Kumquat

This is the story of two chicks in their....20s...who have decided to take the grocery store on by storm. What started as a routine trip to Wegman's to pick up pork chops for dinner, quickly turned into an adventure into the world of exotic food experimentation.

Stating in the produce section, we picked up several different kinds of fruits that you may or may not have heard of, unless you watch Dr. Oz.  Excitement ran through our blood as we picked up different fruits we've passed by and never would have given the time of day. You know, like the nerds in high school who are all making the big bucks now. As you grow up, you find out that looks don't always matter the most. Same is true when it comes to what you put in your mouth; fruit and vegetables.

Our first stop takes us to the land commonly known for your General Tso's chicken. Not today friends, not today.

With the help of Google, we find that the Kumquat is native to the Asia-Pacific region. But, at Wegman's, they decided to stay domestic.

Upon closer investigation of this small, orange fruit sold by the pint, that's what it looks like. A smaller, more ovular orange.

You know what they say, if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then it must be a duck, right? Eh, kind of. While it did look and smell like an orange, the taste was not as sweet as an orange, but rather tart.

Sorry folks, we didn't know we were doing a blog at the time so don't mind our so fresh and so clean clean look.

Molly thought the entire thing tasted like an orange rind, tart and slightly bitter but still an enjoyable experience. Jennifer found it extremely tart, like a Sweet Tart candy WAR HEAD! (Thanks to Jennifer's manager we like to call "bossman" for reminding us of that very tart candy from the 1990s), but the seeds and rind were edible. She thought to add sugar to it, but then remembered that we are trying to be healthy in our foodventure, so Molly suggested Agave Nectar.

The Agave took the tart right out. For those that don't know, Agave Nectar is a natural sweetener from the Agave plant. It is like honey but thinner and sweeter. Agave + Kumquats = a winning combination. 

About the Authors

Jennifer and Molly met in August 2009 while working, slaving away at HiWay Pizza in State College, PA. We instantly became BFFs/seesters/roomies because of our age, and well, we found out we had a lot more in common than liking the strapping young men in a college town. On our first "date" we bonded over nachos and liquor. We both had a love for jalapenos and the asian bartender. From then on, we've been attached at the hip traveling to mini-Paris in VIVVVVVAAAA LAS VEGAS, DC, Philly, the concrete jungle of NYC and many more places to come. Molly is now an RN and Jennifer is a research associate at a research investment firm.

Along our travels, we like to use Yelp to find hidden treasures of the tastebuds. Molly and I tend to like the different things in life, especially when it comes to food...hence this blog. One of us will say we want to try one thing, the other wants a different dish and we end up saying, "Oh, that sounds wonderful. Let's do halfsies." So we do.

Among our favorite places to eat has been Gusto in Greenwich Village. There we tried raviolo. A blend of buffalo ricotta (which we thought meant a spicy/hot sauce ravioli...but it is actually a type of cheese from I believe Italy. If you EVER see that on a menu, it is a MUST EAT. So smooth and creamy and just delicious.) It also is made with egg, pancetta bacon with a sage butter sauce. Our taste buds are tingling now reminiscing about that dish.

We stumbled across a hole in the wall in DC called Osman & Joe's Steak 'N Egg Kitchen. From the outside, it is probably not a place the average person would choose to have their coffee and pancakes in the morning. Even Molly and I were a bit skeptical at first but we know the best places to eat are the little hole in the walls so we gave it a chance -- plus, the reviews on Yelp were great so we figured we would give it a whirl. Now, if you're on a diet, stay away. We'd only recommend eating here when you just need that good ole greasy fix. We had an assortment of...we can't quite remember....Jennifer remembers having biscuits and gravy...but just know it was an amazing breakfast.

Also in DC, we walked by a little Mexican joint and thought we'd have some appetizers while we waited for our guys to finish help somebody move. The place is Guapo's and there we had a smorgasbord of appetizers and desserts. Again, this was a while ago and we don't remember what we had but it was all muy delicioso.

In the blogs to follow, we will take you on our Foodventurous Voyage. Pull up a chair and put the napkin on your lap and let our tastebuds do the talking. Bon Appetit!