Mango Pineapple Lassi

This is one of those recipes that I like to call a "double take" recipe. Not because the recipe list is odd, but because the product is initially, well... lackluster.


I love mango. I love pineapple. I love plain, unsweetened yogurt (yep, I'm weird). So this seemed like the perfect combination for me. Sadly, when I initially tasted this drink after the photoshoot it was kind of odd. Sour, but not in an appetizing way. Fruity, but blah. Normally, I would pass such a product off on my sister, but she happens to not be the biggest fan of mango or plain yogurt. So, discouraged, I wrapped it up in plastic and stuck it in the freezer.


Fast forward a few hours. Now I'm hungry. I want something sweet, but homemade. No options. I go to the freezer. I crack the thick shell on top of the lassi with a spoon, digging into the liquid core. (Salivating yet?) It was delicious! I do a double take. Is this really the same drink I tasted earlier?


Yes. With adequate time for the flavors to meld and with the help of a colder temperature (which seems to mellow the tartness of yogurt), the lassi became delightful! As you probably should know, I am lazy. Also, the only ice cream maker I own is an extremely dinky, obnoxious contraption which must be placed in a closed garage so as to muffle the noise. From these two statements, I am sure you can understand when I say that I do not make ice creams or frozen yogurts. This drink is a lovely alternative. I don't really know anything about the necessary composition of a frozen yogurt, but I am assuming that you could make this into one(?). Oh, well. It tastes gooood.



Mango Pineapple Lassi
Adapted from this recipe


INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup chopped mango
• 1 cup nonfat plain yogurt (pref. organic)
• 1/4 cup nonfat milk (I used lowfat organic)
• 1/2 cup cold pineapple juice
• 1 dash ground ginger (fresh ginger = yum, but I didn't have any)

DIRECTIONS

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Drink immediately or cover with plastic wrap and store in the freezer for a few hours before serving.

Mango Kiwi Strawberry Tart

This is not your average tart. With an olive oil crust and a coconut custard, you know this is going to be an explosion of unorthodox flavor combinations. I loved it. This is a fresh, flavorful, and healthy treat.

Mango Kiwi Strawberry Tart
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INGREDIENTS

• Olive oil crust, baked and cooled (recipe below)
• Coconut custard (recipe below)
• 1 15 oz. mango, peeled and diced
• 2 kiwis, peeled and diced
• 3-5 strawberries, hulled and diced

DIRECTIONS

1. Spread the coconut custard evenly in the bottom of the tart.
2. Arrange diced fruit on top.

Olive Oil Crust
Adapted from La Tartine Gourmande

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup almond flour (almonds pulverized in a food processor)
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup cold water

DIRECTIONS

1. Start preparing the crust an hour ahead of time. Place the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor prepared with a dough blade.
2. Add the oil and mix on pulse until crumbly (stop if necessary to scrape the sides of the bowl and make sure that everything is well incorporated).
3. Then add the water progressively, enough for the dough to detach from the bowl and form a ball.
4. Let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature before using.
5. Preheat your oven at 350 F.
6. Place dough in a tart pan and spread evenly with fingers. Make holes with a fork at the bottom. Line with parchment paper, fill with pie weights, and bake 18-20 minutes. Remove parchment paper and pie weights and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Coconut Custard
Adapted from Fresh from the Oven

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup lite coconut milk
• 2/3 cup soy milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup egg substitute
• 2 tablespoons flax meal
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/3-1/2 cup additional soy milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring milks and vanilla to boil in a small saucepan. Cover the pan and remove from heat for 10 minutes.
2. Fill a large bowl with ice cubes and set aside a small bowl that can hold the finished cream and be placed in this ice bath. Set aside a fine-meshed strainer.
3. Whisk egg substitute, flax, sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. While whisking, slowly drizzle a quarter of the hot milk into the mixture. Continue to add in the rest of the milk into the tempered mixture, whisking all the while.
4. Place the saucepan over high heat and whisking vigorously, without stop, bring the mixture to the boil. Continue to whisk another 1-2 minutes, until you notice that the texture of the cream has thickened. Remove from heat. The cream will rapidly thicken, forming almost an oatmeal texture. Do not panic! Whisk in the additional soy milk until loosened to about the texture of cottage cheese. It will still look a little strange. Don't worry. The sieve will solve the problem.
5. Press the cream through the sieve into the reserved small bowl. Set the bowl in the ice bath prepared earlier. Stir the cream occasionally until it is completely cool. It is ready to be used at this point or keep refrigerated until you are ready to assemble the tart.

Mango Chocolate Tofu Pudding

This is just something I whipped up the other day in the kitchen, trying to use up the last of the mango curd. This chocolate pudding is very bitter by itself, so if you are going to attempt it without the curd, I suggest adding more sweeteners and perhaps even some melted chocolate, as the chocolate flavor is a bit mild with just cocoa powder. With the mango curd swirled in, it is heavenly. The curd sweetens the chocolate without cutting the dark chocolate tones and adds the interesting combo of chocolate and lime. Surprisingly delicious! Serve with fresh berries for a sweet summer dessert.
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Mango Chocolate Tofu Pudding

INGREDIENTS

• 4 oz silken soft tofu
• ½ teaspoon chocolate extract
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 2 heaping tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon powdered sugar
• dash of salt
• 1/2 cup mango curd

DIRECTIONS

1. Dissolve coffee in the chocolate and vanilla extracts. Pulse in a food processor with the silken tofu.
2. Add cocoa powder, corn starch, yogurt, and sweeteners to mixture. Puree until smooth.
3. Heat mixture in a small saucepan over medium heat until thickened, stirring frequently.
4. Add salt.
5. When mixture reaches a pudding consistency, remove from heat and allow to cool.
6. Chill in the fridge until completely cool.
7. Swirl with mango curd and serve with fresh fruit.

Coconut Cake with Mango Curd

At last! The long awaited for coconut cake with mango curd and cream cheese frosting!

Well, ok. Long awaited by me, at least. Can you blame me? Look at this little gem. Granted, not so little. And not so innocent. Make no mistake; this is no angel food cake. These mini bundt cakes flirt with devilry, but are restrained by a few choice substitutes (ah, yes, that inevitable word). Nevertheless, delicious.

Oh, and if you think I was content with the topping portions shown above, you are wrong. That's enough to at least give you the idea, but I was moving past the idea. I was getting the big picture. In other words, I smeared on additional curd and frosting with each bite. So, yeah... now you get the whole "not so innocent" thing. These babies are tricky that way.

So you know how I was also going to make a tiered cake and even doubled my mango curd recipe so that I would have enough for layers? Yeah, so that didn't happen. I'm lazy; what can I say? But the good news that comes with me being an overachiever is that I have more mango curd to play with! Which means vegan mango-saffron creme brulees and chocolate tofu mousse swirled with mango curd and fresh berries. Forgive me? Thought so.

So here are the four components of the mini bundt cakes (or, if you just have to be an overachiever, a layer cake! ;) )

1. Coconut Milk Cake
Adapted from this recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups Splenda
• 1/3 cup Smart Balance Light, softened
• 1/2 cup egg substitute
• 1 14oz can light coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat one mini bundt pan (makes six) with cooking spray and spread until lightly coated with a paper towel, absorbing the excess.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
4. Place sugar, Splenda, and Smart Balance in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (for about 5 minutes).
5. Add egg substitute, in two rounds, beating well after each addition.
6. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.
7. Stir in the vanilla.
8. Pour batter into prepared molds, filling above the core/center-piece of each cake mold.
9. Sharply tap the pans once on the countertop to remove air bubbles.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
11. Cool in pans ten minutes and remove cakes from pan onto a wire rack.
12. Cool completely.
13. Slather with cream cheese frosting, a dollop of mango curd, and a sprinkling of toasted coconut.

2. Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from this recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 8oz package reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Pop ingredients in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until fluffy. It really is that easy.

3. Mango Curd

4. Toasted Coconut

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup desiccated, sweetened, shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup desiccated, unsweetened, shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS

1. Place coconut shavings in a dry skillet over medium-high heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until golden brown.
2. Warning! This will smell delicious.

Coconut Crab Cakes with Mango Salsa

Click on this picture. Click and drool.

The coconut in this recipe accentuates the crab's natural sweetness, while the potato provides a creamy texture without diluting the crab flavor. The polenta and coconut make the crunchiest, most flavorable crust you can get, without having to use vast amounts of oil. Not enough for you? Try it with this salsa. Juicy, sweet, tangy, and intense.

If you're like me, you have trouble keeping seafood cakes together. No problem with this cake. It held its shape and flipped without a problem. Definitely a first for me!

Perfection. Okay, enough talking.

Coconut Crab Cakes

Adapted from Food Stories

INGREDIENTS

• 500g crab meat
• 3 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 medium Yukon potatoes
• 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1 inch ginger, grated
• 1/2 tablespoon jalapeno, chopped
• 3 tablespoons light coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• Polenta and dried, unsweetened coconut, for crusting
• 1/4 cup egg substitute, for dipping
• Olive oil, for (very) shallow frying

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil the potatoes. Drain and mash.
2. Add the crab meat to a large bowl along with all of the other ingredients except the polenta and dried coconut. Season.
3. Shape the mixture into cakes and chill for at least 30 minutes.
4. Spread some of the polenta on a plate and add enough coconut so that you have a mix of two thirds polenta to one third coconut.
5. Dip each cake in the egg first and then coat thoroughly in the polenta mix.
6. Cook the crab cakes in olive oil until both sides are golden brown and crispy.
7. Serve with mango salsa.

Tropical Mango Salsa
Adapted from Simply Recipes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 1 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and diced
• 3 rings canned pineapple, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   

I had fun with the plating...

Oh, and when I was looking through the fridge, I found this.


Ew. Yes, those are chopped jalapenos. This is what happens when your family is composed of spicy-food junkies. Notice how it is half empty, too. That's a lot of heartburn right there.

Vegan Mango Curd

Curd. Vegan. Lowfat. Seriously.

This is part one of my future mango coconut cake. Doesn't it look scrrrrumptious?

Instead of using one recipe this time, I fused two different curd recipes: vegan grapefruit curd from Vegan Visitor and mango curd from smitten kitchen. The mango curd would have been perfectly fine, of course, but I found the egg yolks and butter unnecessary. I want to be able to enjoy the cake, instead of reaching my richness quota after a couple of bites.

Oh, and I am posting a doubled recipe, as I needed enough curd for at least two layers in the cake.


Vegan Mango Curd

INGREDIENTS

• 2 15oz. mangoes, peeled and pitted, cut in 1/2 inch cubes (or whatever)
• 1 cup sugar (I think you could get away with less, though)
• 6 tablespoons lime juice
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup soy milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Puree mangoes and sugar in a food processor until uniformly smooth.
2. Strain through a sieve into a saucepan. Discard solids.
3. Whisk lime juice, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl.
4. Heat mango puree over medium heat until bubbly, whisking constantly.
5. Whisk in lime mixture. Continue whisking until thickened. (It does not take long.)
6. Take curd off heat and whisk in soy milk.
7. Cool and store in the fridge overnight.
8. Make coconut cake. Eat an absurd amount... almost guilt-free. (disclaimer: not really.)

Look at that Rolex spoon. Word.

Disclaimer 2: The Wire Season 5 arrived today. I've already watched four episodes. Prepare for some serious urban vernacular. Please refer to your urban dictionary.

Mango Berry Banana Smoothie

Mmm... a cold fruity breakfast in the middle of summer.

Does it get any better? Oh, yeah. It takes just seconds to make. Now that's what I'm talking about.

So I'm starting off my mango spree with an easy little fix. From here, it's going to get crazier and crazier. How so? Well, as I tossed in bed last night, unable to fall asleep with visions of food possibilities flashing in front of my eyes, I imagined all of the ways I could manipulate those lovely mangoes.

After watching the Coconut Cake episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay, I felt inspired to make a coconut cake brushed with coconut simple syrup with mango curd filling and cream cheese icing. Yum? Indeed.

I also had the thought of converting this fascinating vegan concoction into a mango-infused creme brulee with a hint of saffron. I think you can understand why I was having trouble falling asleep.

Still more? Oh, yes. It was a vicious case of insomnia. After envisioning all of those sweets, I had to go a little savory. Then I remembered this little seductress from Coconut & Lime. Smoky mango deliciousness? Oh, I think so. The only problem is that I am not a huge fan of pork. So I am thinking about swapping it with some chicken breast. Is it possible? I have no idea. But we will see...

Now that I am glancing through my recipe archives, I can also consider this coconut crab cake with mango-avocado salsa. Sounds like the perfect foil to the coconut mango cake, if you ask me.

I could even convert this to a mango maple meatloaf. My options are endless!

If you are a mango nut like I am, here are some more recipes that I've bookmarked:

Tropical Baked Beans

Jerk Chicken with Mango-Avocado Salsa

Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

Mango Ginger Chicken

Key Lime Cheesecake with Mango

Mango Tart

Mango Rhubarb Crumble

So anyway, here are the ingredients for the smoothie...

Mango Berry Banana Smoothie

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 frozen banana (peeled. yeah, I learned that the hard way.)
• 3 medium strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
• 1/2 edible portion of mango (add more for a more intense flavor)
• 1 handful of blueberries
• 1 teaspoon ground flax seed (the nutrients of flax meal are more readily absorbed than those of flax seeds)

DIRECTIONS

1. Throw all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
2. For a thicker smoothie, add more frozen banana.
3. Pour into glasses and serve.

Tomorrow: Who knows?