Squeeze & Suck, Slice & Dice or Total Body Commitment?

Take your mind out of the gutter! I am asking how you eat your mangoes! That's what this week's column is all about, the methods some of us employ when eating ripe mangoes. Read and tell me which of those techniques you employ when devouring a succulent mango, known in Hindu Mythology as the "Food of the Gods."

This week I am not going to tempt you with Mango Milkshake with Ice Cream, Stuffed Chicken with Mango Guacamole, Mango Souffle, Mango Salsa, Mango Chicken with Red Peppers or Blackbean, mango, Lime & Cilantro Salsa. But you click on the links and surrender to the temptation. I'm only presenting mangoes in the next best way I enjoy them, as a sorbet. I used David Lebovitz's recipe from The Perfect Scoop. You can also check out and send all your mango creations to Chris of Melle Cotte's Cinco de Mango event. So whether you make a mango mousse, margarita, martini, custard, cake, curry or chutney enjoy the mango season!

Elle & Ben, thank you both for the Excellent Blog award, I am chuffed. Will wear it proudly on the blog soon.

"I find it unnerving to see how stubbornly people -mainly women- stick to the idea that a male child is superior to a female child." Want to know what this quotation is all about? You'll have to read Bee's post this week at Forgive Me My Nonsense..."

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Inspired Baking

Tea Parties, Coffee-Mornings and Bake-Sales have been a big part of my life while growing up. And it was through these baking fests that I was first introduced to some of my favourites. This week's column invites readers to a virtual Tea Party and you're invited.

Among my favourites are cheese scones served warm with some herbed butter.

Mini quiche

And cheese straw wafers

Brew a cup of tea or coffee and let's sit and gaff (gaff is a Guyanese term for chatting)

To try any or all of these recipes, please email me. And for more baking favourites, click on baking in the categories list on the far right-hand column.

Don't forget to check out Forgive Me My Nonsense...

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Nothing so Sweet as Sour

You may have heard me mention Sour before when I've written about snacking with goodies such as the cassava balls, egg balls, phulourie, channa etc. Bee asked me a couple of weeks ago what is a Sour. Well, a Sour is a cooked chutney we make in Guyana and it is served as a condiment. Tamarind, green mango and most famously, souree (bilimbi) is used to make a Sour. And that's what this week's column is all about.

There's nothing quite like souree in a sour. I had not seen or eaten this fruit for many years; so you can imagine my pure, unadulterated joy at discovering it here in Barbados and at the home of one of my fellow country-men! Go read the column and share in my excitement and the ways in which we use souree.

Some of you may be very familiar with souree as it is said to grow wildly in Kerala and other parts of Asia.

I am submitting this picture as my entry to CLICK, the monthly photography event hosted by Jugalbandi. The theme this month is Au Naturel.

Tamarind is in season and the trees all across Barbados are laden. Bliss! I made a tamarind relish from this book and absolutely love it.

Here's the recipe.

Tamarind Relish
Use this relish as a dipping sauce on raw or cooked veggies. It can be served in place of the regular chutney that usually accompanies a curry. You can stir it into a seafood curry to give that sour flavour.

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp coarse sea salt
8 fluid ounces thick tamarind water (this is made my steeping the tamarind in hot water and then rubbing it to remove the flesh from the seeds. Strain and discard seeds)

Method

1. Heat oil in a wok or saucepan
2. Add shallots and fry for 2 minutes
3. Add ginger, chilli & garlic and stir-fry for 2 minutes
4. Stir in sugar, coriander & salt. Continue stirring on low heat until the mixture becomes sticky
5. Add tamarind water and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt if necessary
7. Simmer, stirring, until the relish has become quite thick
8. Leave relish to cool completely, then transfer to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate until needed.

Many of you, I am sure have been following the news and feeling the pains of the continuing high cost of food. Drop by Forgive Me My Nonsense... and share your thoughts on the subject.

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All Cook-Up Rice is not created Equal

There are some people who constantly question and marvel at the possibility of cooking a variety of ingredients in one pot at the same time. They often wonder, will some things not be over cooked and others undercooked? The answer is no, not if you know what you are doing and understand the ingredients you are working with.

This week's column is about cooking one of Guyana's national dishes - Cook-up Rice. I'm sure some of you will recall me mentioning the dish in the past. It's a medley of ingredients that are cooked together: peas, rice, meat, chicken and fresh herbs with coconut milk. You can also make it vegetarian. Click here to read my discussion on how to make a Cook-Up Rice where each ingredient has a different cooking time and yet everything comes out cooked perfectly, never over cooked or undercooked.

If you think you'd like to give this dish a try, please do not hesitate to email me for a recipe.

Over at Forgive Me My Nonsense... the discussion is still going strong on "How Rude are Your Readers? Don't forget to weigh-in, we love hearing from you.

Have a great weekend everyone!

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