Malay Apple Jam, Rum, and Chickens

Manzana de agua, Malay Apples, Rose Apples, Mountain Apples; these little pear-strawberry flavored gems go by all these names. I discovered them hanging high in the branches of a tree here at the Tiki Bar and enticed Ani to fetch them for me.

After washing and pitting, it will take hours to boil them down and I have added sugar, cinnamon and a little rum to help turn them into a lovely red jam.

I promise to let you know how it turns out...even if it is a flop and I end up feeding it to the chickens.
They love fruit of all kinds and anyway, it would be interesting to see how they like the rum...

Comments

Trees in the Middle of the Road

Trees in the road. I mean right in the middle of the road. Really big trees. Its one of the most peculiar things I have seen here along Mexico's Riviera Maya coast. At first I thought it was just a particular type of tree. The people here revere the ceiba. Its rumored to be the home of a goddess. Don't knock on the trunk or she will come out and steal young men's souls. Well that seems like a very good reason never to cut down a ceiba tree. But I think the real answer is much simpler than that. The people here respect the age and beauty of great things. Old people, old cities, and of course, old trees. I asked a local, "Why do they build roads right around trees?" And he looked at me as if the answer was obvious, "Why would you ever cut down an old tree when you can preserve it?" Simple enough for me. I love trees.

Sleeping Snakes, Naranjitos, and Waiting Until the Time is Ready

Naranjiots Its called a naranjito (pronounced nar an hee toe). It's a wild fruit that was growing in Anthony's back yard. You split it in half and squeeze the juice into a cup of cold water, strain and drink it. Everyone loves it and it has a lovely orange taste. We met Anthony--Roldolfo Anthony--on a walk out of town and up the hill that over looks all the islands. He called us into his yard after explaining to us about the very dangerous sleeping snakes that live in the area. He said they love to sleep all curled up and if you walk by too loud and wake them oooo, they will chase you and bite you and you will die. But if you carry a machete and use it to poke at the grass and the ground in front of you, the snakes will know the sound of the machete and will run away. He said they are very smart and he didn't know but he figured God made them that way. We vowed to always carry a machete when walking in the grass and then we followed him into his yard (minus a mach...

Dancing with the Masai

I think I walked into a National Geographic magazine. You know, like when you open a book and the pictures come so alive that you get sucked into a different world. This Masai woman lived in a tiny village complete with dung and ash huts and flocks of goats protected from lions by an extremely tall fence made from young acacia trees. She was a little suspicious of me until I joined in the dance, bouncing and clacking the beaded rings she gave me to wear around my neck. Oh joy, great joy! Dancing with the Masai on the African plain!

Where Wonder Meets Wander

Search This Blog