Garlic, Shrimp, And Feta, A Match Made In Heaven

Breakfast, Saturday January 7: cheesy shrimp toast (toasted tuscan roasted garlic bread (say that five times bitches), shrimp sauteed with scallion in olive oil, parm, feta); fruit and yogurt with poppy seed.

For the toast, just assemble and pop in the toaster oven til melty and yummy. 

Carambolas are tricky. They are really tasty when fully ripe. until that point they are just "Meh." Edible but nothing to write home about. Up until that point however, they are very pretty. Starfruit, the fruit that looks like a star. Whoda thunkit? Well the executive chef in the sky has a slightly twisted sense of humor. When these things taste good is usually right about the time that all of the abuses they have suffered at the hand of man come out. Plus the shape that makes them so appropriate for a garnish makes those abuses appear doubly. The edges of the fruit get banged up and them as it ripens they turn black. So there is a window of about a day, maybe 2 if you are lucky, when they haven't turned black at the tips but are coming into their full flavor. If you want the full effect from these guys you just have to be flexible with your planning and use them when they are peaking.

Avocados have a similar problem. If you buy one in the store already ripe then it has been test mushed by other shoppers and you will likely end up with an edible but ugly fruit. Since I use avocado a LOT more than I use starfruit, I solve this problem by purchasing clearly greeen, rock hard fruit and allowing them to ripen unmolested with the bananas and plantains (another food that needs similar treatment.