Mango Madness

I've got a case of ripe mangoes that came cheap and I'm trying to figure out how to use them while they are still in good shape. Here's what we've done to conquer mango-overload so far:

• Slice and eat them straight from the case or 'fridge--so juicy and delicious!
• Share some with a friend who helped me out in a pinch
• Made a black bean, brown rice, and mango salad

Tomorrow I plan to keep the mango supply dwindling by making a steak, mango and avocado salad for dinner, and I'll probably serve diced mangoes to the kids before soccer practice or make a mango banana smoothie.

If you love mangoes, will you share your favorite way to enjoy them? Please hurry!

By the way, in celebration of mango month in June, the National Mango Board is having a cooking contest for kids ages 8 – 14 who want to create their own recipe incorporating healthy and delicious mangoes. For more information, check out their site www.mango.org/risingstar.

How to Convince Your Friend to Try a New Food

My 9 year old daughter, Celia, wrote this illustrated booklet for school--I guess the (organic) apple doesn't fall far from the tree! I wish I was clever enough to scan in the funny illustrations that go with it:

How to Convince your Friend to Try a New Food, by Celia Goldfarb

First, say to your friend, "You're right, you win, don't eat it." (picture of a couple of very mad-looking little girls glaring at each other over a table)

If that doesn't work, tell him/her you will give them something and under your breath, whisper/murmur "Psych!". (picture of a happy girl giving a skeptical girl a present.)

If that doesn't work, say "It's soooooooooooooo good." (You're kidding, right?)

If that doesn't work, yell "It's rude to say something is bad before you try it!" (Slap a hand over your mouth after saying that.)
(Picture of an astounded girl gasping with a hand over her mouth.)

If that doesn't work, demand, "Try it right now!"
(Angry girls are pictured at a standoff)

If all that doesn't work, hold your fork to your mouth and say "I have a dream for (your friend's name.) For example, I have a dream for Sophie to try this food."
(Picture of reluctant girl now saying "Well....")

What food is your rival?

In response to my column last week about my fear that Andrew would leave me for a tortilla, I received this funny note from our friend Karen Murray, the wife of one of Andrew's college roommates:

"I was cracking up, reading about Andrew’s tortilla fetish. I have always thought David would leave me for a bottle of Cholula hot sauce. He douses everything in hot sauce: eggs, mac n cheese, minestrone soup. When I made the taco chili last week, I put a chopped jalapeno pepper in, and doubled the chili powder, just to spice it up for him. He came home, spooned the chili into a bowl, and poured in the hot sauce. I said, “You haven’t even tasted it yet! How do you know how much hot sauce it needs?” I may have actually shrieked at him…"

I'd like to hear what food your spouse/S.O. is passionate about.

Creative Uses for Leftover Ingredients

Longtime Scrambler, Julie Rocchio, shared her creative way to use up leftover parsley and feta cheese from a recent Scramble menu. She wonders whether other Scramblers would share their tips for using up ingredients before the next weekly trip to the store:

Julie Reports:"One weekend recently, I was pondering what to do with extra fresh parsley and feta crumbles from that week. So ... I did "breakfast for dinner" and made an egg dish served with bagels and fresh orange slices. The eggs were scrambled with minced parsley and feta stirred in. I think I used about 1/4 cup minced parsley and about 3TB feta with six eggs. It was pretty good.

The big bonus was that the eggs were very green! So, the kids were tickled that we were eating "Green Eggs" a la Dr. Suess, especially my three-year-olds. Not the most brilliant recipe in the world but just thought I'd share. I am extra vigilant these days about being creative with extras as I'm sure others are given recent high grocery prices.

P.S. The parsley was minced in the food processor. I do not think the effect would have been the same had it not been finely minced."

Let us know how you've used up your last tidbits in the 'fridge.

101 Uses for a Tortilla

This week in the Scramble, I write about how much my family, especially my DH Andrew, loves using tortillas into our meals, side dishes, snacks and desserts. We use tortillas to make quesadillas, burritos, tostadas, wraps, chimichangas, taquitos and tacos, tortilla pizzas, even homemade tortilla chips. We favor whole wheat tortillas, especially the handmade version from Trader Joes. Do you have any other recipes or uses for tortillas? My latest favorite is in this week's Scramble newsletter, Tangy Apple and Brie Quesadillas with Mango Chutney.

Also, if, like me, you celebrate Passover (no tortillas for a whole week!) and are trying to use up your leftover matzos, check out this hilarious utube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMSEFCQCKPo

I Have a New Toy: An Electric Skillet

When we were visiting my mom last month in California, I made dinner for everyone one night and had a chance to use my mom's beloved (and ancient) electric skillet. I loved it because it's size and shape (large and square) allowed me to cook about 6 boneless chicken breast halves at once, something I can't do in even my biggest conventional skillet. Andrew heard me kvelling over her skillet and surprised me with an electric skillet of my own for my recent birthday.

I'm still getting to know my new toy, but so far it has become my pan of choice for cooking larger meals on the stovetop. I'm still getting used to setting the dial according to temperature rather than heat level (low, medium, high), but the results so far have been great.

It makes me wonder--why has this popular pan from decades past faded in popularity? Is it because the electric skillet is often associated with deep frying, which we Americans do much less frequently now that we are more health and diet conscious?

I'm on Fox Business News This Morning (Wednesday, April 16)

If you're reading your Scramble early, you might be able to catch me at around 8:40 a.m. Eastern Time on Fox Business News talking about how consumers can combat skyrocketing grocery costs. I'm continuing to reach out to Americans through the news media on this topic. If you have any ideas for me to add for my list of tips for saving money on food bills, please post them here.