Guava's.

I was so excited when I first saw the guava tree in our neighbors yard. Guavas make me think of home. My mom and dad were great African adventurers. They were forever setting off on expeditions into the Okavango Swamps the Etosha Salt Pan or other remote African wildernesses. They often left my brothers and I with my Grandmother, Bebe. Bebe lived on a guava farm called Ostrich Spring in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. She had hundreds of guava trees and we would walk, daily, through the orchards. I loved the exotic fragrance of guavas and we'd pick the pink fruit and eat them, still warm from the African sun. I have such fond memories of Bebe and Ostrich Spring. I think of them often, more so at this time of year. The guava tree in my neighbors yard is a prolific bearer and, for the month of October, the gorgeous fragrance of my childhood permeates my whole home. It is utterly wonderful!

My neighbor does not eat guavas. She has given us permission to take as many guavas as we can carry and we fill our little bucket daily.


I wish you could smell this bucket... it is utterly delicious.


There are many ways we eat guavas. We eat them as is or we peal them, sprinkle them with sugar and let them sit in the fridge until it's time for desert. We make guava jelly which is so delicious, especially when it is made by my dad, who won a prize for his guava jelly at the Bathurst Show! Or, we stew them in sugar and eat them warm over ice-cream.

Recipe for Stewed Guavas:
Peal and halve guavas.
In a saucepan, bring 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar to the boil. Add to this syrup your guavas. Boil for 15 minutes or until syrup thickens. Eat warm over ice-cream.


Next time you see a guava, try one... they are yummy indeed!

Blessings and magic,
Donni