Hi, My Name is Lauren and I am a Produce Nerd!!

Hello Buttercups! T and I have been enjoying our little staycation--doing fun things and getting stuff done around the house. On Saturday morning he woke up and said "I'm going to rip out the back room today..." so he did, and painted, trimmed, made a new stair..etc. The "back room" is basically our laundry/mud room. Now that it looks all nice and shiny I suggested making it a meditation room, that didn't fly. :) Anyway, yesterday we took a little trip to an Italian grocery store that T had heard about. I really wasn't expecting much from the place besides hanging meat (gross), lots of cheese and a bakery. Boy was I surprised..

As we walked up I spotted a HUGE display of watermelons.. my eyes lit up!

As we walked around looking at the amazing amounts of produce I spotted a sign that said "Cherimoya 6 for $1.00" Holy crap! The mother-load!!!! I had read about cherimoya fruit on a few blogs and I know it's a favorite in the raw community. I asked the produce guy how to pick them and he told me that the unripe ones would ripen on the counter in 1-2 days, so I bought a few ripe and a few unripe. As I was feeling them for softness they were practically exploding in my hands. I put my hand up to T's face and he asked why I smelled like candy! These are soooo sweet and amazingly delicious!

I opened one up when I got home. They are so pretty inside!

Another gem I found.. fresh dates! Right off the vine, un-dried, just the pure goodness of the un-tampered fruit. Have you ever had dates fresh/raw? I popped a couple and they were like candy but a little astringent. I didn't might the slight bitterness because the sweetness was overpowering. I am still not sure if they need to soften a little. For now I will enjoy them as they are! Yummy! My brother in law stopped by last night and I showed him them. He had a big smile on his face and said "Oh my God, you are so excited!" Ha ha! What can I say? I am a produce nerd!

I figured the only thing I would buy at the Italian market would be olives. I really lucked out with my fruit finds! But I stilled picked up some fresh oil cured olives. Salty at it's best. Mmm!

More from our staycation on Friday! We are going to the beach today and hopefully having a nice vegan dinner out! Have a nice day all!