mango salad/salsa/relish

i was thinking of having all of my posts this week be oriented around a baking theme, since i actually have been baking a lot and it seems like the whole country is kind of baking in this horrible heat wave (over 100 degrees all across the east coast? those are texas-style temperatures!).

but then i came to my senses and decided that that would be kind of mean. not everyone can live in portland, plus i am sure our time will come for unbearable heat. why not make a simple, sweet, spicy mango salad instead?

this is the perfect beat-the-heat dish because it has 6 ingredients, takes 5 minutes to make and doesn't require you to even look at your stove. it has sort of southeast asian flavors, but uses ingredients that are very easy to find practically anywhere.

all you need is a mango, some mint, cilantro, 1/2 a lime, a couple of scallions, and 1/3 or so of a fresh jalapeño. i didn't even use any salt or pepper. cut up the mango like i showed you earlier, put it in a bowl. slice up the scallions and jalapeño. you can certainly use more of anything that you like - i wanted it to be spicy but not too spicy. i cut the jalapeño very thinly so that it wouldn't be too overwhelming in each bite.

chop the herbs - i like to pile the mint leaves on top of each other and then roll them into a kind of tube with the stem part in the middle and then slice it - this helps you have a nice ribbony shape and makes it easier to slice. the cilantro i just kind of ball up and cut. basil would also be good in here, cut the same way as the mint. but i don't have any basil. i also think a little fish sauce would not be out of place, if you have any. but again, i do not. i am so unprepared. how embarrassing.

then squeeze 1/2 a lime over the whole thing and stir. that's it! you should taste it now. you might want to add a little pinch of sugar. lime juice is sour, yo! don't overdo it though. this is supposed to be sweet and savory. this is best eaten right away, although it is still pretty tasty after an evening in the fridge.

i can imagine this being a good accompaniment to grilled fish or chicken or tofu. if you want to use it as a salsa, you should probably cut the mango into smaller bits. you could also add a little tofu or cooked rice to make it more substantial. or maybe have it with other asian-y salads, like a salad smorgasbord! or you could stand in front of the open fridge and scoop it out of the bowl with your fingers. i won't judge you. we all go a little crazy when it's hot out.

gin/ginger/mango/pineapple punch

punch is a fun thing to make for any gathering of friends. it can be as complicated or simple as you want (i am fond of the idea of having sherbet in punch, but it seems like that doesn't happen as much as it used to).

the genesis of this particular punch was the fact that mangoes and pineapple were both on sale at safeway. it's not much, as creation myths go, but it is the truth.

first you must get some jars together (or, if you are fancy, get out your pitcher) and then you should cut up some coins of ginger (i just wash it and cut it up with the skin still on). for three largish (like spaghetti sauce jar-sized) jars, i used perhaps 2 inches of ginger root, cut in pretty thin slices. then cut up the pineapple (for instructions on that, see rhubarb-pineapple crumble) and the mango.

mangoes seem to intimidate people sometimes. when i was buying this one, there was an elderly fellow in front of me buying like a dozen of them and he was talking to the cashier about what a pain they were to cut up. apparently he was peeling them first and then trying to cut them, which to me sounds like an exercise in slippery fruit, futility, and sliced fingers. it is much easier to cut them up with the peel still on them, then cut the pieces out of the peel.

mangoes are sort of flat on two sides and if you use a sharp knife and hold the fruit so that the stem is facing up, you can cut down on either side of the pit. these are the larger oval pieces above. then there are just the two smaller side pieces and you're almost done! then just make hatch marks as above, push the skin in so that the flesh goes out as in the bottom part of the picture, and use a small knife to cut the little cubes off. so easy! and it's already cubed for you! i used a whole mango and almost half of a pineapple.

then just put the fruit and ginger in with some gin to soak. i let it soak on the counter for a good couple of hours - this infuses the gin with the fruit flavor and infuses the fruit with the gin. i used about a liter of gin in total - just try to get all of the things evenly distributed, if you are using more than one vessel.

after a couple of hours (and i'm sure it would be fine if it was longer than that), add some soda or similar. i used one bottle of grapefruit italian soda and then added some sparkling water to each glass as it was poured (the picture at top is post-italian soda addition). this made for a not-too-strong and very refreshing summer cooler.

we enjoyed it while picnicking and playing bocce ball, which is the preferred way to enjoy it, but it wouldn't be too bad if you sipped it at a cookout or similar.

isn't summer just the best?!