But now, the grocery store is a 20-minute drive when you have a car and a 30 to 45-minute guagua adventure when you are hoofing it, so planning menus and groceries takes a slightly higher priority. The upside to the adventure is the price and quality of the fruits and veggies is outstanding and has inspired me to try some recipes I would never try in the US because the ingredients you can buy in KC or even Austin simply aren’t the caliber that you can get here in the tropics.
For example, when was the last time you bought a 2 or 3 pound ripe papaya at the grocery store in November for $1 or a large ripe pineapple for 65 cents? Have you ever been able to buy sour oranges for a salad dressing? My green grocer, located just across from the Supermercado Lindo, gives me bananas for free as a sort of “reverse tip” for shopping with him. Depending on the volume of fruits and vegetables I buy, the banana quotient goes up and down. I've been using bananas for all sorts of sauces and dishes because they are piling up in my kitchen.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a set of measuring cups anywhere in Las Terrenas - along with several other kitchen items - so I'll be having someone ship a set unless I make it to Santo Domingo first. I'd really like to make some banana bread but for now I'll just make due slicing up with bananas with papaya and mango like the ones below - no problem.
The citrus fruits here are all different from the US. A limon is a lime – the smallest of the three fruits shown in the photo below. You can’t get lemon anywhere in Republica Dominicana – I’ve heard various reasons why – but suffice it to say, limon is the new lemon. And it works really well – not just for mojitos either. I’ve been putting it in salad dressings, sauces and salsas with great results.
Another difference is the oranges - shown here on the left. The regular oranges you can buy at any market are green on the outside and yellowish-orange on the inside. They aren't quite as sweet as our oranges but they aren't as tart as the sour oranges you can also buy that look similar. I am using the oranges in salad dressings too but they would also be great for fish.
Finally, the largest green citrus fruit in the photo above is grapefruit and it really is sour. These come from a tree on Mt. Placido where we live. You notice from the following photo that the citrus has a lot of seeds. Juicing can be a bit of a task because the pulp is very thick and some fruits do not yield much juice. But juiciness can usually be felt when purchasing the fruit and most of the fruits ripen and become juicer if left out for a couple of days.
Another difference between American and Dominican produce is cilantro. They sell the traditional Mexican cilantro you love or hate but they also have an herb they call cilantro that tastes and smells like cilantro but has much larger leaves and tends to be tougher. It also has shoots that yield prickly thistle-like flowers you can see in the picture below. I don’t know that I would actually eat it. Instead, I use it as a seasoning for beans and I pull it out when I’m done cooking – like bay leaves.
The tropical fruits are fantastic. I’ve never had such consistently sweet, ripe mangoes for 70-80 cents apiece in my life. I buy them in various stages of ripeness to last me the week and they are my breakfast staple. They go wonderfully with cornflakes and yogurt! If I’m having toast instead, I mix my mango with the other tropical fruits in abundance down here. The bad news is that mangoes go out of season in November and I'll have to make due without them for a couple of months until the next variety comes ripe.
Like I mentioned, papaya, melon and pineapple are all available for prices you wouldn’t believe and the pineapples come in sizes from baby to granddaddy and everything in between. Last night I grilled pineapple for a salsa with cilantro, habaneros and lime juice. The salsa went over pork loin chops I rubbed with chili powder before grilling. A hot dish with a slow burn on the lips - worked fine with a papaya and avocado salad on the side.
I keep thinking the little pineapples would be adorable split in half and grilled as a side dish. In Sosua, they use the mid-sized baby pineapples to serve pina coladas on the beach.
I’m still figuring out the meat and fish situation – which will take some time to master. There are plenty of pescaderias and carncerias to choose from but I need some ordering advice and guidance on where to get the freshest stuff since it’s straight off the farm or the boat. In the meantime, I’m getting my eggs, pork and pollo from Supermercado Lindo where I can be assured of the refrigeration standards. I’ll try my hand at the others when Ed is here and can rush me to the clinic if I get something slightly off.
Stop by soon and I’ll fix you a nice plate of grouper simmered in coconut milk with black bean-banana puree. And would you like a side of bananas with that?
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