It has been awhile since I gave you a little peek into my life so here it is. =)
My sister, cousin, and I decided that we would participate in the 100 days of happiness challenge. As of yesterday. You can find more about it at http://100happydays.com/. Basically, they’re challenging us to find one happy moment in life every single day for 100 days. You document those moments with a photo and #100happydays. In the end, you’ll have at least a hundred photos of the little things that make you happy. Are you up for the challenge?
The little things in life?
I’m excited for summer. I seriously cannot wait, as you probably noticed in my Iced Lychee Mint Green Tea with Strawberries post. Every time I go to the supermarket, I look to see what fruits are being sold. I see the first peaches. That’s why I’m waiting for.
But, in the meantime, here are a few exotic fruits that are in season, and I’m obsessed over.
Mini Mangoes. I snapped this photo while at the supermarket. The lighting is awful, I know. lol. But aren’t the mini mangoes so cute? They’re almost double the price of the larger mangoes. Isn’t that crazy?
Jack fruit. I love these, but it is such a pain to remove the fruit. It is extremely sticky. We had to wear disposable gloves and grease the gloves with vegetable oil to remove the fruit. Was it worth it? Yes! If you havent’t tried this fruit, and would like to, I’d recommend buying the frozen one first. It’s slightly cheaper and in smaller quantity.
Durian. It’s a love it or hate it kind of fruit. If you’ve been around this fruit, you know what I’m talking about. It’s infamous. Can you believe that these grow on trees?
I just wanted to share some little “happy” moments with you. Every single day is filled with its up and downs. But it’s up to us to see the bright side of things. My happy moments will probably revolve around food. I can already see it…
What did we learn about me today? I love exotic fruits. lol.
Until next post.
~ Andrea
Delicious! I’ve been to Thailand (all to briefly) and Vietnam (a month) and these are truly amazing delights. I think my favorite was the Dragon’s Fruit also called Tang Lam I believe in Vietnam (spelling?)
Oh my gosh! I loove dragon fruit too. But it’s so expensive in California. And not every one of them turn out sweet.
Such things do not travel well. Fortunately, I have the memories and a few photos…
Where are you in California? I was born there and lived there for a number of years.
I live in San Francisco so I have access to all these fruits. Whether they’re reasonably priced is another story… =)
I’ve spent quite a bit of time in the city by the bay… In fact, I got my Master’s Degree there.
I realize that the fruits would be available there but I feel they loose a lot in the shipping. 🙂
I tried durian, for the first time, with some trepidation while visiting Bangkok. My wife and I actually happened upon it being sold by a street vendor in Bangkok’s Chinatown. I’ve always heard it smelled awfully bad but more than makes up for the smell with its taste. Well…I didn’t think it smelled all that bad, but it didn’t taste all that great either. It had a creamy and sticky consistency with a taste somewhat similar to jackfruit. My wife didn’t try any of it and stayed more than arm’s length away while I was sampling some durian.
I grew up eating it so I really like it. But it’s funny. If I’m eating it, I don’t mind the smell. If someone else is eating it and I’m not, I think it smells like a gas leak. lol. Each durian tastes different. Some are sweeter than others. And some are more fibrous than others. I think that can affect your experience too. Thanks for sharing your story =)
Wow, durians! Not a lot of people can take that fruit, especially the smell hahaha do you know the durian flowers are used in cooking as well? And don’t throw away the jackfruit seeds, you can boil them and eat! 😀 Enjoy!
I grew up eating durian so I’m used to it. Unless someone else is eating it and I’m not. Then the smell is a little overwhelming. lol. I have never seen durian flowers so I had no idea that you can use them in cooking. What are they used for? And I know we can use jackfruit seeds, and durian seeds, to eat. But we don’t usually do it at home. I haven’t had it in awhile. Maybe I’ll have to try it again soon. Do you eat it with something or by itself?
i tell you, we have a thing called durian buffet here, and the smell is so overwhelming that even I cannot stand it LOL oh yes the flowers
http://a6-k.deviantart.com/art/Durian-flowers-in-bloom-409401143
it looked something like this. and once i went to an ochard, and there are some durian flowers blooming, sweet smelling flowers :p
my mom would use it to cook a vegetable dish, just stir fry. Sometimes, she’ll add a bit of sambal belacan (prawn paste) and lime – its really good. like combination of mushroom texture and egg plant… something like that. you can use the blossoms to cook curry too 🙂 lots of ways to explore. I’ll try to get some, try to whip up a dish and share it with you 😉
as for the seeds, I like to eat by itself, like chest nuts. or throw them into salads hehe
I’ll have to look into it. Especially the durian flowers. I’m so curious now =)
🙂 who knows, you’ll discover a new durian flower dish
I have to find it first =)
yea, silly of me, i got too excited. I was browsing the net, and realized in peninsular malaysia, we can only get the flowers in certain place. where i’m from (Sarawak, east malaysia – or borneo), we could get it at the vegetable market during durian season. It won’t be easy getting it in the US.
but perhaps with any luck you might find it in asian stores 🙂
Thanks for visiting my blog (Creative Economy in the Kitchen), giving me the chance to visit yours. I love it!
Thank you so much!
Looks like you will have fun with this challege – good on you for participating!
Thanks!
What a fantastic idea! Will have to think about it after my 365 Project and 61 Days of Biking. 😀
It’s a pretty fun challenge. I like to photograph the little things in my life anyways to share with my friends, but this is fun to do. =)
I’ve decided to take the challenge, so happy you posted this!
Good luck with the challenge! I’m enjoying it =)
Interesting challenge! It’s certainly a nice way to see something each day in an optimistic way! And durian…oh dear… yes, it sure is a love hate relationship with that. Good luck and I hope you enjoy the challenge all 100 days!
Thank you!
Why would i intoxicate myself with 100 days of happiness if i could live 365 of contentment?
But if you can have 100 days, you can definitely have 365 days of happiness. Why settle for just contentment? =)
Achieving contentment is not “settling for” anything at all. Achieving contentment is the practice of balance. There is no happiness without sadness, no life without death, no joy without pain. Happiness when taken alone is a misunderstanding. The art is to find where things weigh equally, as one persons pure joy can only be purchased at the price of another’s pure suffering.