As Sam mentioned in the previous post, we skipped apricots. I'm still waiting to find a good "in-season" apricot and avoid the dried option. So, until then, we moved on to exploring beets and bananas. Bananas have been one of our favorite fruits for a long time. Instead of "cheating" on our goal by just accepting a food we already know we love and keep in the house regularly, we went with a more challenging option of another banana relative, the plantain - which interestingly is nothing like a banana. Plantains have a much thicker peel than bananas. You have to use a knife to cut the skin and a little bit of force to peel the skin off. The texture of the plantain is also more course than a banana. It's not as delicate or mushy as a banana. It's color is also slightly different than a banana.I had tried these years ago, in a junior high home-ec. class, and I remember thinking they were okay. So, we bought two plantains - both at different stages of ripeness. We opted to try the less ripe plantain first - the other is still on its way to blackening (the most ripe stage). I read up on how to cook a green/yellow plantain. There are so many ways to cook it - grilled, baked, fried, mashed, boiled, etc. We went with stir frying, and it turned out to be pretty tasty - surprisingly like a potato or a french fry. We'll let the other one ripen a bit more before cooking that one - probably going to try it mashed.
As for the beet, well, I did not like this at all! I did not like choosing one, looking at one, or trying one. They are ugly! The reminded me of some alien form of a bug. Sam says he thinks it looks more like a heart. Just look at the pictures below: eww! But, we tried it. And, it really wasn't horrible. Sam thought it tasted more like a cooked carrot. It just wasn't appetizing. I made several involuntary facial movements while tasting it. . . not pretty! I won't be making these or buying them again, but I'm glad we tried them. Mostly, I know that if something I'm served has beets in it, I won't be completely mortified or against eating it. I will, however, be glad that I didn't have to look at it as a whole or being cooked.
Next week, we're moving on to much tastier options, I'm hoping: broccoli/cauliflower & blackberries.
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