Absentee Bloglord. Part Three: Anything and everything you could desire to know about what I do in agriculture.

Installment Three: May

Eating by Season, Fruit, 'Prune'-Ups, and Planting. :)

It's a wonderful thing to live by seasons here. In November and December we are rolling in citrus: succulent key limes, big gnarly lemons, sometimes oranges and tangerines, even. Once they disappear from the market in January and February, the tamarind comes ready on trees and everyone is walking around sucking it or shaking bottles of it mixed with water and honey. The juice is AWESOME.

Absentee Bloglord. Part Three: Anything and everything you could desire to know about what I do in agriculture.

Installment Two: April

Mango Madness & Experiments in Dehydration, Fermentation, and Preservation.

The arrival of mango season is always a cause for major celebration. First off, it's hot as it comes, and second, there's hardly anything resembling fresh produce left in the market. Excitement about what to cook for dinner hits an all-year low. The entrance of mango at just such a time of year, combined with the fact that everything here is so confined to its season has gotten me thinking since I arrived: how can one save the bounty of different seasons for the rest of the year? Caleb and I put our heads together to come up with solution #1: a solar dehydrator. Ingenius and persevering one that he is, Caleb slapped this together and we were on our way.

Fine Dining with the Fam

Staying with Mama Viviana and her family has been an exercise not only in language and social custom, but also in the culinary arts - such as the refined skill of commanding the charcoal cookstove. Lest you scoff at the assertion and suggest that any old person can use charcoal to cook - I challenge you to cook an entire meal (and I don't mean hot dogs) from scratch; lighting your own charcoal from the embers of the last fire; using no measuring cups or spoons; getting the rice perfectly done (and not burnt); making sure you didn't use too much charcoal; using as your utensils a knife, a ndeṛi (wooden stirring stick), and a small metal sppon; and not burning your fingers in the process. It's more difficult than it seems.  I assure you.