Cutting Pepinos

Way back around the turn of the century when Mexico was still very new to me I spent a few weeks with friends in Mexico City. Helping cut veggies for a salad I was startled by "my kids are not going to like the way you cut the pepinos". I mean I know how to cut cucumbers for a salad but since they were already destroyed we didn't delve further into what should have been.

The salad was my idea and design but since salads here are often more like a garnish than a main dish my only thought was you don't put pepinos in a bowl with a bunch of other veggies. You slice them in strips, douse with lots of lime juice, sprinkle sea salt over the top ... and probably some Valentina hot sauce. Ever wonder how to eat Jicama ..... the very same way.

A tip on citrus squeezers/juicers or wives tale -- Those cast aluminium ones look very sturdy but it's rumored that the acid reaction will eventually make them go sour. Better to use inert plastic.

So many ways?

Peal and all ready for lime

Lime squeezer

Cleaning those palms

If you would have been watching my web cam a few hours ago you could have seen two late teens up that palm tree cleaning it on their way to a prize of about 10 coconuts ready for harvest. They used a ladder on this one (non-professionals) but another in the back supplied them with 10 more from ground level.

I love these exchanges of work for coco's. In my other house in Melaque I had a prolific and very tall tree that would produce 40+ coco's 3 times a year. A guy would cut the troublesome fronds, clean the dead stuff, clean the yard and haul it all away in exchange for the 40 coco's.

This time it started with a 7 year old neighbor helping me clean the side of the lot and street. I didn't know him, he just wanted to help. Then he spotted the 2 coco trees and said his big brother would clean and cut them. Very nice kids, all went well ... and now there is less garbage to fall into the yard