Thank you readers for being so very patient with moi, as i journeyed through the neverlands, well my very own neverneverlands – aka gastro heaven as i love to call it.

i have returned from backpacking through EUROPE this past month. and i have tons to share with you!

“but you didn’t even update, not even once!”

i know, and i apologize as i spent much of my time gorging on food and drink on the other side of the world,

but as you all know, backpacking requires me to strip down all excessive weight possible which of course included my laptop. (“you had a ROLLY!” which did break halfway through the trip i must add as i dragged the sucker from hostel to hostel, country to country, on and off trains, and the like)

but i must say, it was very refreshing treating the internet as something luxurious once again, and it was like candy when i was able to get online and culturally update myself with word from my friends and family.

either way – i would like to start this post-dated posting with a friendly and summery fruit lesson

(which is what began my culinary adventures this summer anyway)

HOW TO OPEN A MANGOSTEEN.

yes, i didn’t even know what a mangosteen was, until i was invited to a homey 25 somewhat plus sit down celebratory yet casual diner at a humble Vietnamese-Canadian abode for dinner the weekend before my travels.  To my surprise, it was one of the most intriguing and delightful seafood bountiful meals i had had in a while. (and thus became my “embrace life – surf and turf styles” kind of living, after a very conscientious meatless week)

yummmmm!

so first off, i had to look up the fruit i had had on a very helpful picture-esque food encyclopedia  – http://www.foodsubs.com/

great resource!

Check it out, so an uncle of an uncle taught me how to open this exotic fruit up, if in fact you were stranded in the middle of asia (where these fruit are natives of) and had no knives, and wanted some refreshing and nutritious mangooosteeenn :)

so interlock your fingers and place the fruit in between your palms like so:

apply pressure and press your palms together

until it pops open like so

and bingo! pull the white fleshy fruit out and enjoy! (don’t eat the red outer protective shell)

et voila!

*happy eating! :)