Lilli has a dragonfruit plant in her yard that
has the best examples I've ever tasted.

By the time they get to Yellowknife they're not very nice. One of
Roslind's younger brothers does some sort of highly technical thing
on off shore oil rigs and consequently has been all over the world
to countries with underwater oilfields: Russia, the Persian Gulf,
Nigeria, Trinidad, Venezuela, Brunei, Vietnam, Texas etc. (Yeah, I
know Texas isn't a country!) When living in Vietnam he too grew them

That's sort of cool, and I envy him some of his travel but
perhaps not the circumstances of it - being a technical sort
wouldn't necessarily be so bad, but underwater would creep
me out, and most of those places, especially Texas (which
is a country in its own mind, anyway), seem unnecessarily
hazardous to me.

in his garden there and says they are wonderful if fresh and that
the red fleshed ones are much tastier than the white.

They are - sweet and aromatic, as opposed to the etiolated
appalling tastefree pallid colorless white ones.

(Despite having a very high paying job, he is always broke because
he had girlfriends and ex-wives in many of those countries and a
scattering of children getting child support.)

One of the dangers of such a life.

Another red bean paste sweet thing ...
Title: Manju (Japanese Sweet Bean Cake)
1 c Butter
2 c Sugar
4 Eggs, unbeaten
1 ts Vanilla
6 ts Baking powder
5 c Flour
1 cn Koshi-an (Red bean paste)
Carnation milk
Arlene Uechi, original recipe given to her by Edimth Imai.

I've had these only from a cellophane pack in strange places
in Japan. For baked similar goods, I like the more pie-like
yueh bing (moon cake) with its lard crust. My personal
preference for Japanese-style confectionery is for steamed,
mochi made with sticky rice flour being best of all.

Manju steamed bun with red bean paste filling
categories: cakes, wagashi, Japanese
yield: 12

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour
4 ts baking powder
1/4 c sugar (granulated)
2/3 c water (to 3/4 c, as needed)
12 oz anko or koshian

Traditional manju filling consists of a sweet red bean filling,
known as anko (also referred to as tsubuan) for red bean paste
with a coarse texture, or koshian, for red bean paste with a
smooth texture. However, manju fillings are not limited to
sweet red bean paste and may include fillings made of creams,
such as vanilla, chocolate, or even flavored creams such as
strawberry, mango, blueberry, or yuzu. Other fillings may
include fillings made of sweet chestnut paste or white beans.

While there are several options for different manju fillings,
there are also different flavors available for the exterior
manju cake. The most popular option is a matcha or green tea
flavored cake. Other flavors may depend on the region of Japan
from which the manju originates. Almost every region of Japan
has its own specific version of manju.

In a large bowl, sift flour with baking powder. Add sugar and
mix well.

Gradually pour water into the flour, constantly stirring to
incorporate ingredients.

Knead the dough well until smooth and pliable. Divide into
12 pieces. Make balls and flatten them.

Put a spoonful of filling in the center of each piece of
dough. Wrap the filling by stretching the dough around and
then shape it into a ball. Repeat.

Place each piece on a small sheet of parchment paper.

Preheat a steamer on high heat. Place cakes in the steamer,
and steam for about 10 min. Serve immediately.

For sweet red bean filling, you can purchase premade anko or
koshian from the refrigerated section of Japanese or Asian
grocery stores, or in shelf-stable cans.

Manju is best enjoyed when eaten immediately after they are
made. If refrigerated will not retain their original texture
or flavor.

Setsuko Yoshizuka, The Spruce Eats

... Neon colored, artificially flavored, cavity-inducing sweet buns.

So I wondered what neon color is, and it seems it's red: https://tinyurl.com/neoncolors
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