I went to the fruit market the other day with San Geraldo. The plan was for me to carry the produce home while he continued on to the supermarket. Ana Crespillo and family (the owners of the fruit market) always make it worth my while.
First: Because they give warm greetings and enormous hugs when they see us (and they tell me how much they’ve missed me if I don’t visit often enough).
Second: Because there’s always some sweet, and usually healthy, treat waiting for me. Fresh dates. A slice of melon. A glass of Málaga wine.
This time, the treat was fruity but not in the most wholesome sense. Fruit-flavored gum drops! Ana’s daughter Laura gave me a sample and I then told her to bag up a couple of handfuls for me to take home.
Then, as I left the market, Ana came running outside with a little gift bag of treats for me. Gum drops! I thanked her but told her I already bought a bag of them. She said (in Spanish), “Oh, those aren’t the best ones.” (Could have fooled me), “These are frutas del bosque!” “Frutas del bosque” translates to “fruits of the forest,” but what it really means is “berries.”
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| LAURA AND ANA, OCTOBER 2013. (EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL NOW.) |
The gum drops are unbelievably fresh and they’re loaded with natural flavor. So, they taste (well… tasted) just like the real thing… OK, except for the 12 sacks of sugar and other stuff.
(Click any image to be overwhelmed with sweetness.)
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| BACK HOME: THE FRUTAS DEL BOSQUE PHOTO SHOOT (WHILE THERE WERE STILL SOME LEFT). |
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| DUDO THE BUSYBODY. ASSISTANT AND OFFICIAL SNIFFER. |
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| A CAT CARB CRASH ON THE SURPRISINGLY FRUTAS DEL BOSQUE–HUED DAYBED. (NO, HE DIDN’T REALLY EAT ANY.) |
