My birthday was so spectacular that it is taking me awhile to get through photos and videos to post. So in the meantime, I thought I’d share one of my new food discoveries here in Bali.
While in Costa Rica last year, I discovered my love of a good mango. Mangoes were so plentiful and fresh – I just couldn’t get enough. I purchased a few from my local grocery store in the states, and they’re okay, but just not the same as a fresh, ripe from the vine mango in Costa Rica.
I was hoping I might find similarly fresh and tasty mangoes in Bali, but it is not their season. Instead, I was served an interesting fruit I’ve never tried before – fresh mangosteen.
Pretty purple/red on the outside – white, juicy fleshy sections on the inside. The texture of the fruit is kind of like the soft areas of a honeydew. Or maybe a bit like a peach. But the taste is different than either…. it is reminiscent of many fruits – but hard to describe.
It was very good, different than I would’ve expected. When we stopped by a farmers market the other day, one of the vendors offered me a mangosteen ‘gratis’, in hopes I would purchase more. One bite and I was hooked!
It was even sweeter and fresher than the mangosteen I had eaten for breakfast the day prior. I purchased 5 and paid 5,000 Rupiah. That may sound like a lot, but it’s only .55 cents – basically 11 cents each. I think they often sell for over $3.00 EACH when imported into the states (if you can even find it).
So mangosteen is the new mango. And now I’m going to go to the market and buy more!
Have you ever tried fresh mangosteen?
Pour into an 8×8 baking pan sprayed with cooking spray or oiled with canola or olive oil. Bake for 30-40 minutes. (til toothpick pulls out clean).
Drove past many vineyards (it was Sonoma County, after all).  Sometimes I wish I liked wine.
We stopped by 
Very well fed. 
We played a little Cribbage. 
Since I can’t eat the food I love, I’ll write about it and make you hungry for it too.
In Utah, it seems like there is a hamburger joint on every corner. Here, it’s Teriyaki joints – with names like Sunny Teriyaki, Yummy Teriyaki, Joy Teriyaki, etc. Sometimes there is more than one on the same corner.
I enjoyed my last Frost doughnut (or 4) on Tuesday.
I started with a maple bar (my favorite). OMG, it was the best – I mean the THE BEST, melt-in-your-mouth maple bar I’d ever eaten. I knew right away that Frost was going to be trouble.
Hannah got to know me pretty well over the next month or so…. I’d walk in and she’d tell me immediately if they were out of maple bars. Sometimes I could turn around and walk right back out. 
The traditional Maple Bar is my favorite, but I also tried and enjoyed Southern Red Velvet (with cream cheese frosting), and found myself craving the moist Cherry Bomb now and then. The Aztec Chocolate were sinful. The Wedding Cake doughnut tasted just like white wedding cake topped with buttercream frosting. Lots more varieties to be sampled, but the maple bars usually win out.