It was a sunny spring day, like those we’ve been having recently in Brooklyn. Jenny and I decided to take a break from computer slavery. We have just finished re-vamping the e-store. We left the studio and walked to Sunset Park. There it was; a solution to all our momentarily troubles. The fruit cart on the corner of 44th and 5th. For only $3 bucks you can get a bowl of fresh mango and papaya dressed with fresh lime juice, salt and ground chili. It was the most delicious yet simple combination I’ve ever had. Mango’s with salt and lime are actually a very popular combination pretty much everywhere you can grow those fruits.  However, I was a mango , papaya salt and lime virgin until a week ago. Now, all I can think about is the wasted years in Puerto Rico. I could have been stuffing my face with the papaya from my grandmother’s house for 19 years! Oh well, live and learn.

Wait, I know what you are thinking, mango and papayas in Brooklyn on May??  I am pretty sure there is no upstate organic farm that grows that… It’s not local, it’s not organic and those papayas probably have a humongous carbon footprint. I weighted all of that when I was making my purchasing decision. Here is some food for thought: Sometimes you have to make minor compromises in order to be happy. I get food from my local Sunset Park CSA which I cook a blog about frequently. However, a girl from the Caribbean can only live for so long on squash and beets. I am allowing myself for some tropical fruits out of season, for the sake of sanity.

Also, thanks to my naughty behavior the colors for the next spring 2012 collection are here! I present to you: Papaya orange, Yellow Mango, Skin Green and Sunset Blue will be gracing the spring 2012 men and women’s collection with their presence.

I wonder if I can dye fabric with the left over fruit skins it too…