Our local organic produce market had a glut of ripe small yellow mangoes, which seemed like just the thing to spark up our cool gray weather. They were so delicious that they didn’t need any embellishment, just a hint of lime. Yummy served with a simple ginger wafer.  The recipe is based on David Lebovitz’s Mango Sorbet in The Perfect Scoop. He added dark rum to his, which I bet is great.

Mango Lime Sorbet adapted from David Lebovitz

3 small or 2 large ripe mangoes (about 2 lbs)

¾ c water

¾ c sugar

Juice of 2 limes

Warm the water and sugar together, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool. Add the lime juice to the water and pour into a food processor. Peel and cube each mango, dropping the pieces into the food processor as you go. (Slice the mango vertically, then horizontally, and pry the sections from the pit.) Blend the mixture until smooth and chill it thoroughly. Process the mango puree in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Makes about 1 quart.

Just as a reminder, sorbets differ from ice cream in that they don’t contain any dairy…no milk or cream. They are basically just fruit, sugar and water.  With that kind of roster, sorbets run into the situation where there is nothing preventing it from freezing like an igloo. The fat in dairy breaks up the freezing process in ice cream leaving it creamy. (Wow this is getting very Bill Nye.) Being the texture/creamy freak that I am, I am always seeking to make a creamy, thick sorbet. [Insert: mission impossible music]

I started off with this guy…

Mango Man Mug Shot

(That pretty orange mouth is a sign of a perfectly ripe mango.)

I picked up two  other  mangoes, one was crap-o-la and the inside looked like a network of misguided intent, it was kind of stringy which makes me dry heave. The other mango wasn’t quite ripe enough but it had potential, so basically I had one good mango and a sidekick of potential. I scratched my head for a second and remembered I had frozen mangoes in the freezer…EUREKA! Poured half a bag of frozen mangoes and watched wonderful things happen. THICK. CREAMY. EDIBLE CEMENT. The frozen mangoes when blended turned into a wonderful thick spread which will come into play later.

I also introduced mango man to Soju man because alcohol, like fat,  breaks up the freezing process.

Soju Man

The results….

Somangon Sorbet

IT WAS CREAMY. [arm pump]. I think a lot had to do with the frozen mangoes which gets the unicycle wheel in my brain turning. Let’s just say……..I AM PUMPED  for spring and summer where my Pandora will be bustling with frozen novelties such as this.

Dollup of Somangon

I have had some truly great food experiences over the past six months.  My husband and I caught 14 Spanish Mackerel one Sunday and made them into delicious smoked fish dip.  My husband got familiar with the world of smoking and created his own recipe for the dip, which turned out fantastic!  There is nothing like catching your food and executing an excellent dish- so rewarding!

We also had the joy of eating at our first Wolfgang Puck restaurant and the disappointment of eating at our first Emeril Legasse restaurant while we were in Vegas.  I did plenty of Vegas Restaurant research before the trip and when we landed I was fully prepared with a list on the Droid of my top choices.

The first night I got distracted by impulse and what I thought would be most convenient and ended up on a wild goose chase trying to locate the new Emeril Legasse Sports Bar.  It was not on the list, but the sign was enticing and it was at the Palazzo which was right across the street from our hotel, nice and easy….so we thought.  One we entered the Palazzo we went up escalators, down escalators, past plenty of other restaurants and finally made it to Legasse’s Stadium.  The space is huge, cold and uninviting at first glance.  The sports bar theme is poorly executed and the big feature- stadium seating in the center of the restaurant is cool from some angles, but obtrusive and dull from most of the dining area.  All of these initial thoughts made me want to leave at first, but I thought, the food has to be good, right? Boy was I wrong.  Boring, soggy wings as an appetizer and a pretty boring menu too.  I ordered the only steak entree on the menu thinking it would be a good choice.  I was wrong.  The food came and before the waiter even set it down, I could already smell some intense aromas coming from my steak.  The steak had a sauce and seasoning, I think they may have used an entire container of seasoning.  It was almost inedible, but I was starving.  I tried to slop up a little sauce to contrast with the seasoning, but it just made it worse.  Everyone else at the table felt their meals were very disappointing, so big thumbs down to Legasse’s Stadium!

Vegas dining was quickly redeemed by lunch the next day at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago.  A welcoming reception from the hostess and our walk through the elegant, understated bar to our table made me even more excited about the upcoming dining experience.  A delicious sparkling cocktail was the first thing to arrive and it perfectly prepared my pallette.  Chicken Wing Lollipops were next and they were incredible.  The succulent chicken meat fell right off the bone with a gentle tug making for the cleanest and easiest chicken wing eating ever.  The next course was a delicious artisinal pepperoni pizza with a perfectly crispy crust and CASERECCI PASTA À LA BOLOGNAISE-Braised Beef, Roasted Double Blanched Garlic, Plum Tomatoes and House Made Ricotta Cheese.  The pasta was absolutely divine….yes divine is really the best word to describe the experience of the caserecci pasta’s perfect taste and texture.  This is one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had.  Thank you to Executive Chef Eric Klein for a perfect lunch!

Other notable eating experience in Vegas, I used to go to Kahunaville in Delaware, growing up and I was very excited to see if the crab cakes at the Vegas location were as good as I remember the Delaware ones being and they were! I had quite a hangover our last day in Vegas and did not think I could make it through a meal, but it was crucial to try and get something because we had a lot of traveling ahead.  While waiting for my crabcake an employee was talking to the table next to us about the oxygen bar.  She said it was great for nausea and hangovers and I was suddenly sitting at an oxygen bar for the first time.  For $20 I got hooked up to oxygen, a massage and a cocktail (which I clearly wanted nothing to do with).

The awesome ‘Oxytender’ was great and also gave me peppermint oil to help with the nausea.  After about 30 mins hooked up to the oxygen, I was a new woman.  I felt great, my hangover faded into something tolerable and I eagerly anticipated my french fries and crab cake.  The oxygen bar at Kahunaville was a great experience that I highly recommend, especially for those who had a little too much fun the night before!

Last but not least in the standout food experiences from the last six months would be Mango Sorbet.  Our new home has huge, beautiful mango trees and with the fruit we made some amazing Mango Sorbet with a borrowed ice cream maker.  I cannot believe how easy it was to make and how delicious it was! I can’t wait for next mango season!

Lots of catching up, that was thisdish, on to the next!

Or, a hard-earned thirst needs a big, cold bowl of…

Mango Lime Sorbet

4 large, ripe mangoes

4 limes

100 grams of sugar

1 egg white, lightly beaten until frothy

Squeeze the limes, straining out the pips and pith.

In a small saucepan, bring the lime juice and sugar to the boil, then simmer for a few minutes. Set aside to cool.

Chop up your mangoes, discarding the skin and seeds.

Whizz the mangoes in a blender or food processor.

Add the sugar syrup and whizz a little more.

Transfer the mixture to your ice-cream machine.

Churn until cold and beginning to thicken.

Pause the churning and add the frothy egg white.

Churn until thickened enough to scoop.

Fine to eat straight away, but can be stored in a 1.5l, airtight container.

Eat on its own, or with chunks of fresh mango, or spoonfuls of passionfruit, or both, and a bit of vanilla ice cream. Whichever way, it’s good.

Mango Mugshot

I love the skin of a mango, it’s like a hypercolor shirt, each day it could be a different color. My latest goal for sorbets is trying to make them creamier and less icy. I researched and found only  a handful of suggestions: increase the sugar, use alcohol or use some chemical sugar thing.  I actually try to use less sugar than most recipes call for in sorbets because I want the fruit to come out more and I don’t think it really needs it.  Alcohol does work effectively but I tried something new this time, salt. It makes sense because think about when it snows and you want to melt the ice quickly, you throw salt on there. Granted this is edible salt but still it gets in there to break up the freezing process. EUREKA!

Mangood Sorbet

This photo is a wee bit deceiving, it wasn’t THIS wet and shiny. I took it about 15 minutes after I made it so it was glistening like Edward Cullen in the sun.  Mangood did hold up though and was creamy after hours in the freezer. Would definitely make this again and would like to try it as a swirl with vanilla bean.

Anyways, this particular restaurant Pandabear and I always drove past it along canning hwy. We were really curious as it had a large flashy Red Crayfish as a sign, so it’s definitely a seafood restaurant. We’ve been so disappointed with seafood restaurants in Perth, they don’t really live up to their standards and after dining seafood in New York, everything in Perth taste crappy!! So one day Pandabear googled the place and found out it was actually owned by one of his high school friends who he haven’t seen for like 10 years. So it was time to pay this restaurant a visit!

We went to the restaurant on a Monday night with two friends and when we got there it was actually quite packed – for a Monday night, surely the food is got to be good. Then the Manager walked passed us and saw Pandabear and was like wo! Is this you…so and so…and Pandabear is like yeah and are you so and so and there you go both made their friendly handshake – high school reunion in the restaurant. For entree we decided to share some calamari and a tasting plate to share…

Calamari

tasting plate

Well, the calamari was fantastic! Lightly crumbed, well seasoned, the squid was deep fried to perfection – tender and juicy rather than rubbery and chewy and the mayo that goes with it they both just melt into your mouth. There were 4 of us to share and I wanted more and more! Fortunately, our tasting plate arrived. Interesting looking dish I must say. It’s more like a tasting plate for 2 so everything comes in twos but that’s ok we can all share. So the lamb cutlets – have I ever told you guys I hate lamb! I hate the smell of it and the taste of it. So I wasn’t too keen on the lamb cutlets, I gave it a try and it actually tasted pretty good – ‘none of those strong lamby taste’. Then there were crumbed prawn cutlets – mmm..they are really tasty – I need to eat a whole one to feel satisfied. Then there was this triangular looking deep fried item – I can’t remember what they were exact but they were gorgeous too! Then the salmon perfectly cooked. I’m very happy with our entree

Then it was time for mains…I spotted the seafood platter – execute one which comes with a full red crayfish and other seafood and served two..mmm… yum yum and our friend spotted a sign that says pasta night special on Mondays too, so we ordered our seafood platter along with 2 pasta dishes – Linguini Diablo – chicken, chilli, garlic, spinach in a creamy parmesan sauce and spaghetti tuscana – chicken, grape tomatoes, spinach, garlic tossed in olive oil. Now we asked the waiter whether this was enough and he said it’s plenty for 4. So before the main arrives, the waiters gave us these strawberry smelling little red cray napkin – how thoughtful for our seafood platter and they are strawberry scented too!!

strawberry scented napkin

executive seafood platter

when our executive seafood platter for 2 arrives, I was shocked it was HUGE!! All this for 2 people?? I was starting to wonder whether Pandabear’s friend gave us extra serves of seafood, anyways can’t complain – all the produce looks fresh and tantalizing…I was salivating already – it kind of reminds me of dining at fish monger where we received a HUGE seafood platter but the seafood was not fresh and over cooked. So we started digging into the seafood platter – there were fish, home made chips, scallops, oysters, prawns, squid, huge red crayfish and other stuff that I couldn’t remember – and it was served with a generous serving of tar tare sauce and can I just say it was one of the best seafood platter I’ve ever tasted – fresh, generous, and tasty in flavour. Then our pastas arrived…

Linguini Diablo

Spaguetti Tuscana

After a wow factor from the executive seafood platter, our pastas have both arrived – the presentation was nice. The taste was quite good, look if I have to be honest it’s not the best pasta I’ve ever had and certainly wasn’t better than Ciao Italia’s but all the flavours were there and it was cheap $12 per pasta! So we really can’t complain…

Now, I was eying out for their desserts – even though we were really full already, there’s always a separate stomach for desserts! So our two friends shared some gelati icecream and Pandabear went for the mango sorbet and I went for the sticky date pudding – I know how could I even fit such thing into my stomach…but I just love sticky date puddings.

2 scoops of gelati

A scoop of mango sorbet

Sticky date pudding with icecream

Now the gelati and sorbet arrived first and I was patiently waiting for my sticky date pudding, when it arrived – I was in love – such a generous serving of sticky date pudding and it comes with cream and a large scoop of icecream. I was feeling stoked and could feel everyone staring at my dessert so I went “please feel free to try some I won’t be able to finish it!” Anyways, Pandabear proceed to dig into my dessert and wow the sticky date pudding was warm, moist, tasty and it goes great with that large scoop of icecream. I was so happy with our mains and dessert.

Overall, the service from the waiters/waitress were fantastic they had big smiles and really friendly too. Our food waiting time was good, we didn’t wait long and man the food was fantastic! No wonder it was voted the best seafood restaurant in Perth 2010. When Pandabear went off to grab the bill, he came back and whispered to me “he gave me a 10% discount too!” That’s so cool for a high school friend who haven’t seen you for 10 years!!!

Here’s my rating:

Food experience: 4.5 star
Dining experience: 4.5 star
Would I recommend? Definitely a YES!

Celebrity Masterchef is back! Horray! Anyone who knows me, will know how much this means to me. It’s my favourite programme by far. John Torode and Gregg Wallace really give the nation an education, as everyone starts to eat better when it’s aired. Honestly, I didn’t have a clue about pea puree, puy lentils, seasoning and samphire until I started tuning in.

Starter of ribs

So I’ve been encouraged to be a little more adventurous with my food. We went to Goldfish City in Bank last week and instead of going for my usual spring rolls and sweet chicken, I tried new things. I did get my spring rolls, but we ordered the hot and fried mushrooms and pork ribs for starters too. I have to admit, that the mushrooms have been playing on my mind ever since – taunting me, making me want to go back for more. OH. They were fantastic. Crispy yet soft with a very rich soy flavoured sauce. Last time I had ribs it was on my 16th birthday in TGI Fridays, but I can’t remember them being as nice as this, smothered in sauce and sesame seeds. As a spring rolls coniousseur, I am pleased to confirm that Goldfish City rank highly in that department, although being served just two pieces may leave you unsatisfied. Then again, I could eat plates upon plates of them, so I’m not sure whether that is a valid criticism.

Sauteed Scallops with broccoli and peppers

Resisting temptation to go for my usual choice of main course, we went for scallops, pan fried duck and noodles. Our waiter recommended a special fried rice, persuading me away from my beloved traditional white. It was a bit lemon-y. It smelt nice. Fragrant, some might say. Believe it or not, I’d never had scallops before. Well, they probably popped up in a seafood noodle medley of some sort in the past, but never a plate where they were the centrepiece. I don’t think I’ve been inspired to cook them at home, but I’d definitely toy with the idea of ordering them again. Especially if they came with the very same bright, fresh broccoli and peppers. Pan fried duck was saucy, but to be honest I left most of them to my sister, I was pretty stuffed at this point. I was actually surprised she was keen on ordering that particular dish, as ducks always bring back the memory of when we were little and one attacked her frilly socks whilst we were having afternoon tea out. I remember laughing very loudly, whilst she was probably crying and traumatised by the whole experience.

Naturally, I did leave a bit of room for dessert. Mmm… Mango sorbet, the more acceptable form of ice lolly. And we know how much I like them. My sister had chocolate ice cream. Washed down with some lovely Tiger beer. Goldfish City is a place where you can put faith in your waiter and be recommended something fabulous. Do it. Make sure you get the mushrooms though.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

Hot and Fried Mushrooms

The Duck

1. 1 1/2 cups frozen mango chunks
2. 1/2 cup soymilk
3. 1 tablespoon lucuma powder

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Serves: 2

fresh mango sorbet

Last time we visited Luc’s Asian Market we couldn’t resist buying a case of mangoes. We wanted to make more mango sorbet after a successful trial run last week.

The recipe (from Epicurious) couldn’t be simpler.

4 large ripe mangoes or 6 smaller champagne mangoes (about 3.5 lbs total)
1 cup simple syrup
3 tablespoons lime juice (or more to taste).

The simple syrup, made of equal quantities of sugar and water, should be made ahead so it is cold when you add it to the mango. It will keep for at least a week in the fridge and any leftover syrup is a good excuse to make some cocktails.

Using a sharp knife divide each mango into three sections by slicing down alongside the pit. Scoop the flesh out of each of the two side pieces using a spoon and put it straight into a food processor or blender. With a smaller knife peel the skin off the pit section by inserting the knife just under the skin and tracing all the way around. Trim any useable flesh from around the pit and add it to the blender.

At this point you may not be able to resist gnawing on the pit. That is one of the perks of being the one making the sorbet, but make sure you have dental floss in the house first. That part can be stringy.

When you have the flesh of all four mangoes in the food processor or blender add the syrup and lime juice and puree until smooth. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the maker’s instructions. I have the ice cream maker attachment for my kitchen aid mixer (a very nice birthday present) and have been very happy with it. The Epicurious recipe uses the mango shells as serving vessels but we stored our sorbet in a tupperware container. The sorbet freezes very hard so you will definitely want to let it sit out for a while before serving.

Today was also fantastic because I heard back from JB Hunt today, and I will be working there this summer as an internship.

Goodbye winter — hello spring!  Today, the thermometer hit 63.  The skies were sunny.  The birds were singing.  And for the first time in months, frozen desserts sounded wonderful.

So we scooped ourselves some mango sorbet from this company.  (Their blood orange is also fantastic.)

Now, I am hoping to track down a pint of this goat’s milk ice cream, which is winning praise left and right.

Closest retailer: Charlottesville.  Good thing we’re headed there soon!

We marinated some big, nice and plump organic bone-in skinless chicken breast in a dry rub made of crushed red pepper, garlic, cinnamon, powdered cloves, cumin, powdered onion, smoked paprika, sat, pepper, fresh grated  ginger, sesame oil and let it rest for 30 minutes in the fridge.  then we started the orzo salad by cooking a cup of  the melon seed shaped pasta in a quart of salted water for 10 minutes, drained , drizzled with a few drops or olive oil and let cool  meanwhile, I heated up a cast iron skillet with a little oil to very but not extremely hot and placed the chicken breast (were the skin-side-was side down) for about 8 minutes, until golden brown. then I glazed them over with a sweet and sour hot pepper jelly and put them in a baking sheet and in to the oven at 375º for about 18~20 minutes. ( until int. temp 160º). brought them out  and transfered to a plate, covered with foil to let rest. started the dressing for the orzo salad: 1/3 cup of mayonnaise, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 chopped med scallions, 1/4 red bell pepper chopped, lime juice and mixed all with the pasta in a bowl. It was good. very good. we thought about filling some romaine lettuce leaves with the orzo salad but decided that it was just better to serve it mound up with the lettuce as a side, dressed lightly with salt lime and olive oil. we sliced the chicken breast into medallions to serve and dressed with more of that sweet and sour hot pepper jelly sauce.

for dessert we picked up this summery sorbet from “uncle louie” gellateria in Union St. and 5th Ave.  we were exited about it but it turned out to be a great disappointment, since it’s mango flavor was not only faint but it was more like pure sugar. extremely sweet – not good. good bye a whole pint of flavorless frozen sugar and corn syrup.

It’s mango season right now, and as mangoes are one of my very favorite fruits, you may be seeing quite a bit of them around here for awhile. I’m a bit picky about my mangos, though. I like them ripe, and that means that they must be very soft to the touch. The regular green-red Mexican mangos are okay, but I adore the golden Manila mangos – they’re also called “Champagne” mangos at some stores. They’re smaller than the green mangos, and the flesh is much creamier, and less fiberous. When Manila mangos are perfectly ripe, they’re not only soft, but the skin begins to get a tiny bit wrinkly. Manila mangos are perfect for a sorbet application.

You’ll also find the best price on mangos at your local ethnic produce market. I stocked up on 5 Manila mangoes on Sunday, and by Wednesday morning they were perfectly ripe. One word of advice for the mango lovers out there – pick up a serrated vegetable peeler for prepping your mangos – it’ll easily peel even the ripest mango, without bruising the flesh.

This evening I made up a fresh batch of oatmeal in the rice cooker, and stirred in a finely diced mango to the finished oatmeal – I’ll be looking forward to breakfast tomorrow. Next, I moved on to the mango sorbet. I use a good amount of lime juice in this sorbet, and it really highlights the ripe mango flavor…and makes me want to make up some mango-margaritas as soon as the weather warms up!

Stay tuned for more mango madness in the next couple of weeks. I’ve got my eye on a few of Kevin’s vast library of mango recipes, a few of which may make an appearance on this blog.

Mango Sorbet
Makes 1 quart
Serves 8

5 large, ripe manila (also known as champagne) mangos, about 4 cups of cubed flesh
juice of 2 limes
2/3 cup simple syrup
2/3 cup water
2 T tequila

1. Heat the sugar and water in a small pan on the stove, stir a few times. Turn heat off when all sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool a bit.
2. Peel the mangoes with your serrated veggie peeler. Slice the flesh off the pits and cut into large chunks. Place the mango, sugar syrup and lime juice in a blender, and puree until smooth. Add 2 T tequila, and pour into a storage container, and chill in the fridge until cool. Turn the chilled puree in your ice cream maker, and then serve.

143 cal per 1/2 cup, 35g carbs, 18g sugars

MangoMania!

Originally uploaded by CleverGirlBek

Ahhhh MangoMania 2008…
What can I say? There were mangoes.
Mangoes for sale…Treats incorporating mangoes…Mango preserves… T-shirts aimed at mango humor… Ahhhh yes.

We went. We wandered. We purchased some mangoes and a dwarf Meyer Lemon tree for the lanai (I have always longed for my own fruit tree… more on the new leafy addition to our home later)….

We did a ton of wandering around looking for the Mr. MangoHead competition which promised a mango decorating opportunity for the pee-wee set. Alas, nobody(not even the supposed Mr. MangoHead sponsors) had any clue where or what it was. But that is life in SW Florida…If information about a local event can be gleaned from the internet it is always a year out of date (minimum) or just completely inaccurate…

The only folks who were able to help were the kind librarians from the Pine Island branch…

And boyo got his first library card and is so excited to swipe it through the machine on his next visit…

Turns out we missed the competition entirely by wasting all the time looking for it. They had 3 prizes (great ones, according to one of the librarians) and nobody entered. Probably because nobody knew they were supposed to decorate their mango at home and bring it to enter it in the competition… Oh well. Maybe next year our strategy will be much improved.

Anyway- it was a nice morning out for us… We returned home after 2 hours dodging some of the pushier vendors (of various services and “event only exclusive offers” blech) with 6 mangoes, a meyer lemon tree, and we bought 3 jars of preserves but the gentleman packing them for us goofed and instead of a variety we have 2 jars of mango raspberry and 1 of mango strawberry (and none of the tropical ginger which sounded so freaking tasty)….

Next year, I hope they don’t have such a vendor free for all and they make better use of the German American Social Club’s sprawling grounds…It was a little suffocating and not as tropical fruit festival feeling as it was even last year…

Also, there was a rash of brutish boys terrorizing the little guys. These were kids that should have been taught manners at some point and probably denied entrance to the bounce houses, where they terrorized the younger kids and annoyed their parents.

Also, note to mangomania 2009 vendors: yes, water pistols are fun. It is however unwise to spray strangers with water pistols from your booth if they are not interacting with you at the time. It will not gain you business and you might just shoot the wrong person. People carry all sorts of electronic devices- from medical related things to shmancy iphones. I would not want to short out someone’s gadget or spook the wrong person in this firearm toting, quick tempered region of the world…. It is not refreshing. It is rude. Even the rudest of the brutish wild boys wouldn’t stoop to zapping strangers with water. Even they know better.

Sorry to come off as cranky, dear reader…But for the love of pete those two elements were *that* irritating…

21203987.Mango

FINALLY, enough snow to cast shadows in the moonlight.
Enough to light the way to drive familiar country roads in the dark.

Tonight I had mango sorbet in Sully's… the cozy restaurant right next door to the gallery. It's bone-chillingly frigid outside.

Why am I eating an icy dessert in the full dark of winter in Vermont?

Because I am so darned lucky..
In the first place, we are now starving for color, for the vivid warmth of that tangy leathery, mango peel.
Secondly: the sorbet is there.
Thirdly:
One tiny nibble of delicate sorbet and I am transported to the scents and sounds of my mother's kitchen in the shade of an immense mango grove in Asuncion, Paraguay. Dark tile, and soapstone; chopped garlic and onions and raisins in simmering chutney. My mother accumulated mango and avocado recipes. Her own creativity and inventiveness, sprung loose by the abundance of the crop. Outside the kitchen window, just beyond the jury-rigged wringer washer that my father kept cobbled together for years, raucous kiskadees would congregate and call: bold bright yellow birds.  Audible chaos: wind in the leaves; the neighbor's chickens, the neighbor's radio; the neighbor's children playing; the #7 bus careening down the road in front of the house.  Everything echoed within those walls, and the sorbet brought it all back.

Rich and vivid imagery, trapped in my mind, sprung free by a spoonful of tropical flavor.

We played mango polo in the pool, under the shade of the trees, tossing lethally dense fruit at each other. The native Macah peoples loaded the oxcarts with mangos when Mom was finally overwhelmed by the annual harvest. Swarms of yellow jackets hovered over the rotting fruit on the red sand soil.

Tomorrow is my youngest brother's birthday. There was a small black and white tv in the kitchen where he & I would occasionally watch Kung Fu dubbed in Spanish. Now he designs propulsion systems that send satellites into space, and manages/directs a sizeable, aerospace company.

These sensate moments are intense.  Their emotion, sound, color and texture and detail are the palette of my imagery. Although I chose specific components for the composition, they are all part of the fabric of my life. Emerging when I least expect them to tell me something… perhaps about who I am, and what I should do next. Connecting the hemispheres of my brain, and of the continents.

I am acutely aware of how fortunate I have been to have had this opportunity, this vivid experience, then and now. I WORRY so much about the WORLD. How can I be writing about sorbet and my young adulthood, when thousands are dying senselessly in Iraq, and Darfur. It seems incredibly indulgent to make art. And yet, I do. It is the most constant thing in my life since childhood.

Back to Sorbet…
The particular reason they have mango sorbet at Sully's tonight was for their culinary participation in Art in the Snow, a town wide arts celebration, organized to bring a little pizzazz to the dead of winter. The fabulous cooks at Sully's created a "Starry Night Special" of duck with mango sorbet sauce with blueberry swirls. Terrific. Additionally 16 artist's studios were open, merchants about town had fun specials. There was music in the bookstore and at the tavern. All good energy in our little town, on the last days of January.  Check out http://www.artinthesnow.com

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