Don't fret if you 're a papaya newbie (I was too!). Just head over to this website for all the information you need (though their picture looks nothing like the papaya I bought... mine was much longer and still a little bit green, but the key is that is had speckled on the outside and was a bit soft - not mushy, though - to the touch). It was far easier cutting/peeling/de-seeding than I thought. If it's at the optimal ripeness, then it will be very juicy, so make sure to have a good amount of work space (and paper towels!). The de-seeding could be messy too, but not if you use a large spoon and hold it over the trash (seed side down) when doing it.

If you're also a starfruit newbie (again, like me!) they're ripe when they are yellow and the edges have turned brown (so don't judge my photos too harshly, they have to be brown!). To slice, you leave the skin on and simply slice with a serrated knife. There may be some seeds in the middle of some of the slices. Just take the tip of the knife and poke them through out the other side. Easy peasy. *Note: For IBS/GERD sufferers, you should weigh some of your starfruit slices at this point to gauge how much they weigh and in turn how many you can have per serving. No more than 94g per serving.*

Once the "seems scary and daunting but really wasn't bad at all" fruit prep is done, combine the cottage cheese, papaya and basil until mixed together. Try not to mix more than needed, though, because ripe papaya is a juicy beast and it will create more liquid than you probably want in the cottage cheese. Never fear, though, because if you do overmix or it ends up being liquidy, you can always press down a paper towel on top to sop up some of the excess liquid.

For individual bite-size servings, lay the starfruit slices flat in an even layer on a serving platter, then scoop some of the cottage cheese mixture on top of each slice (I used my small cookie dough scoop to do this). If doing this, you will almost certainly need to do the paper towel on top of the cottage cheese method to sop up some liquid first, otherwise the mixture will want to slide right off the starfruit slices (also, it's not a bad idea to dry the top of the starfruit too).

For a "help yourself" dish, place the cottage cheese mixture on a small serving plate, then arrange the starfruit slices around the edge. Throw a few whole basil leaves in the center for garnish if desired.

For serving sizes for IBS/GERD sufferers, this is about the greatest thing ever. You can have a sizable amount of cottage cheese and even starfruit "chips", and the entire container of cottage cheese is 4 servings, so technically, you could have 1/4 of the cottage cheese mixture (but that's quite a bit, so I would recommend a little bit less than that). The Low FODMAP diet rules say no more than have no more than 94g of starfruit per serving, so it's a good idea to weigh the slices before to get an idea of how many you can have. It should be about 4-6 slices, depending on the size of the fruits you got and exactly how thick you cut them.

Note: This recipe tastes best the day it's made. Something weird happens with the papaya/basil flavor fusion overnight and it gets a bit of a strange aftertaste. So if you want to make individual portions, cut up papaya ahead and keep in an air tight container in the refrigerator, then cut quantities of the recipe down accordingly and add the papaya and basil when you'll be eating it.