Ishigaki Island, Happy Days Surrounded by Fruit

Due to my husband's job, our home often receives gifts from farmers.
Since I started working in the same industry, I've met many more farmers who are mutual acquaintances, and they've even started treating me kindly.

Around June, the season for my favorite island pineapples begins,
mangoes,
dragon fruit,
passion fruit,
Ishigaki Island is full of delicious fruit when summer arrives.

Recently, we've had a bountiful harvest of guava,
shikuwasa,
and island bananas.

Thinking of me, because I love the scent of guava and was so happy about it,
a farmer went out of their way to bring all this fruit to our house.

Island bananas are expensive even when you buy them on Ishigaki Island,
so I can't easily bring myself to buy them. They're about 1,000 yen a bunch.
My children weren't very fond of bananas.
But they eat island bananas, saying they're delicious.
They even request that I buy them.
It's strange that they don't want to eat Philippine bananas,
but they love these.

"It's strange." That's an objective comment. The reason is,
I don't eat bananas, so I don't know the difference. I tell my children not to be picky eaters, but
I have a trauma with bananas, so I just can't eat them.

According to people who love island bananas,
they are chewy and have a different sweetness than regular bananas. My husband says they also have a slight tartness.

Island bananas are harvested while still green,
and you hang them up like this to ripen, waiting until they turn yellow and are ready to eat.

Oh, husband. That string you used to hang them is not very stylish.
That's the stuff for bundling up paper waste, isn't it?

I was told to be careful not to eat too much guava because it can give you an upset stomach,
but I can't consume this much, and I don't want to waste it,
so I decided to make jam and natural yeast.

The scent of guava is the best.
I want to be wrapped in it forever. It turned out delicious, with a gentle sweetness and a strong guava aroma remaining. Since I made so much, I shared some with my friends.

The day after I made a huge batch of jam,
another farmer
brought some to my workplace, saying, "You like guava, right?"
More than any expensive cake, I'm happy about the sentiment of them picking it from their garden tree because they know I like it.
Isn't that wonderful? This is what it means to have your heart filled and feel warm inside.

Now then, for the rest of the large amount of guava,
I'm using the remainder for natural yeast.

I made bread with the yeast I made after this, but
it was a failure. It seems I should have used it as a starter when it was at its most active. I'll have to try again.

This week was truly a fruit and vegetable festival,
with people calling to say, 'Come get some bananas!' and other farmers calling to say, 'Come get some vegetables!', making for happy days.

Living on the island, I can get most things done within 10 minutes, so I have plenty of time, and being called out on a weekday is no trouble at all.
Everywhere I go, I see the evergreen tropical greenery and the wide-open sea, spending every day in the laid-back island time.
I never knew slow living could be this happy.

Bananas are everywhere like this along the road.
Even though they've grown like this, no one has harvested them yet, and recently they've been hanging so low they're almost touching the ground from the weight.

My daughter made chocolate bananas with the massive amount of bananas,
and also made banana pound cake.

It's strange how gifts work,
they always seem to arrive at the same time,
and she even came home saying they were handing out bananas at her club activity too. (lol)
Bananas all the time.
Bananas everywhere.

This is how I spend my days.
Look forward to more daily life on Ishigaki Island.