I’ll be honest – I don’t have a very high opinion of horses.
Growing up in Nevăda, I never understood the fascination with the equine creatures. They died out in America after the ice age, along with ground sloths, sabertooth cats and wooly mammoths. They used a lot of food and water in the desert, and I always felt like that food and water was better reserved for either cattle or non-invasive species… but not horses.
When you think of fruit, what comes to mind? Peeling back a starchy, sweet banana? Plucking a juicy Hood strawberry? Buying a pint of raspberries at the farmers market? A tart cherry?
A few months ago, I picked up a couple of cans of ackee, the fruit half of Jamaica’s national dish, ackee and saltfish. Now, I love exotic fruits – it’s fun to think that there are hundreds of fruits around the world that I’ll never try (top on the list, for me, is the cashew fruit… I spent hours walking around La Merced in Mexico City searching for a northerly-straying marañon).
One of the most important culinary lessons I’ve learned came from my good friend Lindsey in New Jersey. A few years back, Linz was visiting the Pacific Northwest for a few days and taught me all about cooking the humble bean.
Nation Plates 