While the cost of food in the grocery stores here can be pretty expensive, it balances out because of all the food you can grow or find growing around the island.
We are still learning about all the different local fruits and edibles around, but one day we were pretty low on food in the fridge, but the pantry of our yard made for a full meal.
The starch component of our meal came from our large breadfruit tree out front.
We had noticed quite a few breadfruits growing, but there are a lot less recently and so we have been eating them when they are not quite mature. We think quite a few people around this area know about our huge mango tree, the breadfruit tree and the quenepa tree. We have found people on two different occasions hacking through the vines on our property to collect quenepas!
Breadfruit (or pana in Spanish) is a direct substitute for potatoes. We simply cut off the green skin as well as the inner core. The spongy white part is what you use to eat and prepare just like you would potatoes. For this meal from the yard we made them into little squares and lightly fried them in coconut oil until they were crispy and golden.
For the protein part of the meal, we cooked up some of our eggs. We are now eating eggs at nearly every meal since we are currently bringing in about 6-10 eggs a day (and that will be still be increasing)! It is not hard to do because these eggs are so rich, delicious and creamy.
And finally the fruit/veggie portion of the meal: passionfruit, coconut, mango and quenepas. A full square meal straight from the yard. No grocery store required! Yum!
Scrambled eggs with hash brown breadfruit with a side of raw coconut, quenepa and passionfruit as well as a cup of mango slices with parcha juice and shredded coconut -and of course a cup of Puerto Rican coffee!
