What the heck is that?

I'm just got back from Sprouts, my local whole-foods store, and I found several things I didn't expect to see!

In case you're not familiar with these, this is a Kiwano (horned melon), a dragonfruit, and dried goji berries. 

What do all of these have in common? They are all extremely high in vitamins and antioxidants.

Make yourself an expert on these and impress your friends.

The Kiwano fruit, also known as a horned melon (cucumis metuliferus, if you want to be fancy), is grown on a vine, is indigenous to Africa, and is part of the cucumber family. 

The inside of this fruit is green, gelatinous (think Ghostbusters) and contains semi-soft seeds. The taste if under-ripe is close to a cucumber, as it ripens it gets closer in flavor similar to that of a kiwi, and as it begins to over-ripen it can take on a taste similar to a banana. How crazy is that? This fruit is traditionally eaten by being cut and half and you literally suck the gel-like fruit out of the middle. Very strange, but come on, it's pretty cool too! The seeds are semi-soft and can be eaten (they have no flavor) or spit out. The fruit contains iron and potassium as well as other vitamins. The entire fruit is edible if desired, the thick skin is high in Vitamin C. On occasion the fruit is cooked and used as part of a meal. Maybe I'll even do that. We'll see!

Dragon Fruit is found in Asia, Israel, and from Mexico to South America. It is part of the cactus family. It is both sweet and crunchy and according to about.com it also tastes like a blend between a kiwi and a pear. It can have either red or white flesh inside with lots of tiny black seeds (like a kiwi). Again there are many ways to eat this fruit, but most commonly it is cut in half (longways) and then the fruit is scooped out of the skin. THE SKIN IS NOT EDIBLE, but can be a pretty nifty bowl if you're serving it to guests. Make sure all of the pink stuff is off of your fruit, its not edible and is likely to make you an unhappy camper if you eat it. 

Goji Berries are something you probably have heard about over the last few months. They have gotten a lot of mainstream attention as a "superfood". I found these dried goji berries at Sprouts in a bin. I don't know why I bought some, but I did. I'm curious about food? I ate a few, they were chewy and kind of bland but they did have a vague berry taste. This could be why they frequently come covered in chocolate. They are native to China and can be eaten almost any which-way. Dried, cooked, tea, juice, you name it. They are high in vitamin A and research is being done to see if they help neutralize free-radicals. In my research I also came across a warning that said do not take with blood thinners. So if you are on any medications or have and blood or bleeding disorders, please talk to your doctor first!

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Alright, I have tasted my horny fruit! Er, horned fruit. It was weird but not unpleasant. It tasted like a slightly sweet cucumber. What did I do with it? Well, my family has a motto, namely: Needs More Booze.

I made a wine cooler.

I cut my fruit in half and used a spoon to clean the flesh out of the exterior. Then I used that spoon to mash the juice through a fine strainer/colander. It wasn't a whole lot but it was a neat green color. In fact, now that I think about it, it almost tastes like that "cucumber melon" stuff smelled like. I used the empty shell of the fruit to make a cup by cutting the spines on the bottom end off until it could stand and not wobble. 

Kiwano wine cooler:

Juice from 1/2 Kiwano
Juice from 1/2 lime
3-4 oz dry white wine (I used a Chardonnay)
2 oz club soda
Ice

Place your ice in a martini shaker with both juices and the wine. Shake well. Pour into a cocktail glass (wine glass, martini glass, whatever you like or have on hand), top with club soda and garnish with Kiwano fruit or lime. You can also pour it into your Kiwano cup! Definitely an umbrella worthy drink.