How to Dice a Mango 101

There are not many things in life as nice as a bowl filled with bright orange juicy sweet mangoes.
They are just so pretty.
And tasty.
The problem is, they can be a little challenging to dice with that huge pit in the middle.
Here's a little trick I learned to avoid that problem all together.

First, you want to cut the mango almost in half.
You are going to cut down both sides of the long, flat pit.
Go ahead and off center your knife just a hair.
As you are cutting through the flesh you'll feel the knife braise the pit, just let your knife follow the pit all the way through the fruit.

You can see the ridge where my knife hit the pit so I had to move my knife over.
Next you will take the knife and cut the flesh to the skin (but not through the skin), making a checkerboard pattern.

This is the fun part. Invert the skin of the fruit so all the chunks stand up.
My kids thought that was hilarious.
If you want to eat the whole thing fresh right then and there just go to town biting the pieces from the skin.
I only do that when I'm not sharing.
Unfortunately, with 4 kids I am always sharing.

Next, slide your finger between the fruit and the peel. They just slide right off.
You could use a knife, but who has time for that nonsense?
Repeat with the fruit from the other side of the pit.

Now they are ready to share, or put in a fruit salad, or freeze for smoothies, or for muffins or make this yummy Mango Pineapple cake.

Mango Pineapple Cake

Ingredients:

1 C sugar ( I use 1/2 C brown sugar and 1/2 C honey)
1 t vanilla
2 t baking soda
3 eggs, well beaten
1 t vanilla
1 8 oz can (or fresh) crushed pineapple with juice
1 1/2 C finely chopped mango (can substitute canned or fresh peaches if you don't have mango on hand)
1/2 C nuts (optional)
2 C flour (I use whole grain, freshly ground flour, usually spelt, but whole wheat works, too. My smallest can't eat wheat so I use spelt flour)

Directions:

Mix eggs, vanilla and pineapple. Add mango and nuts. Mix in dry ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into greased 9x11 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Peasy!
And oh, so good.
Even without added fat from oil or butter it's incredibly moist!
Go ahead, buy a mango

Lemons and Pickles

After I made the chocolate slushie the other day I could not get slushies out of my brain.

Then as I was grocery shopping I spotted this bag of beautiful lemons.

Our eyes met and it was love at first sight.

I just had to bring them home with me.

Their destiny?

Lemon slushie, of course!

I love my blender.

I peeled 3 lemons like an orange and put the whole darn thing in the blender, seeds and all.

Then I added 2 cups water and 1/3 c of honey (hence the dark color).

You could use 1/2 c of sugar instead and the color would be perfectly yellow.

I blended that all up for quite a while, until the whole lemon was totally pulverized. That way if there had been any seeds they were totally undetectable.

Then I turned off the blender and filled it up with ice cubes and blended more until the ice was totally pulverized.

The result?

Perfectly sweet and tangy lemon slushie.

So, so, so refreshing on a hot, hot, hot day!

Why was it such a hot day, you ask?

You see I had been canning these beauties all morning.

Yup, I made homemade pickles.

I googled a recipe for dill pickles and found about 1,000 variations for the same thing.

I took the really simple route and made my pickle brine using 3 parts water and 1 part vinegar and pickling salt. Then I added 1/2 T dill seed to each jar and boiled them in the water bath for 10 minutes. And voila!

Home made pickles.

The only problem is that most of the recipes say to let them sit in the brine for 4-6 weeks (to let them cure) before you eat them.
HA! Like that's gonna happen.


I did have left over cucumbers and brine after I ran out of jars and dill seed so I just put the left over cucumbers in the brine in the fridge with some red onions.

They have been in there for a few days and are perfect. These may hold me over for about a week, unless the kids find them, then they'll be gone in about an hour.

I love summer.

I can't wait until I have my own baby cukes growing in my very own garden!

Not to mention tomatoes and corn and peppers and onions and watermelon and squash and zucchini and green beans and herbs. The possibilities are endless.

Ah, I love summer!

Eat Your Veggies!

That's every mother's famous last words, right?

"Eat your veggies, dearest."

I have to say, my kids are all so different when it comes to eating their veggies.

Doodle only likes fresh carrots, steamed broccoli and sliced cucumbers, without the skins.

She will eat salad on very rare occasions and only if she's in a good mood.

Beano hates all things veggie.

He eats broccoli when he is forced and he'll eat a carrot, maybe, only if there is absolutely nothing else to eat and he's starving and he has to be in a good mood already. If I offer him one when he's grumpy, heaven help us all.

Dubs will eat any veggie under the sun. He loves fresh bell peppers, onions (weird for a 4 year old, huh), green beans, steamed spinach, cucumbers, salad, sweet potatoes, potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus. Honestly, I have not found a veggie he will not eat.

Baby cakes is becoming more like Dubs every day. He eats fresh bell peppers and his broccoli is the first thing he eats at dinner time. In fact the other day I was eating a salad for lunch and he came over to me begging and I ended up feeding him lots of my salad.

Here are some tips I have found that makes eating veggies a little easier on kids.

* Start them young. Don't wait until they are 4 or 5 until you start feeding them veggies. The younger, the better. This is the mistake I made with Beano and Doodle, I waited too late to start eating lots of veggies.

* You eat them in front of them. Make sounds like they are so good and they are the best thing you've ever eaten. When they ask for some, share. It's the concept of

monkey see, monkey do.

*If your child does not like a certain veggie the first time, don't be daunted. It may take up to 10 tries before he takes a liking to it. It took baby cakes about that long to like bell peppers. Every day he would see Dubs and me eating one, so he would beg. Then he'd take a bite and spit it out and ditch the rest of the pepper. Now he loves them. He ate nearly half a pepper all by himself yesterday.

* Leave a veggie try on the counter for snacking on throughout the day. This is how Doodle found out she loves the middles of cucumbers. Plus this way they see you eating them all day too. This also cuts down on pre-packaged snacks and is heart healthy and full of fiber.

* Serve salad as the first course to dinner. Do your kids ever bombard you while you are cooking dinner? Do they ever stand in the kitchen and whine and complain because they are starved and dinner can't be done soon enough? Oh good, mine either. Who am I kidding? Most days it's all I can do from locking them in their bedrooms until dinner is done. Instead, why not give them a plate of veggies to start the meal. They may be more willing to try them when they are starving. If they reject them the first time, don't worry, just try again the next day, and the next, and the next.

* Try new ways of preparing veggies. Don't just steam them all the time. Try roasting them. My favorite new way of eating veggies is to drizzle them with a little olive oil and sea salt and roast them until they are tender. Recently we have done this with broccoli, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, asparagus and potatoes. It brings out more of the natural flavors. Last night I did this with asparagus and for the first time ever ALL my kids ate them, and liked them! I was used to being one of the only ones that likes asparagus and eating most of it myself. After everyone ate some there was not nearly enough left for me! Next time I'll have to make a bigger batch.

* Make homemade salad dressings for dipping fresh veggies in. If you think you like bottled ranch, think again. There are about a gazillion recipes for homemade salad dressings on the Internet. I have only tried a few, but the ones I have tried put bottled anything to shame. Shame I tell you, shame on you Kraft! The homemade varieties have no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, which most of your bottled varieties are chuck full of, plus the flavors will knock you socks off. My knees went weak when I tried the one I'm about to share, it was so good. The kids even like it!

Creamy Cucumber Salad Dressing with Cucumber Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

3 cucumbers, sliced

3-4 large tomatoes, sliced

1 red onion, sliced

1/4 c rice vinegar

3 T Dijon mustard, make sure to real the labels for preservatives

1 t sea salt

1 t dry mustard

1/2 t agave nectar or honey

1/4 t pepper

1/2 c olive oil

Directions:

1. Place cucumber, tomato and red onion slices in a serving dish, reserving 1/3 of one of the cucumbers and 1/4 of the onion for the dressing.

2. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender, including the 1/3 cucumber and the 1/4 of the onion. Blend until smooth.

3. Pour dressing over the veggies. Toss to coat.

4. Chill for several hours.

I like to put this salad on top of a green salad and mix the dressing all up with the lettuce. It is so good. You could just make the dressing and use it for dipping any kid of veggie in. I really can not believe how tasty real food is. I think most Americans are so used to pre-packaged, pre-made, pre-frozen food, that we have forgotten how good the real stuff tastes, and how much better for us it really is. It does not have to be difficult to eat better, it just takes a little effort and changing our habits.

Happy Eating!

How to Eat a Caramel Apple

Look what I made.

I have been craving them for weeks. I finally broke down and made some.

Aren't they pretty?

Don't they just scream FALL!

I have not made caramel apples for so long.

The problem is I hate eating them and getting caramel all over my face.

My teeth scrape the caramel and like 1/2 inch of the apple.

Then I am left with most of an apple I don't want to finish, and tons of sticky gooey caramel in my teeth.

Not fun

Well, no more my friends!

I found a trick that will help you eat this treat with out getting you and half the house sticky.

It's called a knife.

Most of you probably know this trick and have been using it for years.

For me, this falls under the category of things my mother never taught me.

I had to learn a lot of things on my own and sadly some things have taken me over thirty years to figure out.
Don't worry, I'm not bitter.

My mom ignored all her children, not just me.

Some of us have been in counseling for years to deal with this.

Me, I just cook and play with knives.

You pretty much just cut a square around the core of the apple.

This way you can pull the slices apart and eat the whole apple with the caramel still attached.

The kids have an easier time eating them this way too.

Some people may like to just shove the whole thing in your face and become one with the caramel.

It may be part of the experience for you to chew and gnaw on that thing until it is nothing but a nubbin on a stick. To you I say,

EAT AWAY!

All I can say is, YUM!

I have really missed caramel apples. They are so pretty and fun to eat.

I am so glad they are back in my life!

Heaven, I'm in Heaven

I am officially addicted. I'm a goner, hook, line and sinker for sour dough.

I got a starter a while ago from my good friend Fru-Girl.

She gave me basic tips on feeding the thing and how to use it. She gave me instructions on how to use it in my recipes for fluffy waffles and yummy things.

Around the same time another friend of mine, The lazy Organizer made some home made bagels with her starter and when I tasted them I was hooked, it was love at first bite. I simply had to have that recipe. Later that week she posted her recipe for those yummy bagels on her blog.

I have to admit I was really intimidated to try to use it at first. I always thought baking with natural starters was really complicated and I had no clue where to start.

So I did what any good American would do, I searched the web.

I found way too much information out there.

Finally I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. My first attempt was pitiful. The only ones who would eat those rock hard hockey pucks were the chickens.

I waited longer and muled it over more and read more on the Internet and tried again.

Finally, Bagel success!

Guess what I found out? Baking with a natural starter really is not that complex, especially if you get a starter from some one who already has a good one that is nice and established. The older, the better. Thanks Fru-Girl!

Now the only problem is that I can't stop making them and my family can't stop eating them.

I have been having so much fun playing with my starter. Every day I experiment with a new use for the unsightly gassy stuff.

I have made pancakes, waffles, muffins, bagels. Everyday it is like a new adventure waiting to happen. Next I want to try full fledged artisan bread.

I am still working up the courage and reading tons of recipes.

If my bread turns out half as good as these delightful bagels, oh help me, I may just gain

500 pounds.

Stroke of Genius

We all know I'm smart, I mean that's a given, right? Well, now I feel I've moved into a whole new category.

Genius

I solved a problem this week that I have struggled with my whole life.

The problem with boiled eggs.

The problem with boiled eggs is that you have to put them in the refrigerator if you want them to not spoil. Plus, they need to be in an egg carton in the fridge so they don't all go rolling around in there. We can not have lose rolling eggs all over the fridge, that would just be mayhem.

So how do you tell the difference between the ones that have been boiled and the ones that are still raw?

It's easy at Easter time, all the colored ones are boiled, duh!

There is nothing worse than wanting to eat a boiled egg but you mistakenly pull out a raw one.

Sticky yucky raw egg all over your fingers and probably the ground, too. GROSS!

In the past I have just tried to remember which side of the carton I placed the boiled ones.

Can we say less effective?

All together now, "Less Effective!"

I end up standing with the fridge door wide open racking my brain tyring to remember where they are, knowing I could end up with egg goo disaster.

I finally remember I left the raw ones next to the raw ground beef. So I grab one from the other side, pleased with myself for remembering correctly, for once.

I go over to the sink very pleased with myself, my taste buds all ready for the salty egg whites and delicious yellow middle.

CRACK!

Oh, ya, I forgot I had 7 raw eggs and the one on the end was NOT BOILED.

The drippy sticky egg goo makes me lose my appetite for boiled eggs and I go without.

Well no more, my friends.

I have come up with a solution once and for all.

You all have probably done this your whole lives, but my mother never taught me this trick, I was all on my own!

So here it is

You mark the boiled ones with a B. I used a Sharpie.

Then look at this, you can put them in the same carton with all the raw eggies you want and you can always tell the difference with just a quick glance!

How smart am I, I ask you?

Genius, I tell you, sheer genius!

P.S. See that egg on the far side of the picture? You know, the Ginormous one? Yes, I feel sorry for the chicken who laid that one too. Well, it ended up being a double yolker! First one I have ever gotten from my chickens. I did get one once that was super tiny and had no yolk at all. Weird chickens, We sure do love them though!