By Catharine L. Kaufman—a.k.a.  The Kitchen Shrink

As soon as I turn into the produce aisle, my nose takes over and pulls me past the fruits and veggies on my shopping list, straight to a large spill of fragrant mangoes. Fair warning: even mango connoisseurs find it difficult to choose their take-home specimens from among the various size and multicolor beauties that range from golden kidney-shaped ones that fit comfortably in an average palm, to the hefty juice-bundles that mimic parrots with their green-to-pink-to-wine-red skins. Time and my dinner-cooking plans vanish, crowded out by an overwhelming desire to sink my teeth into the plump mango flesh and, with utter disregard for table manners, let the sweet nectar drip down my chin. Yumm!

Of course, I usually collect twice the assortment that would satisfy my family of four, but always make up for my folly by buying half the amount of other fruits on my list. Fortunately, mangoes keep quite well and can be prepared in various ways—all mouth-watering delicious. But whether you slice, slurp, warm or chill it for salad, desert, drink or side dish, or combine it with other ingredients for a spicy chutney to serve as a condiment with meat, fowl or fish, the mango never fails to impress.

Mangoes have been delighting palates for centuries. India eventually became the leading grower of mango trees—which is revered and believed to possess the power to grant wishes, while the fruit is a versatile and much favored national staple. This and the country’s large population are probably the reasons that most of India’s mango production is absorbed by its domestic consumers, while the rest of the world’s appetite for this exotic delicacy is satisfied by exports from Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.

Fruity Facts: Mangoes originated in East India and Burma, emerging from obscurity around the 5^th century B.C. when Buddhist monks sang their praises to everyone, from Malaysia to other parts of Eastern Asia.

Today, with 20 million metric tons of this international favorite grown throughout countries with tropical climes, more fresh mangoes are eaten all over the world than almost any other fruit.

Medicinal Mango: High in fiber, with a sturdy skin some people consider edible, the mango fruit consists of a juicy flesh (mesocarp) and a large, hard pit (endocarp). Although its leaves are toxic if ingested and the sap can cause dermatitis, every part of the mango tree from the bark and skin to the flesh and pit have been for centuries, and continue to be used in folk remedies that treat or prevent a wide range of ailments. The various compounds derived from this plant have been found helpful for their anti-viral, anti-parasitic, anti-asthmatic, cough suppressant, laxative, cardio-tonic, contraceptive and even aphrodisiac properties.

Nutritional Mango: The fruit is loaded with Vitamins A and C, the afore-mentioned fiber, antioxidants and potassium, with additional benefits provided by its low fat, calorie and sodium content.  Mangoes also contain a digestive enzyme similar to the papain found in papayas.

“Mango Tango” & Other Tropical Treats: A versatile food, the mango is a fine companion to appetizers, soups, entrées and deserts. It can also be enjoyed on its own for snacks or add-ons to hot or cold breakfast cereals. Try it fresh, frozen or in dried strips; blended in smoothies, tossed in oatmeal or baked in muffins, breads, cobblers or pies. Purée it to top your ice cream or sorbet; chunk it to decorate a cake; blend it with herbs and spices into chutneys and salsas for dips or to accompany chicken, duck or fish; and remember that it can also be cubed and tossed into seafood cocktails, tabouli or other salads or made into a to-die-for chilled soup. Serve mango in spicy risotto (preferably with organic brown rice). Bake it into cupcakes. And finally, make merry with mango margaritas, mango-tango daiquiris, pineapple and mango rum cocktails and mango martinis.  (Have I left anything out?…  Do click on the attached Comment button to add your mango recipes or suggestions—which we’ll be happy to include in the Recipes section of this blog, along with the one you’ll find below.)

How to Pick a Winner: Although you’ll see mangoes popping up on your grocers’ shelves as early as April, patience will be rewarded

with juicier, meatier and sweeter versions if you wait for their peak season in June and July. Just make sure to catch up with your mango craving before it disappears in September.

To select a winner, start with your nose, inhaling the sun-baked, perfumed and slightly fruity scent. Next, eyeball the fruit as you would a diamond. Then, engage your sense of touch by turning it every which way in your hand to make sure it is free of soft spots, blemishes or bruises. Now squeeze a bit and choose the mangoes that have a slight ‘give.’ Colors depend upon the variety—Hadens ripen to a tie-dye combo of raspberry, orange and yellow, while the Ataulos mangoes glow with a buttery yellow hue. Some species stay green even when perfectly ripe. Mangoes should be kept at room temperature for about a week after purchase—providing you picked from a newly arrived batch at the market. If you need them to ripen quicker at home, just place the fruits in a paper bag and check them daily. Once ripe, mangoes are ready to eat—or to store in your refrigerator’s produce bin or a low shelf, where they usually keep quite fresh for up to two weeks. Frozen, dried, cooked or puréed, they last much longer.

If your mouth isn’t watering yet at the thought of a mango, whip up this divine salsa and dial up the flavor of your next seafood or chicken dish with it. Added bonus: Good doses of Vitamins A and C, as well as plenty of potassium to replenish some fluids lost to summer heat or vigorous exercise.

Sweet and Savory Mango Salsa:
2 cups fresh mango, chopped

1/2 small red onion, diced

1 cup diced Persian cucumber

3 sprigs fresh cilantro (optional), chopped

Juice from one fresh lime

Sea salt and cayenne pepper to taste

In a mixing bowl combine the ingredients. Refrigerate and enjoy with blue corn chips or as a condiment on sandwiches, burgers, grilled fish or other dishes.

by Catharine L. Kaufman—a.k.a. The Kitchen Shrink

Have you ever wondered why such an amazing fruit would be so often cast as a villain in stories throughout history? Whether or not intended to diminish the apple’s popularity, these sinister portrayals never managed to discourage anyone from enjoying the crunchy, fragrant sweetness and proven health-protective qualities packed in this pretty little sphere.

From the ancient Biblical role of Forbidden Fruit that caused the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden, it went on to fame in the magical role of the Golden Apple—a Mythological ‘heavy,’ traded to Aphrodite by lovesick Paris in exchange for fair Helen’s heart. Her seduction and betrayal of royal husband Menelaus triggered the bloody Trojan Wars, which led to the kingdom’s fall. Another king put young William Tell’s life in jeopardy by ordering that an apple be placed on, and shot with an arrow off his head by the boy’s father. But nothing put more children in mortal fear of this nearly perfect fruit than the deceptively luscious but lethal Poisoned Apple that nearly cost Snow White her life.

In spite of such negative press, there is some historical evidence that apples have been a much-favored fruit since about 6500 B.C. Further proof of our love affair with it is the still continuing horticultural tinkering that has so far produced about 7,500 different but equally delicious varieties through hybridization—and, of course, the proliferation of orchards around the world.

Along with new strains that appear each season on market shelves are new products showing us the many ways apples can be enjoyed. Whether pressed into juice, fermented as vinegar, cooked into jam and marmalade, dried for portable snacks or baked in pies, tarts, cakes, muffins and strudels, apples train our taste buds to be adventurous.  The fruit’s high pectin content enhances its value by being a digestive aid. The puréed version, known as applesauce, is a light and easily absorbed nutrient recommended during bouts of colds, flu, upset stomach and other ailments.

The following selection of 18 tips on ways to enjoy this legendary fruit is open to any additions you would like to contribute. Log them on this site, under “Comments” below this column, or e-mail them to me at kitchenshrink@san.rr.com:

1) Kick off the autumn harvest with some spirited apple cocktails, mocktails and other liquid treats. Pour a jigger of lip puckering apple liqueur or schnapps over ice or ice cream, or shake up an Apple Martini.  Warm the cockles of your heart with a mug of steamy apple cider or stir up a cider-based libation known as a Harvest Punch.  For the kids, blend apple and cranberry juices with sparkling water, and float apple slivers on top, or make apple juice popsicles using cinnamon pretzel sticks or fruit-flavored licorice sticks instead of the wooden ones.

2) Want fruits (other than pineapples or citrus), tomatoes or avocados to ripen faster? Place a couple of apples in a brown paper bag with them and see the ethylene gas that apples expel go to work. (Apples work fastest since they give off more ethylene gas than bananas, pears and peaches.) The most effective ratio is one apple to five other fruits. The converse is also true, so if you don’t want fruits to ripen quickly, keep apples away.

3) Taking a deep whiff of a fresh-cut green apple has been found to lessen even the worst skull-banging migraine symptoms.

4) Use dried whole apples for crafts like spooky apple doll heads for Halloween.

5) Add a whole (but cored) apple to the cavity of your chicken or turkey before roasting to keep it moist and flavorful.

6) Apples make great culinary sponges for absorbing excess sodium when you’ve done some heavy-duty salt shaking in a soup or stew. Simply add a few apple slices to the pot and remove the salt-laced wedges after 15 minutes of cooking.

7) Apples extend the shelf life of cakes. Store half an apple with a sponge- or pound- cake to keep it moist.

As a chelating agent that removes excess buildup of oil or other hair products from your scalp and hair, add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to cool water when you shampoo and watch it leave your crowing glory shiny and clean.

9) Make fruit leather from the fiber-rich skin and mix it with the flesh, thin-cut into rings and dried, for a quick snack.

10) Rich in quercetin, this fruit acts as a histamine buster and has been found to ease some allergic reactions.  So “an apple a day does keep the doctor away,” as J.T. Stinson professed.

11) An apple makes a fine traditional decoration in the mouth of a roasted pig.

12) Add chopped Granny Smiths to ground turkey to make the burgers moist and flavorful.

13) Concoct an autumn-inspired risotto using apple turkey sausage and a splash of apple brandy.

14) Toss a warm, wilted seasonal salad with arugula, apple slices, candied pecans, dried cranberries and crumbled feta.

15) Make an apple fondue with chunks of over-the-rainbow green Grannies, yellow Golden Delicious, red Cortlands and striped Jonagolds. Melt heart-healthy, organic bittersweet chocolate (cocoa content over 60%), honey or cheddar cheese and dip away.

16) Go apple picking with your family. Capture childhood memories while bonding with your kids and teaching them “core” life lessons and values.

17) Incorporate apples in your breakfast with Bavarian apple pancakes, apple latkes, chunks of apples in your oatmeal or sautéed with country potatoes and scrambled eggs.

18) In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, eat a pink apple like a rosy Gala, loaded with pectin and other antioxidants known to have anti-carcinogenic properties.

*** At Del Mar’s Sbicca Bistro, Executive Chef Bryan Graham delights diners with this favorite recipe:

Walnut Spiced Apple Cake

Yield – 2  9-inch pans

3 cups – fresh, sweet apples, medium diced, peeled

1 ¼ cups vegetable oil (I prefer grapeseed oil)

2 cups white sugar (I prefer brown, raw sugar)

3 cups sifted flour

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

3 eggs, beaten (use egg whites for lower cholesterol)

1 cup chopped walnuts

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground clove

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, blend the oil and sugar. Add vanilla and apples. In a separate bowl, mix flour, spices and baking soda.  Sift all and add to the oil mixture. Fold in the nuts and place in greased pans. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes clean. Cool and serve with brown sugar icing.

Piatti’s (La Jolla) Executive Chef Pepe Capatinta has also shared his Brioche Apple Bread Pudding recipe. For this and other apple treats, email dina@freerangeclub.com

This recipe is a twist on the hearty traditional soup known as pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans) from the Italian countryside. A thick tomato broth chock full of egg noodle ribbons (pappardelle), northern beans and heart-shaped chicken meatballs is a tasty, spicy meal for  fortifying the post-nuptial celebrations.

Serves 2 (for several days)

8 ounces of Great Northern Beans (from the can or dried and soaked overnight)
8 ounces of egg ribbon noodles (pappardelle)
1 28 ounce can of Italian plum tomatoes or 2 small cans
1 garlic clove, minced
1 handful of fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 stalk of celery, diced
½ small onion, diced
Sea Salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Sprinkling of dry oregano
1 teaspoon of agave syrup
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (no pun intended)

For the meatballs –

1 pound of Foster Farms ground chicken
1 egg, beaten
½ small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
½ red pepper, minced
1 to 2 tablespoons of Panko breadcrumbs
Sea salt, cayenne pepper, dried oregano to taste
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

In a large stock pot, on a flow flame add the olive oil and sauté the garlic, onion, celery and carrots until tender. Add the tomatoes, beans (undrained from the can), parsley, salt, cayenne and oregano to taste. Add the meatballs and simmer for about one hour, adding chicken or vegetable stock or water for your desired consistency.

For the meatballs, in a large saucepan sauté the onion, garlic and red pepper in the olive oil on low until tender. In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken with the cooked veggies, egg, breadcrumbs and seasoning. Add more breadcrumbs if necessary to made the chicken firm enough to mold into small, flat patties. Place these on a

parchment-lined cookie sheet and cut out hearts using a cookie cutter. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Cook the pasta in a separate pot, al dente, and drain. Add the pasta to the soup just before serving. This soup freezes well too.