Fruits Fall From Trees

There is fruit everywhere. Bananas in our back yard, grapefruits on the way to campus, coconuts on the streets, sweet sop (have yet to try that) in piles at the shacks, papayas and mangos in their bright skin... all beckoning me to eat them. So I will. This week I bought some green bananas and a large papaya.

On the menu for the week: Tofu Papaya Salad (Dominican style) and Fried Banana Chips.

Tofu Papaya Salad:
Did you know that papaya smells distinctly like puke? Once you de-seed it, the smell lessens. But don't worry, it tastes delicious. Just don't smell as much while you are cutting/eating. Duh. The recipe I used was awesome and so fresh!

Notes 

- Toast the sesame seeds for yummier flavor. 

- Dress the salad per plate rather than tossing it. Too potent. 

- Use less sodium soy like it says... its pretty salty. 

Wash it. Cut it. Deseed it. Chop each side in half and cut the skin off. 

Tofu Papaya Salad in a Tiffin. Tastes better in a Three Tiered Tiffin. 

Fried Banana Chips:
Did you know that green bananas stain and are very hard to get the skin off? I don't think you can call it peeling at this point. Green bananas are super starchy and perfect for making chips!

Notes: 

- Fry fewer 'chips' at a time so that they don't stick together. 

- Coconut oil worked for me! And I never checked the temperature. You can tell when they are working and when its too hot. 

- The oil froths A LOT when you put the bananas in. Don't worry, it goes down and you can see/stir the chips. 

- Don't fry more than 3 or 4 batches in the same oil. Gets old. 

Skin on. Skin off. In frier. In my mouth. 

Thinner is BEST. For the bananas.