I say feh-joe'-a and you say fee'-joa,...

The longer we live here, the more words we find that we mispronounce.  From a Kiwi's perspective anyway.  

It started with the word scone I think. You know, that delicious baked thing with dates or cheese or whatever?  Up until now, we have always rhymed scone with stone. That's wrong. Here, scone rhymes with gone.  Of course, gone itself is said with a Kiwi accent, so it's a bit difficult to get just right. We keep trying and elicit patient smiles from Kiwi friends. Restaurant wait-staff takes any sort of mispronunciation in stride and never bat and eye, no matter how we murder their language. 

Another case just came up. Our feijoa tree is loaded this year with fruit and they're ripening, fast. We have been eating them and giving them away, but have discovered that we have been saying feh-joe'-a in error.  The accent should be on the first syllable, not the second, and is pronounced fee'-joa. The -joa portion is run together, not said in two distinct syllables like we were doing. We are trying to re-train our brains and tongues, but it's not easy.  

However one says it though, it has been 'raining' feijoas under our tree and that's what this post is about today.  

Jeanne made a feijoa custard pie recently that came out beautifully. A regular work of art. 

Our tree is loaded

They fall off the tree when ripe, or very nearly so. This is one day's harvest.

The inner portion is soft like the inside of a tomato (toe-mah-toe) while the portion around it reminds me of the texture of a pear. The taste is unique. I can't think of anything to compare it with. 

On the plate I show two ways of eating them. The peeled version on the right is known as a 'feijoa bomb.'  Jeanne also made a small experimental batch of jam. 

This was my contribution to the pie, the skillful use of knife and spoon to separate the useful bits from the offal. 

Artists work in many mediums. Jeanne is skilled in drawing and painting, but produces her greatest works from the kitchen. Is it any wonder that I've put on a pound or two in the last 41+ years?  

There is enough raw material here to produce feijoa bombs on a terrifying scale if they fell into the wrong hands. Fortunately, the season is short and two-thirds of the crop has now fallen.  I wish I could send you all a big double handful. 

Jeanne's jam turned out to be good, but it didn't have much of the 'fresh feijoa' flavor, while I thought the pie retained that unique taste.  They were both cooked for some time. I'm wondering why the perceived difference?  

Fall is rapidly approaching.  As I was writing the last paragraph,  Jeanne read that it would get down to 45 tomorrow night. Good sleeping weather....

I think our little orange tree knows winter is coming and is working hard to ripen up its offering to us this year. See you all next post.                           -djf