Mango Cream Pie

It's summer here again in my side of the world, and do you know what that means? It's mango season again! What I'm sharing with you today is my very own version of Mango Cream Pie which is one of my family's favorite mango desserts. I came up with this recipe a couple of years back, but haven't gotten the chance to post it here yet. Well, here it is...a very simple yet very delicious way to enjoy mangoes! No need to bake and very few ingredients needed! You should really try it!

Mango Sticky Rice Dessert

In my last post, I've mentioned that my family and I soooo love mangoes. I guess now you'll  believe that what I said is true...'coz I'm posting another mango recipe again! But truth be told, this classic Thai dessert that I am sharing with you today is one mango treat that  only yours truly enjoy eating. The first time we tried this at a Thai restaurant, I fell in love with it. Unexpectedly, the hubs and my daughters didn't. They just took a small bite and ate banana roll with ice cream instead.

This is the third time I made Mango Sticky Rice at home. The first two times, they ate the mango toppings but left the sticky rice so I ended up throwing most of it. The day after last Mother's Day, I was craving for it badly...and even though all I had that time were three small ripe mangoes, I decided to make it just so I could satisfy my cravings. I didn't want this lovely dessert to go to waste so after enjoying a serving, I decided to give the rest to a friend who loves Mango Sticky Rice as much as I do. As expected, Ryan and the girls didn't mind. :) 

For the mango lovers out there, try this! It's really good and very simple to prepare. Ryan and the girls said they agree with me that it's yummy...they just don't like eating mango and sticky rice together. :) As for me, I must say I soooo love this combo. :) 

Mango Cake with Mango Cream Frosting

Summer is almost here...and do you know what that means? Mangoes are in season again! And yes, that makes my family and I sooooo happy! We love mangoes, you know. Though we enjoy eating it plain, we also love savouring this delicious fruit in different forms. We love making salad, ice cream, milk shakes and ice candy with it.  Indeed, the wonderful taste of ripe mangoes never fail to amaze our taste buds. 

Last weekend, I found a good deal and I decided to get more than 2 dozens of Ataulfo mangoes from the store. After making mango shake and popsicles, I thought of making something more special. I'm talking about this Mango Cake with Mango Cream Frosting...

Mango Cake has always been my favorite. Same with Ryan. When we were still in the Philippines, birthday celebrations and other special occasions won't be complete without Red Ribbon Bakeshop's Mango Cake --- a white chiffon cake layered with light mango cream filling and frosting with real mango bits, topped with fresh mango slices.  The fact that I miss it badly inspired me to make this cake the other day. Instead of a regular chiffon cake, I thought of tweaking the recipe in my Goldilocks Bakebook to make a chiffon mango cake. Mango overload you might think! Well, I tell you, the outcome was so good that the cake was gone in no time. Ryan and the girls loved it so much...and of course, I did too! The cake was so soft and mango-eey...and the mango cream frosting was amazing. It has the right amount of sweetness that complements the cake so well!

For the mango lovers out there, this is for you...You should definitely try it! 

Homemade Mango Ice Cream

I'm sure that you'll agree with me when I say that all of us have "growing up" memories of ice cream, and summer or not, it is everyone's favorite treat! I grew up in a country where tropical fruits grow in abundance, and ice cream flavors are adapted to whatever fruits are in season. I remember this ice cream company named Magnolia which sold special edition ice cream dubbed "Flavor of The Month," which as the name implies, is only sold for a month. I was always so excited to know what the next flavor would be, and I would see to it that my father buys it for me. When we moved to the US, I was kind of disappointed that I can't be able to eat the ice cream flavors that I grew up eating! Though there are American flavors that I love like the butter pecan, cookies 'n cream, neapolitan and strawberry, there are times when I crave for Filipino flavors like Avocado, Mais-Queso (Corn and Cheese), Mangga(Mango), Nangkasoy (Jackfruit & Cashew), Quezo Real (Cheese) and Ube Macapuno (Purple Yam and Coconut Sport).
I've long been wanting to make homemade ice cream, but I was thinking that it is so time consuming to do if you don't have an ice cream maker. When I saw the Cuisinart 1.5-Quart Ice Cream Maker that is currently on sale at Costco, I didn't even have second thoughts of buying it, and when I found Mexican mangoes at the Asian Store last Sunday, I knew that it's the first flavor that I gonna make. Though there are mango ice cream available here, I still miss the Filipino Mango Ice Cream which is made from Philippine Mangoes, most commonly known as Manila or Carabao mangoes, a variety similar to Mexican Ataulfo Mangoes except that they are sweeter and has less fibers inside making it a lot softer.
Between the two basic types of ice cream which are the Custard or French custard-style which as the name suggests, is made from a custard base and the Philadelphia also called "New York" or "American" style which contains no egg yolks and does not require cooking, I chose to do the latter which is less time consuming and easier to make. It was my first time to make ice cream, and though I have an ice cream maker, I prefer my first ice cream making experience to be as hassle free as possible.

I'm so glad that it turned out perfect! I'm excited with the thought that now, I can already make the other Filipino ice cream flavors that I love and terribly miss like the Avocado, Quezo Real and Ube Macapuno. 

I'm so happy to be sharing with you this very simple ice cream recipe that I came up with after checking on some homemade mango recipes online. This will be my entry to A Latte with OTT'A's June Iron Chef Challenge which is sponsored by Dean Foods & Kelsay Farms. The themed ingredient for this month is milk, which is still my family's favorite source of calcium. Not only does it provide more calcium per serving than any other food, it also contains other nutrients like lactose and vitamin D which increase calcium absorption. For my mango ice cream, I used Borden Milk, one of the products of Dean Foods which is one of the leading food and beverage companies in the United States and a European leader in branded soy foods and beverages. Since we got here in Texas in 2004, Borden has been our favorite brand. We've tried some other cheaper brands, but I can say that nothing compares to the taste of Borden Milk. 
I'm also sharing this on  Food Trip Friday, Foodie Friday, Fat Camp Friday, Friday Potluck@EKat's Kitchen,  Feed Me Tweet Me Follow Me Home and Simply Delish Saturday.

Ingredients:

• 3 large mangoes, peeled, seed removed and cubed (approximately 2 cups)
• ¾ cup sugar
• Juice of one lemon, freshly squeezed - approximately 2 Tbsp (Lemon is used to bring out the flavor of mango and other fruits)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¾ cup milk

Ensaladang Mangga

I had a very bad craving for green mangoes yesterday. I was imagining eating green mangoes dipped in alamang (shrimp paste) since morning. Not that I’m pregnant, it was just plain craving! I guess green mango dipped in shrimp paste is every Filipino’s favorite. Just the thought of it makes us drool! Luckily, I found some apple mangoes at Walmart. It’s a good substitute to the Philippine’s Indian and carabao mangoes. They are priced at 58cents each. But almost all of them are ripe so I just bought 3 pieces…and last night, I made Ensaladang Mangga (mango salad). I added chopped cilantro, green onions, garlic and ginger  to the usual tomatoes and onions...and it was so good!  We paired it with grilled liempo (pork belly) and bratwurst. Mango salad paired with any grilled/fried meat or fish is just divine! We had a very appetizing dinner. Even Clarise and Cherlin ate some Ensaladang Mangga, but not with shrimp paste. They pour some soy sauce on it.

This salad is very easy to prepare. If you don't like the thought of it having shrimp paste, try it with soy sauce. 

Prep Time: 15 minutes                  Servings: 6-8                                                            

Ingredients:

• 2 green mangoes (indian, apple or carabao), peeled and diced
• ½ cup tomatoes, diced
• ½ cup onions, chopped (I prefer yellow onion for this)
• 1/8 cup garlic, minced
• 1/8 cup ginger, minced
• ¼ cup, fresh cilantro, minced
• 1/8 cup green onions, chopped
• alamang (shrimp paste) of your choice (I prefer, the spicy Barrio Fiesta) - the amount of which depends on your taste preference