Are you there, Green Papaya? It's Me, Kate.

Green papaya salad is one of my favorite dishes of all time. I love it so much that when I found out that papayas peak late Summer to early Fall, I had to put it on my Fall menu. “Green”, or, underripe papayas are traditionally used for this dish. Not yet sweet, their bland-ness makes a fitting backdrop for the interplay of Thai flavors: chile, dried shrimp, and lime. The jicama-like texture offers a crunchy foundation. Yet, this past summer it’s been all but impossible for me to find a truly underripe papaya. Even the most forest-green and rock-hard papayas, the ones I’m sure to be winners, only reveal tender, juicy and coral-toned flesh upon initial dissection.

Out of curiosity laziness, I didn’t throw in the towel with any of my 5 or 6 papaya salad efforts this summer. Instead, I accepted that life is giving me ripe papayas, so ripe papaya salad it’ll be. To my surprise, not only is ripe papaya salad “not gross”, but it’s actually delicious. The fruitiness, though mild, still manages to come through despite the intensity of its fellow ingredients. And when I’ve used papayas that are a little too ripe, I just put it over shredded cabbage to satisfy that textural contrast.

I love it when ingredients aren’t “right” and challenge you to roll with the punches. Instead of throwing ten papayas in the trash and quitting my day job to troll papaya farmers on the internet, I leaned in.

Saying yes to ripe papayas is just a metaphor for being open to everything else unwanted or unexpected in this life. Like most people, I am addicted to the illusion of being in control. If I had been successful in my quest for green papayas, I probably would have stuck to my favorite recipe and made it by the book every time, because of tradition and well, that’s easier. But receiving ripe papayas opened up an opportunity to be present, to be an active participant in the creation. It made me re-engage all my senses, ask questions, and explore new paths. I ditched peanuts as the traditional garnish and started using macadamias. Digging this tropical vibe, I added toasted coconut flakes to a batch, and yes, that was another good decision. Papaya play was crucial in deciding how to compose the entree on the menu. I’m happy with where I landed, I invite y’all to order it, and-just to wrap this all up with a cheesy bow- to be open to life’s ripe papayas, whatever that means for you.