Strawberries

Hello!

I'm finding blogging (and actually accomplishing much of anything these days) difficult with a two year old who isn't ready to lose his afternoon nap but doesn't really want to go to bed at night. Eventually this tends to happen:

We're working on him but I really wanted to show you the strawberries I got today. Did you know that strawberries grow in the Dominican Republic? Some of our friends went farther up the mountain to where they are grown and are half the price of what we pay here. I couldn't resist having them pick some up for me. 

Yum!

I disinfected them like we do with all of our fruits and vegetables here because of impure water and parasites. For a while, I was using bleach but then I discovered "the blue bottle" which still smells like bleach but makes me think it's a bit less toxic since that's its intended purpose.

Strawberries are my favourite! I had lots of plans for them but they are disappearing too fast. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

What is your favourite thing to do with strawberries?

Marcie Cooper

Bananas

Hello!
Last week we were looking at how tall our banana tree was getting and wondering when we would get bananas. This week it decided to start revealing them!

We noticed the beginnings of a bunch on Tuesday.

I missed taking a picture on Wednesday but by Thursday we definitely had some fruit. A neighbour boy was playing at our house and when he saw me with the camera he said, "They're nothing more than bananas!" I told him that bananas didn't grow in Canada. We're excited about our bananas!



On Friday there were even more.

And this is how they looked this morning.

It will still take a long time for them to grow and ripen but I'll keep you posted!

Have a great day!

Marcie Cooper

Date Palm Trees

Hello!

Just after our Palm Tree Hunt, I found my little monkey boy playing with some Bible cards that another missionary family had given us. When I looked closer, I realized that one of them was all about Palm Trees!

On the back, it talked about how Solomon carved palm branches into the doors of the temple and how the people placed them in Jesus' path as he rode through Jerusalem on the donkey. It shared how people in the Middle East used the branches for ropes and brooms and how they wove palm leaves into baskets. Then it focussed on the palm trees that grew sweet, sticky, dates and described how many still grow along the Nile River and the Red Sea.

I haven't seen date palm trees here but was excited to find imported dates recently and decided to make some date squares. Most peope who tried them had never heard of them so I thought I'd include the recipe here.

Date Squares
Ingredients:
Filling:
1 lb. pitted dates, chopped
1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. orange juice
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla


Base/Topping:
1 1/2 cups flour (whole wheat or all-purpose)
1 1/2 cups oats
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup butter


Directions:
1. Make the filling first. Cook all filling ingredients except vanilla on low heat until dates are soft and water is absorbed. Stir in vanilla and let cool.

2. Mix all base/topping ingredients except butter. Cut in butter and work it in with fingers until well-mixed.

3. Press half of the oat mixture into a 8" square pan. Cover with cold filling. Pat remaining mixture on top.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

They are crumbly but yummy!
Thanks for joining our Palm Tree Hunt this week. I hope that you've enjoyed it!

Marcie Cooper

P.S. Click on the links to find earlier Palm Tree messages:
       Our Palm Trees
       Red Berry Palm Trees
       Coconut Palm Trees

Coconut Palm Trees

Hello!

We've been going on a Palm Tree Hunt this week and after seeing our palm trees in a cluster and then our neighbours' with red seeds we found some of our favourites: coconut palm trees!

They are very tall! Can you see the coconuts?

If you cut away the green outside you will get to the brown shell underneath. They're usually sold once that is done.

We bought this one at the market, cut it open, took sips of the milk, and ate some of the white fruit. Yummy!

Enjoy your day!

Marcie Cooper

Pineapple

Hello!

Do you like pineapple? It is in season for us right now and we are enjoying it. Have you ever seen so many pineapples? They are stacked up to sell at the side of the road.

I didn't know how pineapples grew until I saw some plants. Look at how the pineapple grows up from the plant. It isn't ripe if it is still red like this.

My cousin taught me a trick to tell if a pineapple is sweet. Try to pull out one of the spiky leaves from the top. If it comes out easily, it should be sweet.

Have a great day and enjoy some pineapple!

Marcie Cooper