Free Range Friday ~ Mangoes

There are mangoes everywhere. And that means that those of us who aren't blessed with a mango tree in our yard get to be the recipients of mango gifts from those with trees spilling over abundantly. That ranks on the food chain as being given a work of art that is a dessert that is good for you, making it a 10.

Thank you, Clive and Margaret. I'll be back!

The bag of mangoes I got the other day are so beautiful that every step of eating them is worth a moment of appreciation. I'm always reminded of a time, when living on another island, being introduced to mangoes by a man who said that the best way to eat them was standing in the ocean. Preferably naked. We were at a house by the beach. We had mangoes. We did not stand in the water naked to eat them.  We stood in the kitchen, with clothes on  (this memory is growing foggy, I do know we weren't naked when we ate them). They were still delicious, I was hooked and have come around to his idea easily. The ideal way to eat a mango, a good, mango, is anywhere, naked, so that you can throw care to the wind and let 'er drip.

(Unless you are Foxy, of Jost Van Dyke, who eats his mangoes by gently squeezing them in their skins until they are pulperized, biting a small hole in the skin and drinking the pulpy juice without spilling a drop. I tried it a couple of times but don't really have the patience to wait. He's taught me a lot about island patience; I just am a slow learner) 

But I've told these stories before. It was time to up my mango game.

The other night, on my birthday (did I mention I had a birthday?), I was at home. Asleep. I found out the next day that I'd been serenaded at the front door by a group of women. Women with cake. Birthday cake. I missed the whole thing but Molly, the cake maker, was kind enough to save me some. I got it the same day I got the mangoes. 

Two very delicious things that somehow called out to be together. Chocolate and mango? Oh yeah. Try it, it works. It works well.

I was so enamored with the idea of mixing mango with something else I really like, that when I realized I had no jelly for my peanut butter sandwich, it only took a second for the synapses to snap. 'Hey, I love mango jelly! Why not just use the mango itself?' Mangoes. Peanut butter. Some oatmeal bread. Alrighty!!

By the way, when you cut mangoes, they are slippery. Expect to have at least one of the slices jump out of your fingers onto the floor. 

So far, so good

Maybe it was the bread (bread I bought because that day, there was not any really good bread available for purchase - this is called small island living). Maybe it was just a bad idea. But mangoes and peanut butter do not enhance each other, they detract from both themselves and the other. Two delicious substances turned to blech. They didn't even look good. It was a fail.

I'll keep looking for mango pairings. Like mango and a very chilled cabernet. I know that would work.

Have a fabricate your food fantasy Friday. Do something (un)fettered.

A weather outlook

Because it is the Fourth of July weekend, I'm posting the rather interesting (if you live here or are visiting here) weather discussion out of San Juan. If you see me wearing a scarf over my nose and mouth one of these days, do NOT leap to the conclusion that I am now engaged in route road robbery! Oh well, it should make for an interesting Fourth and some good sunrises and sunsets!


Later on, some Fourth of July food thoughts for What's in that...Friday.

If you don't care about the weather here, how about wishing

you had some just off the tree mangoes??

Or maybe you'd like to be experiencing Treat of the Day bliss, like Kai?

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Area forecast discussion
National Weather Service San Juan PR
314 am AST Friday Jul 3 2009

Discussion...deep layer ridging still anchored just north of
local area maintaining dry conditions above boundary layer. Two
tropical waves on the map this morning of interest to PR/USVI.
First wave axis around 55-57w...and the second approaching 40w.
First wave will push west and cross the Caribbean waters south of area
this afternoon. Behind that wave...and working into the second one
is a very large and very dense area of Saharan dust. Expect dust
to move over USVI and then PR...increasing in density this
evening...and becoming entrenched everywhere by Saturday. Saturday
the haze should impact visibilities at all taf sites and will be
very noticeable. Moisture and weather with first wave will not be
significant.

Its the second wave...with forward edge approaching
vi Sunday morning that brings the weather. Going numerous probability of precipitation
early Sunday into Monday middle day.

Afterward...dust should linger at least until passage of second
wave on Monday. After that its harder to say because dust not
obvious on sal imagery far into the eastern Atlantic yet...but logic
would say more dust would follow the second wave for Monday-
Wednesday...until yet another wave approaches (wednesday). Synoptic
scenario looks similar for the extended except that subtropical
high moves more eastward over the central Atlantic...with waves running the
low latitudes and bringing dust across the tropopause Atlantic.

Seas will steadily increase over the Caribbean waters and southern
portion of passages as low level flow increases through the
weekend. Small Craft Advisory in place for Caribbean waters beginning tomorrow morning.
Going significantly lower than wave watch guidance which shows 8
foot seas over the offshore Atlantic and Caribbean waters. Think this is
overdone...and will only go with 7's over the Caribbean and leave Atlantic
out for now.