Lovely limes. A while ago I read an article that said the average apple in a North American grocery store was already 14 months old. Yikes!!!! I don't know how that's possible and I'm pretty sure that Mother Nature never intended for apples to sit in a perfectly preserved state for over a year after they were plucked from the tree. Just a little bit scary.
On my last trip to Canada (over two years ago!) I noticed how bright and pretty everything looked in the produce section of a large grocery store. All the fruit and veggies were blemish free and very shiny. And many of them were very much out of season. I used to believe that it was a wonderful thing that we could get pretty much any produce at any time of the year. But I've come to re-think that.
Living in Belize, we have come so much closer to our food. Much of it is grown and raised within a couple hundred miles of where we live. And as far as fruits and veggies go, they are picked, put on the truck and sold at the local marked within days. No extra 'processing' or handling in between.
On my last trip to Canada (over two years ago!) I noticed how bright and pretty everything looked in the produce section of a large grocery store. All the fruit and veggies were blemish free and very shiny. And many of them were very much out of season. I used to believe that it was a wonderful thing that we could get pretty much any produce at any time of the year. But I've come to re-think that.
Living in Belize, we have come so much closer to our food. Much of it is grown and raised within a couple hundred miles of where we live. And as far as fruits and veggies go, they are picked, put on the truck and sold at the local marked within days. No extra 'processing' or handling in between.
So, I decided to write about some of the fruits that we have in our very own yard. It's still a kick for me to walk out of the house and 'harvest' something that we have grown. It's so much more rewarding than a trip to the freezer in the basement! I'm not sure that I can actually take credit for having grown all of this. A lot of them just do their own thing happily with very little intervention from us. We try to keep the plants fertilized and do what we can to fight off the bugs and diseases but beyond that they are mostly on their own. Nature truly does provide.
 Yucca flowers on the tree. |  This flower comes from the Yucca tree and grows wild everywhere. The locals like to fry it up and serve with eggs for breakfast. It's as beautiful as a bride's bouquet and then you eat it!! |  Yucca flowers with onion and garlic. |
 |  A big deal for me this year is my very first mango harvest. There were a couple of young mango trees in the yard when we bought the house but typically they take about five years to produce. I guess we hit the mark because we got fruit this year and it was so amazing! The little tree produced more than I could eat fresh and Adam doesn't like mango so I filled a bunch of baggies and put them in the freezer. They will be a huge treat for later in the year in my smoothies. |
My harvest to get me through the 'non-mango' months.
Blackberries that aren't black yet. I'm also growing a small assortment of herbs. Honestly, I'm really not that interested in cooking so the assortment is limited but I do have fresh chives and when the urge hits, I have a nice bunch of mint to cull for my mojitos! We've also planted cinnamon, allspice, blackberries, bananas and papayas. In a real pinch a person could also harvest the cohune nuts, the almonds and I'm sure many other things that are edible but we don't really know about. And I'd better not forget the coconuts. They provide water, milk and meat if you're will to do some work.
 Nothing better than fresh herbs for the kitchen. |  Little cinnamon tree. This little guy probably won't be feeding us anytime soon but Adam is a visionary and this is his cinnamon tree. I think it will need about 30 more years! |
 Fresh mint for mojitos! |  Young banana trees...not producing yet. |  Almond tree provides wonderful shade and fruit. |
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