site member prompt Creative Prompt 21

[JSmith]

Write about any fruit or vegetable in which you describe how it looks, feels, tastes, smells, sounds (if at all, when shaken) and essence. Evoke the fruit or vegetable, but do not name it!

 

This was the first assignment for my English Comp class so I figured I'd share it with you all.

 

With its multiple heads attached to one think stem, it looks like a tree freshly cut from a rainforest. The dark green tips contrast slightly from the chartreuse shade of its stem. The vegetable gives off a slight aroma of freshly cut grass in the spring time. The taste could be described as getting a fist full of weeds shoved in your mouth. It lingers in your mouth on the tips of your tastebuds with a vengence. The buds attached to the branching arms feel like movie theater carpet - firm yet soft. Though it is commonly steamed or served with an accompaning sauce, I say it is best thrown out the window because even the dog refuses to touch it.

 

Not my best work, but we had ten minutes in class to do it.

[Graeme]

I worked it out after the first sentence. I disagree with the last sentence, too -- my wife serves the stuff up with a magnificent cheese sauce that makes it absolutely delicious....

 

I'll think about this before I do one. Happily, I don't have a ten minute time constraint....

[colinian]

It looks like a ground cover, thin green stems with flat toothed leaves, that grows up to 2' tall. Like most herbs, it's easy to grow pots at home. The leaves and stems are used for cooking in the U.S., Portugal, China, the Caribbean, Latin America, and many other countries. Some people don't like the flavor of this herb. However, it's increasing in popularity. The leaves and stems have a pungent flavor and are used in stews, sauces, soups, salads, and meat dishes. The plant also has seeds that are used in cooking in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries and India. The seeds have a very different flavor than the leaves and stems, and are used as a spice in desserts as well as in curries and other dishes.

 

 

Colin

 

OK, how are people supposed to know what this is? Well, here's the answer:

Cilantro, also called Coriander which is also the name of the seeds.

 

[Graeme]

It looks like a ground cover, thin green stems with flat toothed leaves, that grows up to 2' tall. Like most herbs, it's easy to grow pots at home. The leaves and stems are used for cooking in the U.S., Portugal, China, the Caribbean, Latin America, and many other countries. Some people don't like the flavor of this herb. However, it's increasing in popularity. The leaves and stems have a pungent flavor and are used in stews, sauces, soups, salads, and meat dishes. The plant also has seeds that are used in cooking in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries and India. The seeds have a very different flavor than the leaves and stems, and are used as a spice in desserts as well as in curries and other dishes.

Colin

 

OK, how are people supposed to know what this is? Should we include the answer in a

spoiler

?

Okay, Colin, I can guess at the answer, but I'd be pretty sure I'd have it wrong. Coriander is what I was thinking, though I'm not sure about the seeds.

 

My turn:

 

A tropical, thorny fruit with a tang as sharp of the outside spikes. The top of the fruit is a small crown reminiscent of some cacti, though the top is often removed before it is sold. The yellow flesh between the browny-green exterior and the fibrous inner core is sweet, but with a bite that almost demands a supplement such as sugar or cream. It can be eaten either raw and cooked, and features in some well known meals around the world.

[SonoLuminus]

Okay, Colin, I can guess at the answer, but I'd be pretty sure I'd have it wrong. Coriander is what I was thinking, though I'm not sure about the seeds.

Coriander is the seed part. The leaf/stem part is cilantro.

[Menzoberranzen]

Okay, Colin, I can guess at the answer, but I'd be pretty sure I'd have it wrong. Coriander is what I was thinking, though I'm not sure about the seeds.

 

My turn:

 

A tropical, thorny fruit with a tang as sharp of the outside spikes. The top of the fruit is a small crown reminiscent of some cacti, though the top is often removed before it is sold. The yellow flesh between the browny-green exterior and the fibrous inner core is sweet, but with a bite that almost demands a supplement such as sugar or cream. It can be eaten either raw and cooked, and features in some well known meals around the world.

 

Pineapple?

 

http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards/spectacular.html

[Graeme]

 

Pineapple?

 

I'd like to think that the answer was obvious... Yes, you're right I loved the picture in that link, too -- thanks!

[C James]

Oft heavy, weighing at least several pounds when ripe, these ovoid fruits bedeck many a veritable garden. Their ripeness, or lack thereof, is most likely to be sensed with a studied thump. With a thick, green patterned rind, and a pungent flesh of light red, they are often eating in the summer months, and children delight in spitting their small, black seeds.

[Graeme]

You've picked my youngest's son's favourite fruit! Indeed, almost the only fruit he'll eat. The only problem is that we have to buy the seedless ones because he doesn't like the black seeds....

[colinian]

Okay, Colin, I can guess at the answer, but I'd be pretty sure I'd have it wrong. Coriander is what I was thinking, though I'm not sure about the seeds.

Coriander is the seed part. The leaf/stem part is cilantro.

Yes, that's it. Cilantro, also known as Chinese Parsley, is a member of the carrot family. The seeds are commonly called coriander, though that is the common name for the entire plant. Cilantro is either loved or hated, there are few people who don't have an opinion of it's flavor once they've tasted it. I love cilantro, especially in Mexican food and salsas. We go to La Salsa (a Mexican fast-food chain) and their salsa bar has a container of cilantro. It's usually empty after I've been there!

 

Colin

[Menzoberranzen]

Yes, that's it. Cilantro, also known as Chinese Parsley, is a member of the carrot family. The seeds are commonly called coriander, though that is the common name for the entire plant. Cilantro is either loved or hated, there are few people who don't have an opinion of it's flavor once they've tasted it. I love cilantro, especially in Mexican food and salsas. We go to La Salsa (a Mexican fast-food chain) and their salsa bar has a container of cilantro. It's usually empty after I've been there!

 

Colin

I love cilantro, but I can't abide the scent. I worked at a grocery store when I was in high school, and I could always smell it when someone was standing in line with cilantro.

 

This small tropical fruit has a rough, reddish exterior that conceals a grape-like fruit with a surprisingly robust flavour. Popular in urban centers, they resemble a human earlobe when dried. They make no noise when shaken, but they have a proportionally large pit which is smooth and black.

 

Menzo

[colinian]

I love cilantro, but I can't abide the scent. I worked at a grocery store when I was in high school, and I could always smell it when someone was standing in line with cilantro.

 

This small tropical fruit has a rough, reddish exterior that conceals a grape-like fruit with a surprisingly robust flavour. Popular in urban centers, they resemble a human earlobe when dried. They make no noise when shaken, but they have a proportionally large pit which is smooth and black.

 

Menzo

Aha! It's lychee, sometimes called "lychee nut" when it's dried. There's a good closeup picture at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lychee_600.jpg and a picture of how it grows on the tree at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lychee.jpg. Fresh lychee is very sweet and juicy. The seed is not eaten, it contains a toxin and is slightly poisonous.

 

Colin

[Ieshwar]

Lychee! OMG, I love lychee! You get loads over heer, in summer around december! DElicious!

 

And I don't know about the seed being poisonous but yes, it can be used at a spinner. You cut it half with one 'pointed' end. Then at the 'flesh' of the seed, insert a matchstick. And it spins! Ok, I'm not good at describing stuff. But I played with loads of these when I was child!

 

Ieshwar

[S.L. Lewis]

Lets see if you can guess mine....

With a crisp, yellowish tanned skin, it's not one or the other, but a perfect mix. Theres no furry bits on the bottom but a dark brown stem sits on top. Its not pointed, but subtly round all the way. And when you slice it out, releasing the soft sweet nutty scent, you can see the pit with little brown seeds that can be easily removed.

You take a bit and with a crisp 'crunch' that smell turns into a taste of nutty sweetness. A taste that bursts across the tongue, it settles to that lovely taste that makes you yearn for more. As as you lick your fingers after the first bite, you can't help but want another, even though after one, the thought makes you twitch.

 

It's an

Apple Pear

 

[Mark92]

Above the ground sit large green leaves, the veins a vivid dark purple.

 

Beneath the ground lies a spherical, dark purple, dusky skinned vegetable. You either love or hate; more of an accompaniment, then a full serving, often only a garnish.

 

You need to be cooked, roasted or baked, boiled until your skin begins to break away, then you are soft and tender. Your skin is removed to reveal the soft bright purple flesh; your juice stains the fingers, and everything it touches.

 

Then if you’re small you are left whole, larger, and you are sliced, and then pickled, or used in a myriad of ways to enhance a dish, rarely eaten alone. But there are recipes out there.

 

You have a mild bland flavour; one way of bringing you to life is when you have been soaked in vinegar.

 

You have medicinal qualities too, you are high in Boron, an ancient aphrodisiac, and contain Betaine, used for relaxing the mind and depression.

 

The remaining juices from being cooked are reputed to cure dandruff, if rubbed into the scalp.

 

You’re one of my personal favourites.

[Lugh]

i'm going to say that's a good description but I have no idea what you are describing although my thought was horseradish...

[Red_A]

i'm going to say that's a good description but I have no idea what you are describing although my thought was horseradish...

 

Old fashion beetroot or garden beet

 

 

 

[Mark92]

you got it

 

 

 

 

 

Old fashion beetroot or garden beet

 

 

 

 

you got it

 

 

 

 

 

Old fashion beetroot or garden beet

 

 

 

 

give you a point anyway

 

 

i'm going to say that's a good description but I have no idea what you are describing although my thought was horseradish...

 

[Lugh]

ok here is mine

[Page Scrawler]

Large, round bulbs covered in dirt and tiny, hair-like roots. Tall, bright green stalks protrude from the soil with green foliage reminiscent of the Amazon jungle, and tiny, delicate white flowers. In olden days, it was avoided due to its association with witchcraft. Its texture when cooked can be starchy or creamy, and its flavor is said to be bland without the aid of salt or butter. The most common varieties have a white inside with a thin skin colored brown or red. However, in the mountainous lands of their origin, they can be cranberry red, blushing pink, midnight blue, dusky purple, or even black as coal.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Page Scrawler