breadcrumbs

Juice of one calamansi

Oil

Procedure

Season fish with salt, pepper and calamansi juice. Let stand for about an hour.

Mix egg and flavored breadcrumbs.

Coat fish with the mixture and fry until golden brown.

In a small bowl, combine cream, onion-herbs seasoning and mustard.    

Pour in a heated pan (no oil) and bring to a boil.

Add parsley, salt and ground pepper.

Cook for another 2 minutes, then pour over fish.

Serve at once.

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