Shopping at la feria

Every Saturday since a year ago there has been a farmers market in the high school gymnasium. It's a great place to get fresh fruits and vegetables and see lots of friends. It being such a small town we always see people we know, like we used to at the Madison farmers market before it got so huge. However, the produce is quite different from what we get in Madison! There is a fruit vendor that brings up lots of fruit from lower altitudes. His papayas are much riper and sweeter than anything I've found at a regular store in town. I have to be careful carrying home so they don't get smashed.

This week I found something unusual--flowers of yucca quatemalensis. They are called flor de itabo. A young tico friend told me they are "old people's food." That could be because they are very traditional or perhaps because they are quite bitter. The vendor told me to boil them and then fry them with either eggs or tuna. I've had them at Marcela's house and they were delicious so I called and asked Marcela for instructions. My big question was whether to take out the center parts-the sepals--like the vendor said I should, or not. It's pretty time consuming to take them out and fortunately Marcela told me it was OK to leave them in. They are the more bitter part and we liked them.
These fruit are fresh passion fruit, maracuya. The vendor said they would be good in cake. I got further instructions from a tica friend who is a chef that I saw at the feria. I'll be trying to make something with them today. Meanwhile, they are filling our house with a heady aroma.
Life in a different country often presents mysteries. What is this huge pile of lastre (mixture of dirt and rock) doing in the parking lot of the school? I'm sure it will go on some road in the area as fill but why are they piling it up? Are they putting any on the street near our house?
I finished the first sock of this pair. I love the way the colors change in this yarn. These socks will be fraternal--I didn't start the second one with the same color.