Mango Tango

Have I told y'all my mango story? Thatmom is SERIOUSLY allergic to mangoes, so we never had them in the house growing up. Apparently mango allergies aren't that uncommon as the mango is in the same family as poison ivy and the skin contains the same chemical. And because it's the oil of the mango that causes the problems, Thatmom has had a reaction requiring trips to the emergency room just by having someone who has recently touched a mango, touch her.

So until I was in my late teens, I never hade a mango, and I never knew what I was missing. Then, when Thatmom was out of town for a week, Thatdad did it - he brought home a mango! He had dutifully given them up upon finding out about Thatmom's allergy, but he never forgot their splendor. I remember watching with awed anticipation as he removed the thick, colorful peel and revealed the bright yellow flesh beneath. And I think I can remember my first wonderful bite. I was hooked. From then on, we had a 3 day rule. As long as Thatmom was out of town for longer than 3 days, we'd celebrate her leaving with mango! The three day rule has stuck with me, and I've imparted it on Thatboy - we don't eat mango within 3 days of seeing Thatmom. But otherwise, all bets are off.

I pack mango in our lunches, we have mango sorbets and margaritas, and one of the few times we order dessert out is when mango and sticky rice is on the menu.

This summer when I was ALL over the fruit salsa kick, I whipped up some mango salsa. It was excellent over shrimp, but went just as well with chips when Thatboy brought it into work for his coworkers. I also imagine it would be lovely with fish....if you like that kind of stuff.

Mango Salsa

• 1 cup rice vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 mangoes, peeled and diced
• 1/2 papaya, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 serrano chili pepper, sliced (the more seeds you remove, the less spicy the salsa will be)

1. Combine all ingredients
2. Refrigerate overnight to let flavors marry