Two for one Vegetable? Can't Beet That!

I'm trying to make a dent in my ongoing list of new foods to try. Mercados Suvianda on 6th and Santa Clara in downtown SJ has provided all of the following new food experiences. They carry specialty items to cater to Latin American clientele and they also have many Asian foods.

Beets
I have had beets before, but I've never made them myself. I boiled some beets, let them cool and sliced them. We ate them with avocado slices and a homemade yoghurt sauce (also a first), it tasted awesome but it looked kind of ugly. Also, I learned that you can eat the greens on the beets as well. I might try this soon because I saw some good looking beets at the farmers market.

Flan
Seems strange that I've never had flan since I see it all the time. I'm not a huge fan but I'm glad I tried it. It's just not my type of dessert, I'd rather have something more complex and less gelatinous.



Key Limes
I've wanted to try these for years, ever since I read about them in the Consuming Passions book about southern cooking. Author Micheal Lee West had never had a fresh key lime because they are so hard to find. Suvianda sells them by the bag once in awhile and sells them separately right now. I had to take advantage of the opportunity to use real key limes so I used them to make key lime pie. These little guys are great, they have the taste and smell of lime candy, but sour, of course. I guess the artificial flavor is based on key limes rather than Persian limes (the ones you usually see in the grocery store.)



Asian Pear (known by several names, like apple pear and papple)
I think of this one as a snooty fruity because it often comes with its own little net wrapper to protect it. It was expensive--probably close to $3.00. I really enjoyed it, it's like an extremely juicy apple with the flavor of a pear. I was afraid it was going to be a bad experience like the grapple, but I would eat this again.

Manila Mango
Awesome! It's a smaller mango with the texture of an avocado and a yellow skin. It's not fibrous like a regular mango so no need to floss afterward. I am a manila mango convert.