Monday, March 15, 2010

A Mango Tale (No, Virginia, the Fruit Kind)


I was given a bag of mangoes the other day. Yes, here on the edge of the Atlantic in an outport in Newfoundland’s sort-of-Southern-Shore, I was handed this ginormous bag of frozen mangoes by this puzzled and frightened-seeming local who held it out to me like it was a dirty nappy.

“You’ll know what to do with this,” he said as he handed it to me and raced off into the sunset at the speed of a bullet before I could say anything.

Well, of course. I’m a CFA*, used to alien mainland fruits and vegetables. Not to mention meats.

But it’s far from mango groves I was born.

So what the hell do you do with the “You’ll know what to do with this?”

Go on the interwebz, of course and find a recipe. Lots of mango recipes as it turns out, but the one that would most apply to this situation would be mango muffins.

Now, I’m one of those who can never let well enough alone.

Give me a recipe for anything and I will immediately add to it, subtract from it, substitute stuff in it.

So I have to meddle, don’t I. I have to add pecans, and nutmeg, and take away the limejuice and add vanilla and yer better quality oil. And by gum the damn thing is very thick, you could paste the lino to the floor with it as my old Granny was fond of saying (she was a pretty awful cook, sorry to burst another myth about Irish grannies and I haven’t even mentioned the brandy yet, have I?).

And today, you could hear the Mango Muffin Mix (sounds like a tropical dance, doesn’t it?) thud into the muffin pan from the spoon that strained under the weight of it.

And there was too much of it for the muffin tins. But I sorted some into ramekin dishes and loaded everything into the oven. And crossed my fingers and toes.

And guess what? OMG what gorgeous, incredible, scrumptious, tasty things these are….

Anyone know of a mango dealer in Newfoundland?

*Come From Away

POSTED LATER:

Here's the Recipe:
Mango Muffins


Original Recipe Yield 18 servings

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour adapt for 12: 1& 1/4 cups
1 cup sugar or honey 4 oz
2 teaspoons baking soda total of 1&1/2 powder & soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon go for ginger or nutmeg 1&1/4 tsp
1/2 teaspoon salt sprinkle
a splash of vanilla
3 eggs, lightly beaten 2 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil ½ cup oil
1 tablespoon lime juice ¾ tblp – or omit
2 cups diced ripe mango 1 & ¼ cups
1 medium ripe banana, mashed I use more mango
1/2 cup raisins 3 oz
1/2 cup chopped walnuts 3 oz walnuts or pecans
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, oil and lime juice; add to the dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in the mango, banana, raisins and nuts.
Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

21 comments:

  1. You have made my mouth water!!!
    I must go to the kitchen and whip up something now, or something bad will happen....

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  2. Oh yes, they surely do look yummy! My goodness, NL is coming up in the world if you've got mangoes there! Maybe you could start an import-and-bakery business...

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  3. @Nevin:
    Get yourself some mangoes pronto before you keel over!
    @Twain:
    I wish I could share them with the blogworld.
    @Annie:
    Maude knows where the mangoes came from, I felt like I was handling some illicit substance!
    XO
    WWW

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  4. Oooh recipe, please?!
    Our Farmers' Market has fresh mangos, and I keep on wanting to buy, but know that they will go off if I just wait to eat them (I put it off because of the fiddle!)

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  5. The clairvoyant in myself's oracling that next Friday, latest on Saturday little screams of sheer delight will be heard in Seanhenge, after the ladies of the house will have tried the new I found to spoil their palates.
    And the clairvoyant in myself does seldom err.

    Nice title, by the way, WWW.

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  6. Mango muffins, that sounds fantastic. I wonder where that guy got the mangoes in the first place? I imagine a mad sort of pass the parcel, in which twenty people have been handed the mangoes and each one thought "Friggin heck, what do I do with these?"

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  7. Delish! How the heck did a huge bag o' frozen mangoes make it to the outport?!

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  8. I'm intrigued by where the mangos came from in the first place. Did an exotic ship visit your port? Was there a wayward sailor with illicit mangos? Was it exchanged for something typically Newfoundlandish? What would that be? Homebaked scones? Selfcanned tuna? Handknit sweaters? You really have me wondering.

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  9. Nom nom! I first tried mangoes when we were in Sint Maarten a few years ago and loved them. But they're usually rock hard when we get them here and it's too much trouble trying to work out when they're ready to eat. But muffins ... now that's a good idea. Recipe, please!

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  10. Has global warming got to the stage where you can grow a mango in Newfoundland ? Gosh and golly!
    Mmmm - I can taste those muffins....lovely!

    I like the sound of your Granny - she and I have a lot in common - substitute Scotch for brandy! ;-)

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  11. Jo:
    I've now posted the recipe, my notes about 12 are beside the original for 18 with substitues noted. These are incredibly delicious and rich. I'm not too sure about the banana overwhelming the lovely mango taste so used more mango as a sub. The nutmeg seems to enhance it. I find cinnamon too overpowering, it marries well to apples only.
    XO
    WWW

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  12. Sean:
    Do share the recipe you found! Please!
    XO
    WWW

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  13. Nick:
    Yes, you're right, the parcel had gone around a bit and I imagine the overall relief now...I must make a mango loaf. Seriously. And pass it around.
    XO
    WWW

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  14. Knatolee:
    "Fell off" the back of a boat? *giggle*
    XO
    WWW

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  15. GSW:
    I really really want to know how tuna self-can.
    An aluminum duvet? A ginormous stock pot with a tuna pal soldering it shut?
    ;^)
    XO
    WWW

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  16. Tessa:
    I put the recipe up with my notes, ignore the notes on the right side if you want the original recipe,, as mentioned to Jo I wouldn't use the cinnamon and the bananas, just more mango.
    I am totally pleased with the result and next step Mango Loaf.
    XO
    WWW

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  17. T:
    I worshipped my granny, She had a f*** you attitude which alienated her daughters but totally endeared her to me, her granddaughter. We would have fun together and she bought me shares in a local factory, an astonishing thing when you go back 45 years. A stock certificate. I must write about her. She loved her brandy and her pipe full of tobacco and she taught me Irish dancing.
    XO
    WWW

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  18. Thanks for the recipe :-D Will be buying the remaining ingredients that I don't have in stock (the fresh mango and the walnuts) and will be making this weekend!

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  19. Ha ha! I had not thought of that when I wrote it. How about locally canned tuna, produced only in your village, guaranteed to be the best of the line in the finest of oil (no, not springwater). Extra virgin olive oil, imported directly from Sardinia. Gosh, it makes my mouth water. I think I need one of those mango muffins.

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  20. Batch of muffins is sat cooling in the kitchen right now :-) I had fun converting all the measurements over - I can't get the hang of cups, and the oven is in Celsius - however, the internet is a wonderful thing and got me all the info I needed...

    I see what you mean about the mixture being thick - my poor old food processor made some very funny sounds before I turned it off!

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