Cotton in the Desert?

JWise Photo of the Day

A cotton field ready for harvest in Phoenix, Arizona

Ah yes, it’s November here in Phoenix, Arizona. The long hot summer is over, heck just a couple of weeks ago we were still having 100 degree days (38 celsius) – perfect cotton growing weather. Just look out there on this broad expanse of pure white cotton, for every 2 pounds (1kg) of cotton we will use more than 5000 gallons (20,000 liters) of water to grow and process enough fiber to make a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. The Rocky Mountains are not getting the snowfall needed to replenish the Colorado river that fills our lakes for drinking water, but some idiots here in Phoenix feel it is viable to waste this precious resource to grow cotton. Imagine living in a desert where only a handful of days have rain and then think of a place where without much regard water is thrown on cotton, golf courses, and tens of thousands of swimming pools, and there you would find Phoenix, Arizona.

Lilikoi – Passion Fruit

JWise Food, Photo of the Day

Insides of the Passion Fruit also known as Lilikoi - on Hawaii

If you ever go to Hawaii you will likely have more than one opportunity to try what is known in Hawaii as lilikoi, or, for us mainlanders – passion fruit. The same day we bought the dragon fruit we saw these old wrinkled up leathery fruits – ah, so that’s what passion fruit looks like. While on the islands we had lilikoi shave ice at Jo-Jo’s on Kauai, Mahi in guava-lilikoi butter sauce on Molokai at the Kualapu’u Cookhouse and something else with passion fruit but my memory fails me. Passion Fruit is super yummy, a lot more tart than we imagined, but the flavor is phenomenal. I have been looking for a passion fruit jam recipe that uses fresh fruit and not fruit juice concentrate but this must be one of the most closely kept secrets in the culinary world.

Inside the Dragon

JWise Photo of the Day

Inside the Dragon Fruit

Visiting the Wild Oats Marketplace nearby we come upon this odd-looking thing. A quick search of labels tells us this baseball-sized red orb is dragon fruit, also known as the pitaya or pitahaya, as well as the strawberry pear, and, for you Latinphiles, the Hylocereus undatus. The dragon fruit is a tropical fruit originating from the Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica area, however, is now cultivated around the world where tropical climates permit. So, if you live somewhere where 20 to 50 inches of rain (54cm to 136cm) a year, with temperatures up to 104 degrees (40c) are the norm, you might want to try growing this yourself, because, at $8 apiece, this is probably the most expensive fruit I have ever seen. And, no, it doesn’t taste like chicken, nor would it taste better with chicken.