The Pitaya or Dragon Fruit is one of the most unique looking naturally occurring foods that I have ever seen, and one that I was lucky enough to try thanks to the vendor at my local farmer’s market who always seems to carry the strangest goods. Grown in the dry regions of the world such as the Southwestern part of the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, and Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia, the cactus fruit has a bright pink skin with green “scales” on the outside, and white flesh (and occasionally red flesh) with black seeds similar to the kiwi on the inside.
Though it has a very subtle flavor that bordered on bland, the flesh is rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and it helps the digestive process. Legend has it that “the fruit was created by fire breathing dragons. By eating the Dragon Fruit it was believed that you become empowered with the same strength and ferocity as the dragon. Other stories say that the Dragon Fruit looks like a dragon’s egg”.
[Wikipedia – Pitaya]
[Via: Market Manila]
[Via: Tastespotting]
If you had to choose among plates filled with 200 calories of food, would you rather have the peppers or the gummy bears? wiseGEEK put together an image gallery of plates filled with 200 calories of various foods to give you an idea of what differences in food actually look like. Is that dollop of peanut butter really going to be worth one tenth of your daily caloric intake, when you could have a plate full of kiwi instead? You decide.
[wiseGEEK - What Does 200 Calories Look Like?]
[Via: Dethroner]
Even if you’re a hardcore sushi aficionado, you won’t truly appreciate the art behind the food until you try and make it yourself. Sushi Day is a site devoted to posting “off the wall crazy sushi combinations that real traditionalists will hate”. How off the wall? The first recipe is for a New Zealand Roll, similar to a California Roll but with sumeshi on the outside and kiwi fruit slices on top. It looks and sounds quite exotic, and I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with in the coming weeks. Check it out, pick up a rolling mat, and have at it, because you’ll never know until you try.
[Sushi Day]
