Rich, juicy mangoes taste like summertime

My first taste of mango must have been many years ago while traveling in Mexico.  It was served peeled on a stick with sides slashed in the fruit for easy eating. A pinch or two of red chile powder was sometimes added.   I have loved mangoes every since.

Summertime in the Desert Southwest is mango season. Mangoes are piled high in the produce section of markets and are available in different colors - green, red, yellow and orange, but the flesh is usually golden yellow.  If  you want ripe mangoes, squeeze them gently to see if they yield slightly. If the mangoes need to ripen, leave them on the kitchen counter for several days and then refrigerate in a plastic bag. 

My favorite way to enjoy mangoes must be done in the privacy of my own home.  I peel a slightly chilled mango standing over the sink.  Then I bite and slurp the fruit and finally gnaw on the bone, ignoring the sweet, sticky juice running down my arms to the elbows. Taking a shower after eating a mango like this would not be out of the question. 

If you would like to learn about polite ways of eating mangoes, this YouTube video gives good hints on slicing and dicing them for easy consumption.  How to Cut a Mango . 

And you may need advice on chopping mangoes for the following recipe.

One of my favorite recipes using this popular fruit is Mango Salsa.  I found the recipe many years ago in the 1997 Joy Of Cooking cookbook.  Combine in a large bowl one small red onion, chopped, rinsed and drained and 1/4 cup fresh lime juice. (Rinsing the onion tones down the flavor.  And be sure to use fresh limes!) Set this mixture aside while preparing the following ingredients:  1 large mango, peeled and coarsely chopped, 1 small red bell pepper, cut into strips, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (very important ingredient for authenticity), 1 clove garlic, minced, 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (don't cheat here!) and 1 fresh jalapeño, finely chopped.  Combine all ingredients and add salt and pepper to taste.  Mango Salsa always receives rave reviews from guests.

  

Another mango recipe I have tried recently (Joy of Cooking, 2006) is for Mango Ice Cream.  Ever since our son gifted us a Kitchen Aid stand mixer for which I ordered a frozen dessert attachment, I have been going wild experimenting with different flavors of ice cream.

Mango Ice Cream is the best I have made so far. Peel, pit and puree 2 pounds of very ripe mangoes. Put them in a bowl with 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt. Chill in fridge.  In another bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups whipping cream, 1/2 cup whole milk, and 1/3 cup sugar.  Allow this mixture to chill in fridge also. 

When ready to make ice cream, I use the Kitchen Aid special bowl which has been in the freezer, add the milk mixture, run the mixer on stir for about 15 minutes and then add the fruit mixture for the last five minutes.  Try to refrain from eating the mango ice cream as soft-serve at this stage!
It is even tastier after being placed in a bowl in the freezer for four to six hours.

Mangoes and summertime just seem to go together in the Desert Southwest. And did I mention that mangoes are the most widely consumed fruit in the world?  Enjoy!

Beat the Heat with Coconut Ice Cream

Egg frying on pavement.  Must be really hot!

It is July in the Desert Southwest, and high time I complain about the weather!  Most of the time I downplay the extreme summer heat that characterizes my region of the country, scoffing at friends and family who live in more temperate areas, such as Los Angeles, Quebec, and London, for being wusses (but silently envying them). 

This is life in El Paso, Texas when the temperature hovers around 100° F almost every day. I need to drag myself out of bed around 6:00 am to enjoy the coolest part of the day. When the sun rises at about 6:30, it is already too uncomfortable to sit in the courtyard with a cup of coffee and the morning paper without some shade. 

By opening all of the doors in the house and turning on ceiling fans, I can make it through the morning by seeking out crosswinds in the house which bring some cooling. Maybe I can tame the electric utility bill by waiting a few more hours to turn on air conditioning, I think hopefully.

As the afternoon wears on, growing hotter and hotter, I can feel my body and mind slowing down.

Is this why people who live in the tropics are supposedly less productive?   I begin to feel zombie-like. By the time I close up the house and turn on the two energy-gulping swamp air conditioners around mid-afternoon, all I can think of is getting cool.  Nighttime, even with the expensive luxury of leaving one air conditioner running, is still an endurance test of human against nature.   At about 4:00 am,  Mother Nature takes pity on us and lowers the temperature to the 70's. to allow for a few hours of decent slumber.

In order to survive the heat, I decided recently that what I needed was summer comfort food. Forget dieting, eating sensibly, and watching cholesterol count.  What I needed was a big bowl of coconut ice cream.

And the recipe had to be quick and easy.  It's too hot to work very hard.

This recipe is from allrecipes.com and has just three ingredients, one of which is even optional. First, buy one 14 ounce can of cream of coconut.  Finding cream of coconut is not easy, but I finally located it in the drinks and mixers section of a neighborhood Walmart. (Don't buy coconut milk, which will not work in this recipe). Combine the cream of coconut in a blender with one and one-half cups of heavy cream. Don't bother to check the calorie or fat content on the label of these products. You may get the guilts!

I chilled this mix in the fridge for about eight hours and then used an attachment to my Kitchen Aid stand mixer to make ice cream.  True coconut lovers can use sweetened flaked coconut, toasted or plain, as an optional topping.

The first spoonful of coconut ice cream took me back to a long ago vacation on the beach in Mexico - white sands, swaying palm trees, Latin music, and the gentle lapping of waves.

 Ahh.  It's not that hard to beat the heat with a bowl of coconut ice cream and a little imagination!

Inspiration from an old cookbook

Xochi's Bookstore and Gallery is located in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, a pleasant two and a half hour drive from my home town of El Paso, Texas.  It boasts 14 rooms filled top to bottom with rare, vintage and antique books.

Entrance to Xochi's Bookstore

I was just walking out the door of Xochi's, empty-handed,  when my eye fell on yet another cookbook:  The Essentials Cuisines of Mexico, copyright 2000.

When I saw the author's name, Diana Kennedy, on the cover I knew this was no run-of-the-mill cookbook.  I had found a treasure.  Diana Kennedy is one of the foremost experts on Mexican cuisine.   Two of her books, The Tortilla Book and Recipes from the Regional Cooks of Mexico, are already in my (embarrassingly large) cookbook library.

You might well ask why I need three cookbooks about Mexican cuisine.  You might also well ask why I still buy cookbooks at all, with recipes galore available through the Internet.  It's because I love to read cookbooks, and I bet I'm not alone in the world.

The Essentials Cuisines of Mexico takes me on a journey through Mexico, a country I plan to visit again in the new future.  Diana Kennedy includes anecdotes describing where she first encountered a dish or praising the Mexican cooks who taught her how to use a special cooking technique.  Her visits to local markets sound a lot more exciting than my grocery buying trips to Super WalMart!

Are you now going to find me in my kitchen, apron tied around my waist, pounding spices in a molcajete like the one pictured below?

Probably not.  Some things in life need to be experienced vicariously. 

Leafing through my new cookbook, I find recipes that are instructive from a cultural standpoint but probably will not ever emerge from my kitchen:   homemade lard (too fattening),  Cuiclacoche con Calabacitas Estilo Querétaro- Corn Fungus with Zucchini (too exotic), or Chiles en Nogada (too complicated with a two and a half page recipe). 

But I am nevertheless inspired to branch out for my grocery shopping and cooking.  El Paso boasts several Hispanic grocery stores with alluring displays of fruits, vegetables and seasonings. 

I could make Chilaquiles de Guanajuato (pp. 12-13) after buying guajillo chiles and tomatillos. If I find unhulled and raw pumpkin seeds, I can attempt a dip with an unusual name, Sikil P'ak (pp. 4-5). Or I can easily find mangoes during the summer season to make a flambéed dessert,  Mangos Flameados, (pp. 435-436).

Knowing my love of books, however, I will probably opt to fix a large glass of hibiscus flower water and sit down to read and daydream of the Mexico I knew in my youth of pristine beaches, tropical foliage, and sumptuous meals served with an ocean view.