The Beauty of an Unripe Pome

I hate fruit.

But, not really.

I love kiwi's, unripe nectarines, cantalope melon, apple bananas, and wild-picked blackberries and raspberries.

I used to like mangos, but have had rather too many of these to like them anymore. When they're ripening and dropping everywhere, and there's that sweet, mushy smell, and swarming tiny, ripe mango loving fruit flies are subtly flitting around, and you can pick and eat just bags of them...well, at some point, you finally have enough. Still, every year that we go back to Hawaii, I'll eat a few--but only if they're tart and almost unripe.

Same goes for papaya's. Mmmm--firm, not mushy, with lime. Yum!

And, I love avocados.
Did you know they are a fruit?
We used to pick bags of these, too.

I guess I don't really hate fruit, I just don't like soft, ripe, mushy fruit textures (think mealy, mushy red delicious apples -ugh!).

I don't know how people eat mushy banana's, mushy grapes, or mushy cherries.

And, since it is extremely difficult to find fruit just at that peak that I like.
And, since I generally don't like fruit and am just not in the mood.
And, since if I do like fruit, it might just be for a fleeting moment--so that a bag of apples ends up sitting for 6 months in the fridge.
I generally hate, and generally don't eat, fruit.

But, this summer, I'm practically drowning in it.

1 green apple, 2 nectarines, 1 cantelope melon, and 5 bananas so far.

I have a small watermelon in the fridge.

And, today I bought raspberries and blueberries (along with a lot of vegetables--because that is what I really do like).

Fruit.
Regardless of what appears to be a genetic component to my dislike (shared emphatically by my sister).
Or, the plethora of soft, mushy fruit choices in our food markets.
Or, that it just might be the anti-oxident secret ingredient to last week's run.
For some reason, this summer, I like what I'm eating.

I never thought I'd say this, but...

... fruit just might be here to stay.