Dragon Fruit

I love working in Chinatown with all the gorgeous and colourful tropical fruits displayed in the markets. Orange persimmons, garnet pomegranates, and the exotic, pink and green Dragon Fruit. This aptly named fruit is also called pitahaya, from the genus Hylocereus – the fruits of several cactus species grown in warm climed countries from Australia to Thailand. I bought my first one this week which was from Vietnam. I wasn’t sure how to prepare it at first, but all you do is cut off the dragon “scales.” Then there’s another layer of pink beneath the outer coat. You can peel that back to reveal the white flesh and black seeds. It almost looks like a kiwi. It is mildly sweet and low in calories. Remember the book by Shani Mootoo, Cereus Blooms at Night? Well, it does. Big white fragrant flowers. Hoping the powerful fruit will help me slay this thesis.