Do You Know the Mango Muffin Man?

When we moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., in the late '60s, my Northeastern family was introduced to the mango.  Migrating from Maryland, we had never seen, let alone tasted, a mango.  In South Florida, however, this oblong fruit was weighing down trees all over the neighborhood. 

                                         

My first fruity memory was my mother warning that mangos could cause an allergic reaction in people sensitive to the peel.  Of course, being the neurotic child I was, when I tasted a mango I immediately imagined I felt sick, started scratching, and swore off mangos for life.  Although still neurotic, I can proudly say that I have conquered my fear of fruit.  Yeesh! 

Mom was right, though.  A quick mango search reveals that the peel contains urushiol, the chemical in poison ivy and poison sumac, which can cause contact dermatitis in some people.   Okay... itchy, but not life threatening.  

I think the first time I considered eating a mango again was when I received one in a bag of produce from a fruit-and-vegetable coop to which I belonged in Georgia.   Among the many benefits of being in the coop was never knowing what the haul would contain.  Every two weeks I would receive two brown grocery bags full of fresh fruits and vegetables from the state farmers' market.  The contents depended on which neighbor was buying that week.  Somebody in the group liked mangos, which led me to the brave new world of mango experimentation.  What a breakthrough.  It only took 32 years.

Mangos are a bit awkward to cut up due to their oblong, fibrous stone, which is located in an off-center spot in the fruit.  Other than that, they are easy to manage.   I take off the peel with a vegetable peeler - and I live to tell about it.

                                This mango muffin has a crispy, sugary top.

Although I don't like them enough to buy them to eat out of hand, I do enjoy them mixed in salsas and baked goods.  Below is a recipe for my favorite muffins, incorporating mango and cardamom.  Cardamom is a warm, aromatic spice native to India and is often used in Indian cooking; since the mango is the national fruit of India, it's not surprising that these two flavors were combined, achieving delectable results.  A refreshing change from the usual banana or blueberry muffin fare, this Cooking Light recipe is also figure friendly - if you pace yourself.

  

                               The yellow chunks are mango explosions.                     

Mango Cardamom Muffins
(Cooking Light Annual Recipes, 2001)

2 C all-purpose flour
2/3 C sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1  C chopped mango
3/4 C low-fat buttermilk
1/4 C butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg, lightly beaten
cooking spray
2 T. sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Combine first six ingredients.
2. Stir mango into dry ingredients.  Make a well in the center.
3. Combine buttermilk, butter, vanilla and egg; add to the dry ingredients.  Mix just until moistened.
4. Grease muffin cups, and spoon in batter.  Sprinkle tops with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
5. Bake 23 minutes, or until muffins spring back in the center.  Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Makes 9 muffins.
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Granola Momma

Early-Morning Granola
(Cooking Light, November 2006)

3 C uncooked regular oats
1 C wheat germ
1/2 C chopped pecans
1/2 C sliced almonds
1/3 C sunflower seeds
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon ( I use more)
1/4 C honey
1/4 C maple syrup
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. vegetable oil
1 C raisins
1 C dried fruit of your choice (apples, apricots, cherries, whatever)

Don't let the list of ingredients overwhelm you.  It's worth the effort to make your own granola. 

I guess I started making this in 2006 because I noted on the page ripped from Cooking Light that this was my Christmas gift giveaway that year.  Probably not as much fun to receive as cookies or cake, but it's less of a gut bomb. 

Once you have the stuff on hand, you will be more inclined to make this, so buy everything in bulk.  It only takes an hour from start to finish, and that includes cleanup.  It is great with yogurt, mixed with cereal, or on ice cream, but Cooking Light probably would frown upon your using it as a nightly sundae topper.   

Let's get started.

First, get out all your ingredients.  You see mine above.  They are just a mixture of generic, mostly store-brand items, which are perfectly fine.  For a while I used  pure maple syrup until I realized that the taste was the same if I used  Aunt Maple's from Aldi.  Honey is honey, coconut is coconut, sugar is sugar...you see where I am going with this.  Buy the cheap store brands when making granola.

Oops!  My top photo doesn't include wheat germ.  Can't forget that.  It is full of folic acid and Vitamin E, which helps maintain vitality and cardiovascular health (at least that's what the jar says).  We all can use a little vitality, can't we?  You'll get a full cup of it in this recipe.

Once you've emptied the pantry, get out a huge bowl and throw in the oats, cinnamon, nuts of your choosing, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, and if you like, toss some coconut in there, too.  I do.  This is a forgiving recipe.  You can play with it. 

Next, in a small saucepan, slowly dissolve the brown sugar, oil, maple syrup and honey.  It takes about five minutes and looks like this when ready:

Pour that on top of the oat mixture and mix well.  You want everything covered with sticky goodness.  Dump the contents of the bowl onto an aluminum foil-lined jelly-roll pan/cookie sheet.  I spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray.  Put the pan in a preheated 350-degree oven and toss the granola with a metal spatula every five minutes until it's all nicely toasted.  This takes about 30 minutes.   Remember to babysit it because burnt nuts will ruin everything.  Nobody wants their nuts scorched. :)
 

When the oat mixture is golden brown, remove it from the oven and let it cool.  Then add your favorite dried fruits.  In this batch I used dried cherries, craisins, and an assortment of raisins.  Mix gently and place in an air-tight container.  It stays fresh for weeks - well, maybe not fresh, but it stays good for a long time.
 

Keep in mind this is a low-fat recipe, thanks to the reduced amount of oil.  If you look at other granola recipes you will see that they use about 1/4 cup of oil.  I believe this is what produces those clumps we all love.   This lightened version does not produce lots of clumps, but it also won't give you lots of clumps where you don't want them, as in clumpy rumpy.

Notes:  Sometimes I add a touch of vanilla or almond extract to the honey/syrup/sugar mixture.  It adds a little variety.