Dragon Fruit Flower

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Shortly after we moved here we planted a bunch of trees and plants. We had a huge mess of vines and weed trees to clear out, but we wanted to get started with the fruit trees as soon as possible since it can sometimes take 5 + years to see fruit. One of the things we planted was dragon fruit also known as Pitaya or Pitahaya. It is a cactus-looking plant that, in the wild, grows up the sides of jungle trees and then when it reaches the tops, it drops over the sides and starts flowering.

We planted ours on a fence so that we would be able to harvest any fruit. We have since then removed that fence, but so as to not disturb the plant, we staked it and just sort of forgot about it since it is no longer in an ideal location. Well, lo and behold, I noticed it was forming a flower!

Dragon fruit flower
Dragon fruit flower forming

We were really surprised, because we have not done anything for this plant and I think it could really use a better location than right in the middle of the yard. A couple of days after seeing this bloom form, I went outside to check on it at night and saw that it was in its full display.

Cool dragon fruit flower
In full glory (with a little gecko stowaway)

 


In this short video you can see the size of the bloom in comparison with my hand

It only blooms for one night and by the morning it was starting to fade. It is pollinated by night animals if the bees don’t get it in the early morning. We also collected a little pollen in case we see more flowers come up. It is unlikely that we will see fruit from this particular flower, but we are hoping to get more plants and cross pollinate varieties as well. Dragon fruit are some of the most beautiful fruits as well so we are looking forward to that. Until then, the flower and its awesome aroma was thrill enough.

Daytime dragon fruit flower
Pitaya flower by light of the morning

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4th of July Rincón Style

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The 4th of July, or America’s Independence Day, is not very celebrated in Puerto Rico. In spite of Puerto Rico being part of the U.S., Puerto Rico is very much her own in terms of culture. In all the days leading up to the 4th in Greeley we would hear and see lots of fireworks going off around town (legal or not). We didn’t hear a peep in our neighborhood in Puerto Rico. None-the-less a few people from the states thought it would be fun to celebrate the 4th Rincon style: on the beach! Add in some fireworks, a couple of frisbees, some music, a bonfire, and a potluck BBQ and we were in for a good time!

Landing
The Landing

Some friends had a connection that let everyone have access to park at the Landing, an old abandoned restaurant right on the beach. We had never been on this beach though it is just an extension of Sandy Beach, really.  It was a great spot for a party!

Bonfire
Ready for a bonfire

It was large enough that a lot of people could hang out, swim, socialize, play etc but also a little hidden away. Once the sun went down they set the fireworks off. We could also see far off in the distance the firework display at the Coast Guard Base in Aguadilla.

Silhouette
Sun beginning its descent

Fireworks beneath the palms
Watching fireworks beneath palm fronds

It was a great night with a great bunch of people. We love our community. People always have awesome ideas (and parties) here. Hope you all had a nice 4th as well.

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Rincon Hot Sauce Contest (and my Award-Winning Sauce)!

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Living in Rincón is so fun because so many people are living self-directed (and often very unique) lives and when something sounds fun, oftentimes people will just go ahead and do it! That was the case when our friend Frances (and Greg) decided to put on a Hot Sauce contest at the balneario (public beach).

Frances Hot sauce contest
Official Poster of the contest

I have made fresh salsas before, but never a hot sauce. But hey, it was for fun and I love hot sauce and salsas and anything creative. The main difference (as far as I can tell) between a hot sauce and a salsa is that the hot sauce has vinegar in it and usually salsa doesn’t. Also it tends to be used much less liberally than a salsa dip. But in the end it really didn’t matter because at this event there was every type of sauce, salsa, dip, hummus, what-have-you.

As for my hot sauce, I chose to do two jalapeño based ones. In Puerto Rico, pique  as people call it, is often not very picante at all. I often miss the spicy foods and salsas we had at all the Mexican restaurants in Colorado because while some Puerto Rican food is very delicious, it is just not very hot and spicy. I have seen Puerto Ricans get red in the face over mild Pace salsa Ha! Wusses! 🙂 Hot spice is just not a thing here. So it was fun to go to an event that set our faces ablaze! Wowza!

I used jalapeño peppers as well as a few poblanos for the base and spicy component of my two hot sauces. I can’t wait till we can do another annual garden for veggies, but for now I just had to get them at the store.

Lot sa jalapenos
Spicy jalapeño peppers

I also thought up a few different hot sauce names and drew out some designs. Here are the two that made the cut:

Hot Kiss Holy Jalapeno

Once the sauces were completed, we headed over to the balneario.

Me and hotsauces
Bringing the heat (they would probably be more in the “medium” category of spiciness)

The event was super fun and crowded! I was surprised how many people showed up with great sauces and food.

Hot Sauce contest
Hanging out under the flamboyan tree with a dj and of course hula hoops for kids of all ages

There were a few categories to enter and I entered Caribbean and Jalapeño. Others included Habanero, Freestyle, and Fruit-based. And there were different ways to win in each category. There must have been about 20 entrants in each category! Really great participation. I really didn’t expect much for mine since it was my first time ever making a hot sauce (and we arrived late, no surprise there), so the next day when the results were announced I was super shocked to find out that I had won in the Jalapeño category for best name (Holy Jalapeño). But more amazing was that Hot Kiss won for best overall flavor in the Caribbean category! Now I can say that I make award-winning hot sauces! Another lifetime first thanks to living in Puerto Rico.

Awards hot sauce Who doesn’t love winning an award or two?!

Some people love recipes, so here’s the basic recipe for Award-Winning Hot Kiss. As my family called my cooking growing up, it’s definitely a Cassie Concoction!

Ingredients
(to sautee/cook)
10-12 Jalapeño peppers (leave one or two to add raw for more heat)
1-2 Poblano peppers
1 cup fresh cut pinapple (sautee some and add some fresh)
tiniest amount of red onion (I am not a fan of onion)
5 cloves garlic (3 to sautee and 2 raw)
Sautee oil (coconut oil)

(to add in fresh)
1 fresh mango
1 fresh passionfruit
1 teaspoon or so salt
pinch or two cumin
dash of ground pepper
dash of ground cayenne
handful of fresh cilantro
juice squeezed from half a fresh grapefruit
juice squeezed from half a fresh lime
dash of chia seeds (thickener but not totally necessary for taste)
2-3 shots of distilled vinegar (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)

Directions:
Sautee in a high heat oil (I used coconut oil) about ten jalapeño peppers after seeding and and slicing length-wise, 3 cloves of garlic, half or 3/4 of the poblano, a little red onion, some pineapple and some salt. Sautee for about 5 minutes. Then add a bunch of water (maybe 1 1/2 cups?) and let it cook some more for about 20 minutes stirring regularly. Wait till it is about room temperature and then start the blending process.

Next take the raw ingredients including the leftover raw garlic, jalapeno/poblano and pineapple and add them with all the rest of the list in the blender with the sautéed/cooked items. Slowly add the vinegar until you like the taste. If you want it spicier, add more fresh jalapeño or poblano. Transfer to a jar of your choice. Refrigerate and then eat when cool! Will last quite a while in the fridge. ¡Buen Provecho!

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Puerto Rico’s 11.5% Sales Tax: Highest in the U.S.

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Puerto Rico will begin an 11.5% islands-wide sales tax July 1, 2015. This will make it the highest sales tax in the U.S. (see this chart for what other states/area charge) and doesn’t even include the municipal sales taxes that are charged additionally.

I have recently been reading a blog/site called War Against All Puerto Ricans about the influence of American politics on the island and it spells out a not-so-pretty picture of colonization throughout  Puerto Rico’s history up to the current economic issues facing modern Puerto Rico. Of course, the New York Times has a slightly different version and perspective on what should be done for the debt issues here. I have been trying to unravel what exactly is happening and what would be the best way to help, but I still don’t exactly understand what is going on nor how to fix it. For the most part, I try to steer away from politics and news (especially bad news).

None-the-less, we are people who live here and so therefore have a lot of “word on the street” conversations. And while most things take forever to happen, this sales tax increase from 7% to 11.5% happened very rapidly and took some people off guard. Most people we’ve talked to aren’t optimistic that it will solve anything and many think the entire government is corrupt and should be thrown out. The economic woes of Puerto Rico have been going on for a long time. Back when we first visited the island in 2005 there was no sales tax at all and shortly after our visit they instituted it for the first time ever. It was supposed to solve the then-economic crisis. Apparently it did not.

I am still trying to figure out why there would be tax benefits like Act 20 and 22 that give investors 0% capital gains tax that overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy and then institute such a hugely regressive sales tax (adversely affecting the poor) as this one without at least amending those Acts. I know they are also trying to set up a value-added tax so that items are taxed at all stages of production, but it just seems like kicking around in quick sand.

Buying stuff at Home Depot
Pre-sold paint and other supplies clogged up the store

This latest huge sales tax increase did have the effect on many people, including us, of going out and buying a bunch of stuff prior to the bump in price. It was like Christmas in June! The stores were packed even on a Monday in the middle of the day. At Home Depot where we tried as best we could to buy the things we would need for the cabin, the whole back of the store was filled with orders waiting to be picked up or delivered!

In general for us, we are looking at this tax increase as an opportunity to further hone our skills at limiting consumption and waste. An economy that is built on debt, exploitation of people and resources and mass consumption is sick and hurting anyway! So this gives us further reason to keep growing our own food, making our own things, trading and buying locally and using the informal economy instead of the box stores and corporations as much as possible this day and age.

And I don’t think we are the only ones. Puerto Rico already has a hard time just collecting the 7% tax as many vendors sell only in cash and don’t report or turn in any of the taxes. I can only imagine that collecting an unpopular tax like this one will prove to be even more of a futile endeavor to improving the economy.

Pomarrosa
Our yard economy is still doing great! These beautiful pomarrosas are fruiting

Chickens
And the chickens are giving us 8-10 eggs a day that we can sell or trade locally

Bananas
And there is nothing like home-grown bananas

Who knows what’s to come with the economy of Puerto Rico, but we are in it for the long haul. For better or worse, we love this island and we want it to succeed and prosper. Just maybe we need to redefine those terms to focus on the success of people and the planet rather than just the money. But hey, if all hell really breaks loose at least there’s plenty of abundance on the island if you just know where to look.

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