I love guavas… I love guava paste… It’s part of the Puerto Rican/Cuban culinary DNA.
We used to have a guava tree behind our first house and I loved to eat fresh guavas right from the tree. Some are sweet… some are sweeter. But it’s definitely a fruit that represents me and my childhood.
You need to be careful when eating fresh guavas… you can’t chew on the pulp too much. Just a bit to puree the pulp in your mouth and swallow. Why?? Guavas have these little pesky seeds. These seeds are small enough that will remain almost untouched by the blade of a blender yet large enough to threaten to crack a molar of any adult if you bite into one.
This was not a concern when I was little, but after experiencing a few not so positive experiences with cracked molars, we protect our teeth as much as possible. Besides… the seeds taste like nothing. We can certainly get rid of them before any damage is done.
GUAVA PUREE
Guavas, peeled and cut Water
It is important when you peel and cut the guavas to look out of the fruit has any holes in it. If it does, it is very likely that guava may have one or a few little worms inside. Don’t be squeamish… this is all part of dealing with fresh guavas.
Just cut the guavas and inspect them a bit around the part where the seeds are. If there are worms, they will be moving… just remove them carefully and place them in a piece of paper towel. I may be creating bad karma for myself, but I kill them by squishing them in the paper towel. You may want to dispose of them in a different way… that’s entirely up to you.
Store the guava puree in a pourable container so you can use it in your favorite drinks or recipes.
If you’re following my tweets and our FaceBook page you might already know that last week, KarmaFree Cooking was nominated for the 2012 HispanoBloggers Awards. KarmaFree Cooking is nominated together with 4 other bloggers in the Food Category.
How did this happen???? I could not tell you at all, but it did. All I remember was that I joined HispanoBloggers.com and asked YOU, my fans, my friends, my followers to nominate me. Apparently, you responded my call and here we are now… WOW!!!
Bloggers in 11 different categories were nominated – Baby, Beauty, Culture, Family, Fashion, Food, Health, Kids, Life, Love and Parenting. The nominees were announced during the annual convention of the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Among the nominees we can find several of my blogger friends like Jeanette from Sazón Boricua, Yadira from El Club de las Diosas, Sofía from Living la Vida Blogging, Bren from Flanboyant Eats and Laura Termini from Natural, Orgánica y Latina.
Here you can find a list of all the nominees in all categories – http://hispanobloggers.dialogo.us/awards
The winners in each category will be announced at the 33rd Annual National Convention of the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on September 18, 2012. So stay tuned for the results.
Crossing my fingers, toes, legs, arms… LOL!!!!
Believe it or not, I’m getting ready for my 4th trip to India next year… We will be visiting at early in the year to ensure we do not combust from the India heat felt April on. You would think that growing up in the Caribbean would prepare you for the Indian heat – NOOOOOO!!! We have breezes and sea around us… the heat in India feels 200 times hotter than any summer in Puerto Rico.
But I do love to visit India, especially for spiritual trips like the one I am about to make. Our love for mangos is something both our cultures, India and Caribbean, coincide in. Lassis are one of the first things I learned about Indian cuisine and I just love to drink them (the sweet kind, of course) when I travel there. They’re a great way to keep the heat at bay – the heat from the climate and the heat from the spicy food you eat. And as much as I love eating a mango just as a fruit… I also love to make it into a smoothie.
This version of a lassi yogurt drink is something I came up with the other day as an experiment. The combination is tangy and not too sweet, just like a refreshing drink should be. It’s like India and Puerto Rico combined in a glass… maybe not too traditional but very, very delicious.
MANGO PASSION FRUIT LASSI
1 cup of mango, cut into small pieces 1 cup passion fruit nectar or juice ½ cup greek yogurt 2 tbs agave nectar 3 ice cubes
Enjoy as part of your breakfast or as a snack.
KarmaFree Cooking 