A recipe borrowed from our neighbours on the Konkan coast, chirotis (also known as phenori and pathir peni among other names) are a popular sweet in Coorg, and you’re likely to be served these in any home you go to. A kind of fried puff pastry, these delicately layered whorls draw you relentlessly into eating more than is good for you. They really are that good, and it is difficult to stop at one.

Less common these days, though, is the savoury chiroti, made in the same way, but seasoned with salt and spices. The classic Saraswat cookbook, Rasachandrika, has a recipe for phenori that lists turmeric, cumin and chilli powder among the ingredients.

Perhaps it was a passing fashion, or something that has fallen victim to increasingly health conscious times, but my mother recalls that at the time of her younger sister’s marriage some 46 years ago, baskets of  savoury chirotis were ordered, perhaps from Mangalore, or maybe made at a local store. These were large, about 8″ across, and were served as part of the wedding meal, accompanied by a chicken curry. That encounter impressed her enough that she continued to make this for us over many years.

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On Sunday, a little over a year since our last visit, we headed back to the berry farms in Abbotsford to pick some summer fruit. But first, there was a lunch stop at Lepp Farm Market, where their Corn Festival was in full swing. The place was full of families, many of them from the farms around the valley, out enjoying an idyllic summer Sunday. There was a barbecue, and corn aplenty, fresh, grilled, and popped. And for folks who can’t have enough sweet corn and want to show it, a corn eating contest!  There were lots of fun activities for kids too, including a petting zoo, rocks to climb, and giant tractors to clamber about in.

As tempting as it was to linger and enjoy the fun at Lepp, the fruit was calling. So, off we went to the farm, where Damon Warkentin was waiting to direct us to the blackberries, strawberries and plums that were ready for picking.

There have been some changes since our last visit, the main one being a number of bee boxes on the property, and the flowers on the wild blackberry bushes that lie at the far end on the farm were positively buzzing with activity. With a little luck, there will be a first gathering of blackberry and blueberry blossom honey in a couple of weeks from now.

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While India is in monsoon mode, Vancouver has been sunny side up, lately. We’re making up for a poor start to the summer, with cloudless skies, and temperatures edging up to, and over the 30º C mark. The markets are full of lovely summer fruit – cherries, berries, peaches, plums, all of which we are enjoying thoroughly. But I still have a Hawaii hangover. In this summer heat, I’m craving papayas, mangoes, pineapples – fruit with a touch of the tropical sun. Never mind the mangoes. I think I will have to return to Hawaii, or India, for truly enjoyable ones. But the Hawaii grown papayas and pineapples in stores now have been excellent, and I’m making the best of it.

The commercial cultivation of pineapple in Hawaii began in 1901, with James Dole, the “Pineapple King” as he came to be known, taking an early lead. For much of the last century, Hawaii was the world’s largest producer of fresh and processed pineapple. With rising labour costs, companies have shifted base to places like the Philippines and Costa Rica, but some smaller plantations do remain.

Pineapples are native to Brazil and Paraguay, and may have been initially introduced into Hawaii by the Spanish in the early 16th century. Hawaiians named the pineapple “hala kahiki” meaning “foreign hala”, named for its resemblance to the fruit of the native hala plant (Pandanus tectorius).

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