One of my favorite aspects of travel is the availability of "exotic" fruits, vegetables and spices. In Nairobi, passion fruit is sold alongside common gala apples and bananas. Before traveling to Africa, I knew what passion fruit pulp looked like, but I really didn't know what the fruit looked like in the raw. We asked a fruit vendor if he sold passion fruit and he pointed to a plain, wrinkled pile of grey-green little balls. "THAT's passion fruit," I half-stated half-asked. He nodded.

We told him we wanted to eat it tomorrow, so he choose some of the wrinkliest and ugliest of the bunch. My skepticism showed. He said the wrinkly ones would be sweeter. Grabbing a firm one, he said it would be sour if eaten tomorrow. We purchased three "old" looking fruits and three firmer ones. My later taste test confirmed his explanation. The more wrinkly, the sweeter.

Passion Fruit Salad Dressing

For this salad dressing, the amount of sugar depends on the sweetness of the passion fruit and your overall preference. If you prefer the dressing to be a little more sour, use less sugar or more firm passion fruit.

Ingredients

• pulp of 2 ripe passion fruit

• 1 TB olive oil

• sprinkle of salt

• sprinkle of cinnamon

• sprinkle of cardamom

• sprinkle of sugar, to taste

Instructions

Slice the passion fruit in half across the midsection. Use a spoon to scrape out the pulp into a small bowl. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, mix and taste. Add salt, cinnamon, cardamom and sugar to desired taste. (If you do not like or have cardamom, no worries. It tastes good without it, too.) Pour over shaved carrots and tomatoes or over a fresh leafy salad.