Soursopsicles

Have you tried local soursop on Guam? It is one of my favorite fruits here. Sweet, sour, creamy, and delicious chilled. Also delicious in popsicle form.






First, skin and seed the soursop. This can be quite messy. Make sure you catch every seed!





Place seeded soursop in blender and add fresh young coconut water to dilute it. If you don't have coconut water, chilled green tea is a nice alternative.





Pour soursop-coconut water mixture in non-plastic Onyx popsicle molds.






Place popsicle sticks in molds. (Does anyone have a suggestion for a reusable non-plastic alternative to wooden popsicle sticks?)







Enjoy a soursopsicle after a nice boonie stomp!

Life Giving Coconuts

If you want fresh coconut water, grab a young, green coconut (manha) and a machete.
Hack away at the top...Until you see a hole...Drain into a glass and enjoy now or chill for later.
Halve the coconut...
Scoop out the sweet, tender meat and enjoy!Good news: coconuts are free and everywhere on Guam! It's a great local food source on Guam. Coconut water makes a great sports drink with potassium, magnesium, and sodium. (Don't have more than one or your digestive system will not like you.)

Local Fruit: Siniguelas

Siniguelas in view! O! the joy! Here is another local food I discovered here on Guam. This bite sized fruit is similar to a plum. The skin is crisp and the inside juicy. Look for them at a farmer's market...or make friends with a farmer...

Margarita's: Supporting Local Agriculture

Photo Credit: Project HotGuam.com on Flickr
Used by Creative Commons License

Margarita's Burritos and Barbeque on Pale San Vitores (Hotel Road) in Tumon, has always been vegan friendly, but they came out with a new menu a few months back and actually included a vegan section. They have a few different options, all of which include plenty of fresh veggies and their homemade black beans. When many restaurants are uncertain what vegan even means, it's refreshing to see one that not only understands the needs of the vegan diet, but goes out of their way to accommodate it.

Photo Credit: Author's Own

In addition to their tasty vegan fare, Margarita's serves mojitos made with organically grown mint, and uses a locally and organically grown herb called culantro rather than imported cilantro as a major staple. The restaurant's tomatoes, too, are grown on a small farm in Yigo. It's great to see more local businesses supporting sustainable agriculture on Guam! 

I was happy to see the following note on their new menu as well: "In our effort to reduce waste, Margarita's does not offer bottled water.We also compost our organic waste and recycle aluminum cans!" Just another reason to check them out!

Local Lettuce

As of December 10, select Payless stores, including Micronesia Mall, started selling a variety of locally-grown lettuce: Red butter, Lollo bionda, Red oak leaf, Green oak leaf, Lollo rossa, Green butter, Green butter incised leaf, and Red butter incised leaf, each for $3.99/lb. "Tri-head" (Green Oak, Lollo rossa, Lollo bionda) lettuce sells for $4.79. The lettuce is grown hydroponically, or without soil, and comes with the root system intact to supply the lettuce with nutrients after harvest. It is pesticide-free and insecticide-free. I sampled each variety and they were deliciously flavorful and fresh. A representative from the distributor told me all Payless stores would eventually start carrying the lettuce.

Try dressing the lettuce up with Thyme-Mustard Vinaigrette. Whisk the following ingredients until smooth and emulsified:
1 tbls. olive oil
2 tbls. cider vinegar
1 tsp. whole-grain mustard
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped
pinch of sea salt
fresh ground pepper, as desired