Freaky Frutanada #FreakyFruitsFriday #MelissasProduce #Sponsored

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Melissa's Produce.
I received complimentary product for the purpose of review and recipe development,

but all opinions are honest and they are my own. This page may contain affiliate links.

Welcome to this year's #FreakyFruitsFriday event. The Halloween before last, I noticed that Melissa's Produce* had a section on their website for 'Freaky Fruits.' I really wanted to showcase recipes featuring those fruits, so I reached out to my contact at Melissa's and he agreed. This year, I emailed him, again, and he agreed, again. Woohoo.

As the produce boxes started arriving, I realized that we had waaaaaaaay more produce than I could feature in just three Fridays in October. So, I decided that I would create some additional recipes and call it 'recipe testing.' The boys helped me brainstorm some ideas. You'll see most of these on the blog in this month. But, as I wrote, this is one of my official #FreakyFruitsFriday posts.

You can follow along with the hashtag #FreakyFruitsFriday; but the group will be officially posting today and on October 11th and October 18th. Stay tuned for some 'Freaky Fruit' recipes. As a side note, my Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf objects to the name. "They aren't freaky, Mom," he admonished me. "We eat them all the time. They're just fruits." He's right....in fact, they had passionfruit vines all over his school garden. Over the years we've enjoyed lots of them from there.

Have you ever heard of a 'mangonada'? I hadn't before a couple of weeks ago. But my mom stopped at a new Mexican ice cream shop in town with the boys, on their way home from school one day, and they haven't stopped talking about it since. D says it's frozen mangoes with chile, spices, salt, and Mexican candies. I still can't picture it. And when we tried to stop at the shop one weekend, it was closed.

When the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf spotted the Freaky Fruits that Melissa's Produce sent me, he asked if he could try to make a mangonada "but with a little more freaky fruits." Sure thing!  But first, please check out the other #FreakyFruitsFriday creations...

• Banana, Papaya, and PassionFruit Muffins by Hezzi-d's Books and Cooks
• Blood Orange Party Punch by Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
• Blood Orange Strawberry Papaya Daiquiri by Blogghetti
• Chayote Squash Enchiladas Suiza by Frugal & Fit
• Chile Lime Shrimp with Cherimoya and Strawberry Papaya by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Dragon Fruit Cream Pie by Cooking with Carlee
• Dragon Fruit Salsa by Kate's Recipe Box
• Dragon Fruit Waldorf Salad by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Easy Blood Orange BBQ Oven Baked Salmon by Jonesin’ For Taste
• Freaky Frutanada by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Rambutan Apple Pie by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Rambutan Marshmallow Sugar Cookies by Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate by Simple and Savory
• Thai Red Curry Dragon Fruit Chicken Salad by Savory Moments

Today's Freaky Fruits

Passionfruit

In case you're unfamiliar, look at the photo above. It's a dark purple or red, egg-shaped fruit that gets wrinkled and dimpled as it ages. It should be fragrant; its aroma is unmistakable. Its flavor is also distinct and unforgettable. I love its sweet-tart taste and I've used them to top Pavlovas. Passionfruit Curd is also a favorite. And, every year, I've made passionfruit liqueur though I guess I've never posted a recipe for that. Whoops. I'll fix that soon.

As far as why they are classified as 'freaky', it's probably because they aren't readily available at your corner market's produce section. But if you can get your hands on some, do. They are lovely. I decided to use mine very simply: slicing them open and spooning them on top of D's version of a mangonada.

Strawberry Papaya

Native to tropical regions, Strawberry Papayas have a lovely salmon-hued flesh that tastes like strawberries mixed with peaches. While it was tempting to just scoop out the seeds and eat the fruit with a spoon, D diced them up to put into his creation.

Blood Oranges

In my mind, there's nothing really freaky about the blood orange, besides the name. These are usually slightly smaller than the average orange with skin that might have darker red blotches. The pulp can be deep pink to crimson, but it can also just have streaks of color interspersed with a typical orange flesh. They are also, at least in my experience, sweeter than regular oranges.

Freaky Frutanada

When the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf decided to make his mangonada riff, he grabbed one strawberry papaya, one blood orange, and two passionfruits from the bowl and went to work. It was the evening of a crazy heat wave here on the Monterey Peninsula. The mercury was still above 85 degrees F - at 8 o'clock in the evening; I was complaining that my eyeballs were sweating. My brain was addled by heat, so I posted a few photos and asked the other #FreakyFruitsFriday bloggers to help me come up with a name. I got: Frosty Exotic Fruit Smoothie, Tadpole Tonic, Freaky Frothy, and Tropical Freaky Fruit Smoothie.

D wasn't sold on any of those, saying that it needed to lean more towards the mangonada inspiration. I suggested Freaky Fruitanada. He agreed to Freaky Frutanada with the Spanish way of spelling fruit, fruta. Great...I like when we can compromise.

Ingredients

• 6 or 7 C cubed frozen mangoes
• 1 strawberry papaya, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 C milk
• juice from 1 blood orange
• juice from 1 lime
• water as needed
• Tajín, to taste, or other chile-lime-salt blends (Trader Joe's has one)
• 2 passionfruit for garnish
• Also needed: blender or food processor

Procedure

Place frozen mango chunks, cubed strawberry papaya, juice from one blood orange, and juice from one lime in a blender. Blend, adding additional water, as needed until mixture reaches desired consistency.

To serve, pour or scoop the mixture into individual serving glasses. 

Add a generous sprinkle of Tajín or other chile-lime-salt blend.

Slice the passionfruits in half and spoon the pulp on top of the smoothie.

Garnish each glass with a straw and a spoon. Serve immediately.

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*Disclosure: I received product for free from the sponsor for recipe development, however, I have received no additional compensation for my post. My opinion is 100% my own and 100% accurate.