Mansanitas

Soursop or guyabano as we call it in the Philippines is gaining popularity as a health fruit and a natural medicine against cancer.  Whether it is true or not, soursop or guyabano is an interesting fruit to eat.  The skin looks like it would hurt you when you touch it but the spikes you see…

Macopa or Mountain Apples are in season now in Hawaii and they look delicious. Their red color make them almost look like red delicious apples. They are crunchy and succulent and although not too sweet, they are refreshing to eat. Each fruit have a seed inside which you can discard because they are not edible.

Tamarind or sampalok as we call it in the Philippines is a versatile fruit. We can make it into candy or jam, we can use it in cooking as a souring agent for the ever popular “sinigang” or you can eat it as it is ripe or raw. Also the leaves were used too in…

  Kamias – Averrhoa bilimbi – also known as cucumber tree or tree sorrel is a very common fruit in the Philippines used as a condiment.  It is a fruit but it is so sour it is used mostly for cooking.  The kamias is like the tamarind, used in making sour-soup or sinigang. We used…

Coconut is the most versatile of all plants that I ever knew. From the fruits, to the leaves, to the trunk almost all parts of it can be used for something. The leaves we used for wrapping a delicacy we call “suman” (glutinous rice wrapped in coconut leaves). The inner part of the leaves is…

Star Fruit or Carambola,(I call it Balimbing), is becoming increasingly popular among the population especially here in Hawaii. A growing number of people find it not only refreshing to eat but also have healthy benefits like anti-oxidants and Vitamin C. It is mostly used as garnish for drinks because of the star shape of the…