Papaya

The papaya is most often found in countries with a tropical climate and as such is easily found in Malaysia. I’d say, very quickly, that the papaya ranks as one of my favourite fruits. The papaya is usually eaten, without the skin and seeds of course, although it can also be made into a juice. The fruit is high in vitamins C and A and also contains a large number of minerals. The papaya is well regarded in many cultures and is well known for promoting digestion as well as good bowel movement. The fruit (and other parts of the plant) contains an enzyme that helps break down protein and this is why, traditionally, the leaves and fruit are sometimes used as a meat tenderiser.

In Malaysia, the unripe papaya fruit is sometimes sliced thinly and then pickled to make a delicious snack. This is also often served as an appetizer in restuarants. Other times the fruit is dried or even candied.

To me, nothing beats a slice of freshly cut ripe papaya. Maybe chilled pieces of papaya eaten with ice cream or lightly dressed with sweet ginger syrup. Whichever way you choose to eat it, Papaya is one delicious fruit!

Making a right Malaysian Mess!

Contrary to what the title says, I didn’t mess anything up. Well, not in the literal sense anyway. I made a mess of things, sure, but it turned out to be a pretty darned good mess. No mess up at all. Okay, okay, I’ll stop messing with you all!


One afternoon, the Lovely Wife and I were flipping through Jamie Oliver’s Cook with Jamie when we came across his recipe for Eton Mess. Now I had never heard of an Eton Mess before but the picture of cream with berries and meringue looked rather lovely. The Lovely Wife remarked that this would be something that our son would love as he really likes his fruit and cream, not to mention pavlova!

The Eton Mess has its roots in (surprise, surprise!) Eton – that famous school in England and reputed to be the most famous school in the world. I wouldn’t know about that although I can vouch that Victoria Institution is not only the most famous but also the best school in Malaysia!

Anyway, back to Eton and the mess attributed to it! The Eton Mess is a dessert consisting of a mixture of strawberries, pieces of meringue and cream. It is traditionally served at Eton College's annual prize-giving celebration picnic on the Fourth of June. Apparently however, these days it is celebrated on the last Wednesday in May. Don’t ask me why that is so but I think it just goes to show how Messed up Eton really is…

You can see I’m having fun with this whole ‘Mess’ thing!

I decided to do a variation of the Eton Mess and use a whole bunch of different fruits. I used Kiwis, Bananas, Watermelon, Papaya and Pears. I also decided to flavour my meringue with cocoa – just for a bit of a change. Granted that Kiwis and Pears are not really Malaysian fruits but Watermelon, Papaya and Bananas certainly are. So that's why I call it a Malaysian Mess!

The meringue whipped up nicely and baked even better to a nice crisp. The cocoa meringue gave it a nice twist as it wasn't as sweet as a regular meringue. It was kind of fun breaking the meringue up into pieces and I wish I had got the kids involved in it. Reason I didnt was because I wanted to surprise them with the dessert.

My Kenwood makes whipping cream really easy now using the whisk attachment although you still have to watch that you don't overbeat the cream and end up with a separated mess (ha! There's that word again!!). I flavoured the cream with lots of vanilla and a little icing sugar and it was really quite delicious.

I took a leaf out of Jamie's book and served the Mess in glasses.



The kids simply Loved this dessert and asked for more, and then for more again! The good thing about this dessert is that their dose of fruit - although in all fairness, its never a problem getting them to eat their fruit.

I guess this is really similar to a Pavlova, but somehow serving it in a glass makes a difference. Also, I think my meringue making skills have improved as the meringue stayed crispy for quite a while, even when sitting with all the cream over it.

Or maybe its not my skills that have improved but rather my Kenwood that makes the difference...

Lime Freeze or is it a Lime Slurpee...

My son was reading one of his books the other day and apparently there was some sort of instructions on how to make lime juice. This became his 'flavour du jour' and he kept telling everyone how to make lime juice.

Coincidentally, I had dug up an old Ice Crusher and had been making the kids Ice Blended Chocolate and Ice Blended Ribena drinks the preceding two days.


It seemed like a good idea then to carry on using the Ice Crusher to make a Lime Freeze or Lime Slurpee. Remember the Slurpees you used to enjoy (or maybe still do?) at 7-11?


We bought a bunch of limes at the market and a bag of ice from the nearby store. The kids got involved in squeezing the juice from the limes and I taught them the well known trick of pressing the lime down on the table while rolling them prior to cutting to get more juice out. You didnt know that? Well now you do!

They had a ball of a time trying to squeeze all the juice out. They thought it was hilarious when the lime slipped out of my hand as I was trying to squeeze out the last bits of juice and the cut half ended up in my shirt pocket. Lots of fun really!


I mixed up a sugar syrup with some hot water and added it to the lime juice. Then I whizzed up lots of ice till it was crushed and added in the juice and syrup to make a sludgy mix. Not as finely crushed as the Slurpees but all 100% fresh with no additives.

The kids loved it. Absolutely. You wont believe that these are two kids that just love sourish, citrus tastes. They even sucked on the lime slice that I used as garnish!


Note: Unfortunately after using my Ice Crusher repeatedly for a few weeks, the darn thing broke! That's what happens when you don't use an appliance for over 5 years and then suddenly use it continously. Now I have to go try and find another contraption as the kids just love their ice blended drinks too much.

Rich Fruit Cake

When I posted about this Fruit Cake as part of my Christmas Traditions, little did I know that the post would generate so much interest! There have been many requests for the recipe and I must admit that the reason I didn't post the recipe originally was because
a) The Recipe is kind off long and somewhat unclear
b) My mother actually made the cake while The Lovely Wife and I only assisted
c) It was busy around Christmas time and I was just plain lazy to dig out the recipe...
So anyway, for all of you that requested for the recipe, for all those that didn't request for the recipe but who may be interested, for all those that really don't care one way or another... Here is the recipe for the famous Navaratnam Rich Fruit Cake!

As I mentioned in the story of this cake the measurements are not exact as they use 'archaic' measurements like 1 wine glass, 1/2 bottle etc. To aid you, the bottle for the essence are the small 2-3 inch high bottles - much like a miniature liquor bottle. Also the wine glasses are the kind my Grandmother had which are actually Sherry glasses. This would convert to about 2 -3 Tbsps. As for the spices, these are dependant on your taste and as such, no measurements are specified. I have left the original recipe intact.

Ingredients:
A.
1 lb sugar
1 lb butter
1 lb sujee (semolina)
24 eggs - separated
3/4 bottle Vanilla Essence
1/2 bottle Rose Essence
Almond Essence (optional)
1 wine glass Honey
1 wine glass Brandy
Ground Cinnamon
Ground nutmeg
Allspice
1-2 tbsps cornflour


B.
1 lb golden raisins
1 lb sultanas
1 lb cashew nuts
1 lb cherries
1 lb pumpkin preserve
1 lb ginger preserve
1/2 lb candied peel
200g slivered almonds
1 bottle plum jam or mixed fruit jam
4 tbsps Brandy

Method
1. Cut up all fruits and nuts and mix together with 1 teas vanilla essence, 1 teas rose essence, 1 tsp each of Cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice + 4 tbsps brandy. Cover tightly and let marinate overnight or for a few days until ready for step 2.

2. Cream butter and sugar. Add in the egg yolks one at a time. Continue to beat.
3. Warm the sujee in the oven or in a large pan or wok. Add the warmed sujee to the cream mixture. Mix well
4. Add the fruits a little at a time and mix well. Add in cornflour
5. Add essence (dependant on your taste), spices, honey and brandy
6. Finally whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Add in about half the egg white - till you get the right consistency. This is when a spoonful of the mixture lifted up drops slowly.
7. Pour into a lined rectangular cake tin and bake in a preheated 180C oven for 40 mins. Then reduce temperature to 150C and bake for another 40 minutes till cake is done. If top of cake browns to fast, cover the top with a cardboard.

Note: Line tins with 3-4 layers of newspaper before lining with greaseproof paper.

So there you have it!

Good luck to everyone that tries to make this recipe. It is Definitely a lot of hard work but the resultant cake is really quite spectacular, and as its name suggests, it really is a Rich Fruit Cake!

Lemon Meringue Pie

The whole blogosphere is going to be crowded with Lemon Meringue Pies! Yeap! That was the challenge for this months edition of The Daring Bakers.
When I first saw the challenge, I must admit that I wasn't too excited. You see, I'm not a big fan of Lemon Meringue Pie. I've had a LMP once and only once before and it's definitely NOT something that is on my radar screen to make. But I guess that is the whole point of the Daring Bakers. As Captain Kirk says - "To boldly go where no man has gone before..." There I go showing my age again. Anyway, I much prefer Jean Luc Picard!

Captains Log, Stardate 43223.5, my orders are to attempt the Daring Bakers challenge of a Lemon Meringue Pie. As usual, I woke up early to tackle this challenge. There are three parts to this pie,
The Crust
The Filling
The Meringue

and I'll share my experience with each part.


The Crust
I used the Food Processor option for my crust and it came together rather well. First mistake though was I don't think I used enough flour. (Either that or this Romulan class flour just doesn't bind together at warp speed). I didn't pack the flour in but just filled the cup loosely. I know there wasn't enough flour because the pastry was very soft even after chilling. Or perhaps there's too much cold water in the recipe. Whatever it is, I added in a few more sprinkles of flour. Then I lined my pastry dish and let some of the dough hang over the edge before chilling it again.

Problem was that when I baked it, the 'overhang' all dripped off. Fortunately though, there was enough pastry that stayed in the dish to form a nice crust. The crust was delicious and my darling daughter loved the parts that had dripped off to form 'drop biscuits'! She even had these with milk for her breakfast and declared the biscuits were yummy!

The Filling
While waiting for the crust to cool, I started on the filling. When I had read the recipe earlier, I noticed that there was a large amount of corn flour needed for the filling, but it didn't seem to bother me. However, once I boiled the water and added in the sugar and corn flour, I couldn't help but think how much it reminded me of glue... Sorry. Fortunately when I added in the eggs, the mixture looked much better and resembled a custard. No real problems here.

The Meringue
This was the least of my worries but don't we all know that when you least expect it, something will go wrong. Before I go into details of my Meringue, this was the opportunity to use my latest toy! Yes! My parents gave me a Kenwood Chef as a combined Birthday/Christmas gift. Here's a picture of it sans bowl and balloon whisk (which were being washed!)


So, with my Kenwood whipping up the egg whites into a frenzy, I started measuring out my sugar. Aaaaarrrggghhh! Not enough Caster Sugar!! The egg whites were already at the soft peak stage so I briefly considered rushing out to the store to get some caster sugar - but that would probably deflate the egg whites. Screw it. Just use some coarse granulated sugar instead.
In retrospect, if I have stayed calm and cool like the man I normally am, I'd have whizzed the coarse sugar in the food processor to make it finer. But I was too darn panicky wasn't I. S T U P I D! Definitely NOT what they taught me at Starfleet Academy.

Anyway, i only had about a quarter cup of Caster sugar so that meant half a cup of coarse sugar. I turned the Kenwood on high in the hopes that it would dissolve the sugar. Man! I've never, EVER seen egg whites whipped to such stiff peaks before. It was awesome!

Unfortunately, all the sugar didn't dissolve and there were still a few grainy bits in the meringue. I piled the meringue on and even piped some around the edges. However, when I tried to shape the meringue into lovely billows, it just ended up getting mussed up - I think it was a tad too stiff. So anyway, I just swirled it on and then popped it into the over to bake.

Too much thinking is not good for the soul and neither is it when it comes to baking. You see, I figured with some sugar still undissolved and also to try and prevent beading and also to get a nice golden top, I should place the pie dish on the top rack. Bad Idea.

The meringue browned a little too much and a little too quickly. I realised the folly of my ways and removed the pie to the lower tray. It came out looking pretty nice although not as nice as I had imagined in my minds eye. No billowy sails or peaks. Just a mound of smooth meringue. Oh Well.


So. All in all, a pretty successful challenge. But how did it taste? I was the first to cut and taste it and I am happy to report that there was NO weeping! YAY! The pie was quite tasty and definitely the best Lemon Meringue Pie I have ever tasted but seeing as I've only tasted one before, that's really nothing to shout about. It was nice enough, I have to admit but its really not my cup of tea. And I really doubt I wuold make it again or even try it anywhere else - unless I had too or jus to be polite. As I said, the LMP is just not my kind of pie. Also, I still had visions of the corn flour glue..... but even without that vision, not really my kind of dessert.

But the crust was superb!

Anyway, to be fair, I thought I'd let my official tasters guide me on it.

My son kind of liked the pie. He seemed to like the lemon taste as well as the meringue. Kind of expected as he likes sourish things - especially lemons and limes! But it wasn't a super dessert in his eyes because he didn't rave about it nor did he want seconds. But all in all, I think he quite enjoyed it.

My daughter loved the meringue but wasn't too impressed with the filling. But I expected that as she is a Chocolate girl - like her Daddy!

The lovely wife was not a great fan. She felt the pie was a bit sweet and just didn't quite like it. She also mentioned a bit ruefully that this was the first DB challenge that she didn't like....

Oh Well, it was still a great experience making this pie and if not for this challenge, I would never, ever, not in a million years have thought of making a Lemon Meringue Pie. And isn't that just what the Daring Bakers are about! So my thanks go to Jen the Canadian Baker for choosing this as the challenge.


You can find the rest of the Daring Bakers at the Official Daring Bakers Blogroll to see how they fared with this challenge.

In the meantime, for any of you interested, the recipe is duplicated below. I now need to return to The Bridge as The Enterprise is about to orbit the two major planets of the Beta Renner system. Engage!



Lemon Meringue Pie
from "Wanda's Pie in the Sky" by Wanda Beaver

Makes one 10-inch (25 cm) pie

For the Crust:
¾ cup (180 mL) cold butter; cut into ½-inch (1.2 cm) pieces
2 cups (475 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
⅓ cup (80 mL) ice water

For the Filling:
2 cups (475 mL) water
1 cup (240 mL) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 mL) cornstarch
5 egg yolks, beaten

¼ cup (60 mL) butter
¾ cup (180 mL) fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon zest
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract


For the Meringue:

5 egg whites, room temperature
½ tsp (2.5 mL) cream of tartar
¼ tsp (1.2 mL) salt
½ tsp (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
¾ cup (180 mL) granulated sugar

For the Crust: Make sure all ingredients are as cold as possible. Using a food processor or pastry cutter and a large bowl, combine the butter, flour, sugar and salt. Process or cut in until the mixture resembles coarse meal and begins to clump together. Sprinkle with water, let rest 30 seconds and then either process very briefly or cut in with about 15 strokes of the pastry cutter, just until the dough begins to stick together and come away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto a lightly floured work surface and press together to form a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Allow the dough to warm slightly to room temperature if it is too hard to roll. On a lightly floured board (or countertop) roll the disk to a thickness of ⅛ inch (.3 cm). Cut a circle about 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the pie plate and transfer the pastry into the plate by folding it in half or by rolling it onto the rolling pin. Turn the pastry under, leaving an edge that hangs over the plate about ½ inch (1.2 cm). Flute decoratively. Chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Line the crust with foil and fill with metal pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool completely before filling.


For the Filling: Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy saucepan. Remove from the heat and let rest 5 minutes. Whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add the mixture gradually to the hot water, whisking until completely incorporated.

Return to the heat and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. The mixture will be very thick. Add about 1 cup (240 mL) of the hot mixture to the beaten egg yolks, whisking until smooth. Whisking vigorously, add the warmed yolks to the pot and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until incorporated. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla, stirring until combined. Pour into the prepared crust. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on the surface, and cool to room temperature.


For the Meringue: Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar, salt and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. Add the sugar gradually, beating until it forms stiff, glossy peaks. Pile onto the cooled pie, bringing the meringue all the way over to the edge of the crust to seal it completely. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Cool on a rack. Serve within 6 hours to avoid a soggy crust.

Mom's Birthday - Reverse Black Forest Cake

It was my Mom's birthday on the 13th and would you believe that it was my Dad's birthday exactly a week earlier? On the 6th? They were born in the same year too. Quite amazing really.

So to kill two birds with one stone, the family went out for lunch and then we all came home to my place to cut the cake. My Mom loves her cake, more so than Dad. Mom also loves anything with Chocolate in it, as do most of us, so the sensible thing to do was to make a cake with loads of chocolate in it.

But at the same time, I wanted to make her something different and so I decided on a Reverse Black Forest Cake. A What?? Well, its my own concoction so I beleive I can call it whatever I want to. So there!

But first, some history on the Black Forest Cake. This cake is believed to have originated in Germany in surprise, surprise, the Black Forest! The Black Forest Region is located in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg and is known for its sour cherries. Kirsch - a clear Cherry Brandy is made from these sour cherries.

In German, the cake is known as Schwarzwälder kirschtorte or to translate Black Forest Kirsch Cake. This cake is basically a chocolate layer cake infused with Kirsch and layered with cherries and cream.

So a Reverse Black Forest Cake would simply be a Vanilla Layered Sponge, infused with Kirsch and layered with cherries and Chocolate Mousse. Get it?

But we haven't quite finished. We need a German name for no better reason than the fact that I spent some time in Munich and Hanover and thus think that I know a helluva lot of German (which I dont, but humour me anyway.) So, the Reverse Black Forest Cake would now be known as a umgekehrt Schwarzwälder kirschtorte

Rather brilliant if you ask me!! :)


This is my recipe given with some hindsight as I think I used to few cherries. If I were to make this again, I'd double the cherries although it is terribly, terribly expensive to get canned dark cherries over here....:

Vanilla Sponge Cake (from the Aust Womens Weekly New Cookbook - 1978!!)
4 egggs
3/4 cup castor sugar
2/3 cup plain flour
1/3 cup cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Beat eggs with electric beater till thick and creamy. (about 5-8 minutes) Mixture will triple. Gradually beat in sugar till dissolved.
Sift dry ingredients a few times and the gently but quickly fold into the egg mixture. Pour mixture into two greased and lined 20cm (8in) round cake tins. Bake in preheated 180C oven for about 20 - 25 mins.

Chocolate Mousse
4 egg yolks
400g good quality dark chocolate
650 ml whipping cream or thickened cream
Sugar to taste (optional)

Melt chocolate in a double boiler with about 30ml of the cream. Mix in beaten egg yolks while still over heat and stir quickly. Mixture may thicken and coagulate a bit but dont worry. Remove from heat and beat till chocolate smoothens. In separate bowl, whip cream till soft peak stage and then add in cooled chocolate mixture. Continue to beat till mixture thickens and becomes light, airy and mousselike.


1 to 2 cans Black Cherries drained and syrup reserved (depending on how fruity you want the cake)
Brandy - to your taste or you can omit altogether.
Infuse the brandy (if using) into the syrup.

Assembly:
First, bake the sponge as per directions. Then make the mousse. Place sponge in center of 9" springform of 9" metal ring. Brush cake with syrup to moisten it. Lay a layer of cherries over the cake and then cover with a layer or mousse, ensuring the the mousse fills in the 1/2 inch space around the cake. Place second sponge over the mousse and soak with syrup as well. Repeat layer of cherries and mouuse and smoothen the top. Allow to chill for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.

Before serving, garnish with Roasted Almond slivers or almond nibs. Dust with snow powder.



This recipe is not as complicated as it looks and produces a very lush and decadent cake that was enjoyed by everybody.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Fruit Cake - a Christmas Tradition

At Christmas time, one of the cakes that we always look forward to is the Fruit Cake or as my aunts and my mother call it - Rich Cake - simply because it is quite decadent.

The recipes all come from my Grandmother but each of her four daughters and one daughter-in-law (my Mother of course!) somehow have made their own variations as they all turn out differently. I, of course, am partial to my Mother's Fruit Cake and swear it is the best.

The difference with this Fruit Cake, as compared to other kinds of Fruit Cake, is that it is made with Sujee (Semolina). Lots of fruits and nuts go into this cake as well as lots and lots of Brandy!

Now although I have helped my mother make this cake many, many, many (can I emphasise how often!!) times, I've never ever made it myself. And quite frankly, I don't ever intend to. It just takes too much blasted trouble!


The Lovely Wife however, HAS made this cake herself. In fact, the first Christmas after we were married, she decided she would take the plunge and make this cake. She obtained the recipe from my mother and proceeded to cut the fruits and nuts and marinate said fruits in alcohol for a few days.

One evening, as I walked in the door, the smell of Brandy cut through my perpetually clogged sinuses. My wife was busy mixing the cake mixture and I did a doouble take when I noticed my prized XO brandy was substantially reduced.

"How much brandy did you put into the cake?" I asked The Lovely Wife.
"Your Grandmother's recipe says two wine glasses so I used two wine glasses." she said, very confidently.

I couldn't help but burst out laughing (even though part of me was still crying at the drastic reduction in my Brandy supply). You see, my grandmother's recipes use traditional measurements like tea-cups and wine glasses, rather than the more precise measuring tools we use today. The so called wine glasses referred to in my Grandmother's recipe were actually Sherry or Port glasses - very small as compared to the TWO FULL RED WINE GLASSES The Lovely Wife had used!

Yes, the cake was a very, very tipsy cake that year!

This year, The Lovely Wife and I helped my Mother baked the Christmas Fruit Cake. We actually baked it early to coincide with my elder brother's wedding in early December. The cake keeps a remarkably long time due to the high sugar content as well as the high Brandy content.


A very special cake indeed and you can never stop at just one piece. It somehow keeps calling at you "I'm here, I'm here, have another piece..." And you usually have more than just two pieces.

Here's wishing each and everyone of you a very Blessed and Happy Christmas with lots of love from this part of the world!

Note: The Recipe was posted later.

Fruit Tarts

One of my son's favourites is Fruit Tarts. So when he asked for fruit tarts for his birthday, we couldn't well refuse could we?

The Fruit Tarts are basically a shortcrust shell filled with custard and then topped with sliced fruits before being covered in a thin apricot jam glaze.

Fruit Tarts are really a team effort in my home. I dont have the patience to make tart shells but The Lovely Wife does. She makes the dough herself and then patiently presses the dough into the moulds. I dont mind helping with this, just as long as I don't have to do too many! She however, doesnt quite have the confidence to make custard, even the Birds Custard Powder variety - so that is my department. This time, even Sarah jumped on the bandwagon and helped to make the tart shells!

Questions from a friend

As a result of my previous post, I received a comment / question from my friend Valli at More than Burnt Toast

I was going to reply to her as a comment but realised, that in my habit of going on an on about a subject, it might be better to post it as a post.

This is what Valli asked:

Hey Dharm..I was speaking with my dad on MSN and he wanted me to let you know he was in Port Dickson, KKB, Seremban, Penang and the Cameron Islands when he was in Malaysia.I'm sorry about my spelling. I hope you don't mind me asking you a few questions on your postings? Dad said he loved a Malaysian fruit that was as big as a plum ,with a sweet white interior ,that was a little bit chewy with a pit in the middle. He can't remember the name of it. Also a fruit like an orange but the size of a football. He says one segment would be plenty for 1 person. He also does not remember the name of that fruit as well.

Firstly Valli, you got all the spelling correct with the exception of Cameron Highlands! Yes, it's in the hills thus the name Highlands and not islands - but how were you supposed to know!

Anyway, Cameron Highlands is famous for its Tea plantations, Strawberry Farms and flower gardens. The tea and strawberries grom well because of the cool climate. Same goes for the flowers where you get different varieties that wouldnt grow otherwise in the lower land areas where temperatures are much, much hotter.

As for your fruits:

I would assume the plum like fruit your dad is talking about would be Rambutan. It's a red fruit, about the size of a plum, with many longish 'hairs' on it. Hence its name as Rambutan mean the 'hairy one'. The skin is broken to produce a white fleshy fruit inside that is a little juicy and has a large pith inside too. There is an excellent site with great pictures about this fruit rambutan.com

Next question was about a fruit like an orange but the size of a football. Cultural Problem now....!! When you say football, what shape are you referring to? Do you mean round as in what we call footballs here ( soccer balls) or do you mean ovalish as in what you call footballs in North America (American Football or Rugby style balls) *Cheeky Grin*

So.. I would presume you're referring to the oval shape and it would be a Papaya. But don't you get Papaya or Paw Paw in North America? Maybe a different variety perhaps. But I would think that is what your Dad was referring to.
If you are referring to the round shape, I would think it is what we call Honey Melon or a type of Canteloupe.

Hope that helps and that everyone reading has learnt a little something more. This is fun indeed!

Starfruit Juice

One of my favourite fruits is starfruit or Carambola if you want to get scientific. Aside from eating it, there is nothing quite so refreshing as a glass of freshly squeezed starfruit juice.



Last Saturday evening, after a run around in the nearby park, we all decided to indulge in some freshly squeezed starfruit. We had already bought a whole lot of starfruit that was going cheap at the market this morning. Out came the juicer and the kids with the wife supervising whizzed away to make a batch of yummy, freshly squeezed Starfruit juice.

The kids certainly enjoyed it!