REVIEW: An Embarrasament of Mangoes

An Embarrassment of Mangoes - A Caribbean Interlude by Ann Vanderhoof  (c) 2003

Published by Broadway Books

ISBN 0767914023

Reading is one of my passions. I cannot imagine a life without books. At any given time I will have a book in the process of being read, whether at night before going to sleep or snatching a few
minutes here and there during the day. I never leave the house without a book, since I never know when I will have time to kill somewhere and how better to do it than reading my current book.

I also love to read food related books, not just cookbooks, but novels or biographiies, essays and anthologies all dealing with food.... One such book is a sort of journal-novel in which I got so
caught up, I had to make an effort to not pick it up to read when I was supposed to be doing something else. Another bonus, in my opinion, is that there are recipes at the end of each chapter.

With a title like "An Embarrassment of Mangoes", the book, by Ann Vanderhoof was enough to catch my attention since mangoes are my most favorite fruit of all. Even though the story was not particularly about mangoes, but about the sailing adventures of a couple of forty-something publishing professionals from Toronto who had decided to temporarily leave their deadline-dominated lives and follow a plan spanning several years and sail off into the sunset for a couple of
years.

Their adventures in a sailing boat they called "Receta" which is Spanish for recipe, took them all the way down to the Lower Antilles. The recipes throughout are the result of Ann's love of cooking and her natural curiosity about the sometimes strange and exotic foods she encountered on the way.

Though this particular book is more of a travel journal rather than fiction, there are many other authors who combine novels and recipes…a delightful combination and one that is irresistible to me.

I have made three recipes so far from the book.  This is one of the recipes I just had to try. 
Text in quotations are comments by the author.

MANGO CRISP
"The perfect dessert when you have an embarrassment of mangoes. (And when you don't, you can substitute berries – blueberries, raspberries, strawberries – for some of the mango). Although not an option on Receta (our boat freezer wouldn't keep ice cream), the crisp is delicious with vanilla ice cream. Alternatively, serve with lightly whipped cream, lightly sweetened sour cream or yogurt, or
créme fraîche." * Yields 8 servings.

For the topping:
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 Tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/3 cup cold butter

For the fruit:
6 cups sliced ripe mango (about 3-4 mangoes, depending on size)
1 1/2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup packed brown sugar (approximately)
2 Tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 350oF. Butter a 2-quart (8-inch square) baking dish.
Prepare the topping: In a large bowl, combine flour, pats, brown
sugar, nutmeg, and crystallized ginger. Cut in cold butter until
mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Toss the mango with the lime juice. Combine sugar and flour, and
toss with fruit. Taste and adjust sweetness if desired. Spread
fruit on the prepared dish.

Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit. Bake in prepared oven for about
40-50 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is crisp
and lightly browned. Serve warm.

Recipes and quotes from the book "An Embarrassment of Mangoes", by
Ann Vanderhoof, (Broadway Books) and reprinted by permission from The
Doubleday Publishing Group.

(c) Sonia R. Martinez -  Excerpts from an article published on July 6, 2004 - The Hawaii Tribune-Herald of Hilo