Hatcher Mango Hill has ripe mangoes ready.

There’s been a bit of a shortage of local mangoes this year, because of a problem with med flies. But Hatcher’s grove, which has been in business since the 1940s near I-95 at Hypoluxo (1908 Hypoluxo Road, Lantana), hasn’t had any problems.

Marilynn Hatcher reports a bumper crop.

You can’t get Hatcher mangoes in stores, though. You go to their website, hatchermangohill.com and put your name on their waiting list. When your name comes up, they’ll call you and set up a time when you can come pick them up. They also ship.

Hatcher mangoes are the biggest mangoes I’ve ever seen. They’re also sweet and never stringy.

Read more about Hatcher Mango Hill here.
Marilynn offers this recipe for mango ice cream in her book, Hatcher’s Mango Thrills.

RIVER’S EDGE MANGO ICE CREAM

1 Hatcher mango, sliced
2 cups sugar
1 can (10 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
4 eggs
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 pint whipping cream
1% milk, as needed

Place mango slices in container of an electric blender; cover and process until smooth. Set aside. Combine sugar, condensed milk, evaporated milk, eggs, cornstarch, and vanilla in a bowl, and mix well. Pour mixture into the freezer can of a 1-gallon ice cream freezer. Add mango puree to freezer can mixture and pour in enough 1% milk to bring mixture to the full line on the freezer can. Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions.

On May 27, author F.W. Pearce of Delray Beach will be doing a book signing for his cookbook that will be released May 11, The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto. He will sign books at Periwinkle, 14 Northeast 4th Avenue in Delray, from 5-8 p.m. on 5/27. Pearce is the founder of Ciao Bella, which makes him a rock star of gelato and sorbetto.

Read more about Ciao Bella here.

Learn just one base (vanilla or chocolate) then you can make hundreds of flavors at home. With more than 100 recipes for the most delicious frozen desserts and the boldest, freshest flavors ever invented, The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto will have you re-creating the company’s award-winning recipes AND inventing your own flavors. Recipes include:

• Basics: Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Gelato, Cacao Nib Gelato, White Chocolate Gelato
• Italian Classics: Pistachio Gelato, Mocha Chip Gelato, Cinnamon Gelato, Fig and Port Gelato
• American Favorites: Peach Gelato, Blueberry Gelato, Key Lime with Graham Cracker Gelato, Pumpkin and Spice Gelato, Butter Pecan Gelato
• Fun Flavors for Kids: Chocolate S’Mores Gelato, Malted Milk Ball Gelato, Maple Gingersnap Gelato, Peppermint Stick Gelato, Coconut-Almond Gelato
• Uniquely Ciao Bella: Crème Fraîche Gelato, Rosemary and Olive Oil Gelato, Rose Petal Gelato
• Global Inspirations: Green Tea Gelato, Chocolate Chai Gelato, Greek Yogurt Gelato
• Adults Only: Rum Raisin Gelato, Irish Cream Gelato, Caramel Cognac Gelato
• Sorbetto: Blood Orange Sorbetto, Cantaloupe Sorbetto, Coconut Lemongrass Sorbetto, Champagne Sorbetto, Blackberry Cabernet Sorbetto

I know a girl going off to college in a few weeks. She asked for good recipes for college: no obscure ingredients, either quick to make, or long cooking (like in a slow cooker). Dinners that freeze well would work. I gave her several, and it got me thinking, LOTS of kids need good recipes for college.

Got one to share? Please add it below in the comments. Then we can all share the knowledge with our college-bound kids. Here are the recipes I gave her:

Slow Cooker Lasagna
Cooker: Medium round or oval

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (Pam)
1 pound ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, diced
1 large garlic clove, crushed(or 1/2 t. garlic powder NOT garlic salt)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (16-ounce) box Mrs. T’s® potato and cheddar pierogies (freezer section)

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground meat and cook until well browned on all sides. Remove to medium bowl with slotted spoon. Add onion and garlic to drippings remaining in skillet; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add crushed tomatoes, basil, salt and ground meat mixture. Heat to a boil over high heat; simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors.

Grease 5-quart slow-cooker*. Stir ricotta, egg and 1/2 cup mozzarella together in medium bowl. Spoon 1/3 of tomato mixture into slow-cooker. Top with half of frozen pierogies. Spread one half of ricotta mixture over pierogies. Repeat with half of tomato mixture, remaining pierogies and remaining ricotta mixture. Top with remaining tomato mixture and remaining mozzarella cheese.

Cover slow-cooker and cook on HIGH 2 to 2 1/2 hours or on LOW 4 hours. (Do not stir.) Serves 6.

*Oven Version: Prepare mixture as above. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 3-quart casserole. Bake 45 minutes or until mixture is hot and bubbly.

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Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
(Serves 4)
Cooker: Medium round or oval
Setting and Cook Time: LOW for 6 to 7 hours
Ingredients:
• 1 lb. lean ground beef (you could use ground chicken pork or turkey)
• 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 large bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 large rib celery, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 6-oz. can tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar, or more if needed
• 2 Tbsp. firmly packed light or dark brown sugar, or more if needed
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder, or to taste
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• dash of hot sauce, such as Tabasco
• dash of cayenne pepper
• hamburger buns or other soft sandwich rolls for serving
Directions:
1. In a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook the beef with the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic, stirring to break up the meat.
2. When the meat is cooked through, transfer the meat and vegetables to the slow cooker.
3. Add the remaining Sloppy Joe ingredients and stir to combine well.
4. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours.
5. Taste and add more vinegar or sugar, if desired.
6. Serve the meat mixture spooned on to the buns.

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Mexican Stew
(on stovetop, in a big saucepan or stewpot)

1 bag of frozen chopped onions (or 2 bags, if you really like onions)
2 cloves garlic, chopped, (or some garlic paste, or even garlic powder, a spice)
About 1.5-pound package ground chicken, turkey, pork or beef (or even firm
tofu, crumbled)
1 can black beans, preferably low sodium, drained (if you don’t like beans, use hominy, a form of corn, in the canned vegetable aisle)
1 can diced tomatoes, preferably low sodium (I use Rotel tomatoes with
peppers, mild) with liquid
1 jar salsa (i use Zapata green chile salsa from Publix, on the chip
aisle, or the Greenwise area)
2 C. corn, frozen or canned
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder

Optional: 1 C. pre-chopped celery, red onion, or even shredded carrots or cubed zucchini
Optional: 2 C. V-8 or chicken or beef broth (I prefer low-sodium)
See end of directions for ideas on toppings/garnishes

Brown the meat, then the onions (you want them golden brown), add the garlic, spices and the contents of
the cans/jar, liquid of your choice + corn. Simmer 20 minutes and serve.

You can serve this over rice, if desired. If you don’t like beans, leave them out. If you like things hot, use hot/spicy Ro-Tel tomatoes (and/or hot beans and hot salsa) if you like it hot. It freezes well.

To serve, top with a little grated cheese, and/or guacamole or chunks of avocado, and/or sour cream, and/or chopped fresh cilantro or parsley. Or go minimalist, as this stew is delicious alone.

In the spirit of Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary, Pizza Fusion (a ground-breaker in the natural and organic restaurant movement) has launched a nationwide search for the greenest, most eco-friendly pizza recipe in the country with the Pizza Fusion Earth Day Video Contest. Get involved!

This isn’t your typical contest. This contest is an online, 100% paperless competition with earth-friendly prizes, and judged by a panel including Chef Aaron McCargo Jr., star of Food Network’s Big Daddy’s House and Michael Singer of Bon Appétit Magazine. Read the full story

So often, we have to choose between convenience and kindness to the earth. Bare by Solo can help.

Bare is a line of convenience dishware that gives us earth-friendly options in single-use plates and cups without sacrificing quality or functionality. Bare stands for Bringing Alternative Resources for the Environment.

The best thing I can say about bare is it is attractive, and you don’t have to give up disposable plates and plates to save the planet.

Made for restaurants and consumers, Bare by Solo is made using recycled, recyclable, compostable and renewable resource materials. They are attractive, sturdy, guilt-free and so convenient. Read the full story

The James Beard Foundation has released The Baker’s Dozen, a list of 13 essential baking books that span almost four decades, from 1973 to the present.

The selections are the opinions of the James Beard Foundation Book Awards Committee, a group of seasoned culinary publishing professionals who have been writing, editing, reviewing, buying and selling cookbooks for decades.

The books were chosen by committee members Naomi Duguid, cookbook author; Carol Mighton Haddix, food editor of the Chicago Tribune; Martha Holmberg, cookbook author and editorial director of Watershed Communications; Kathleen Purvis, food editor of The Charlotte Observer; Ellen Rose, former owner of the Los Angeles cookbook store The Cook’s Library; Matt Sartwell, manager of Kitchen Arts & Letters in New York; Irene Sax, food writer and food-writing instructor for New York University; Tara Q. Thomas, senior editor, Wine & Spirits; and Grace Young, cookbook author.

The James Beard Book Awards Committee Essential Book List: The Baker’s Dozen:

1. Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006).

2. Beard on Bread, by James Beard (originally published 1973; reprinted by Knopf, 1995).

3. The Book of Great Desserts, by Maida Heatter (Andrews McMeel, 1999).

4. The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart (Ten Speed, 2001).

5. “The Cake Bible,” by Rose Levy Beranbaum (William Morrow, 1988).

6. Classic Home Desserts, by Richard Sax (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000).

7. Cocolat by Alice Medrich (Warner Books, 1990).

8. The Fannie Farmer Baking Book, by Marion Cunningham (Gramercy, 1996).

9. Great Pies and Tarts, by Carole Walter (Clarkson Potter, 1998).

10. The Italian Baker, by Carol Field (William Morrow, 1985).

11. Martha Stewart’s Cookies, by Martha Stewart (Clarkson Potter, 2008).

12. My Bread, by Jim Lahey (W.W. Norton, 2009).

13. The Simple Art of Perfect Baking, by Flo Braker (Chronicle, 2003).

This baking list follows the original “Core Collection: 20 Essential Books to Build Your Culinary Library” released in 2007:

American Cookery (BBS Publishing Corporation, 1996), James Beard
Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico (William Morrow
Cookbooks, 2007), Rick Bayless
Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook (Better Homes and Gardens, 2004)
Classic Indian Cooking (William Morrow Cookbooks, 1980), Julie Sahni
Complete Techniques (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2001), Jacques Pépin and Léon
Pererr
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (Macmillan, 1995), Marcella Hazan
How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food (Wiley, 2006), Mark Bittman
The Joy of Cooking (Scribner, 2006), Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker
The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook
(Countryman Press, 2003)
Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Desserts (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1999), Maida
Heatter
Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook (Clarkson Potter, 1999), Martha Stewart
Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume One (Knopf, 2001), Julia Child, Louisette
Bertholle, and Simone Beck
The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking: Techniques and Recipes (William Morrow Cookbooks,
1996) Barbara Tropp
The New Food Lover’s Companion (Barron’s Educational Series, 2007), Sharon Tyler Herbst
The Oxford Companion to Wine (Oxford University Press, 2007), Jancis Robinson
Rick Stein’s Complete Seafood (Ten Speed Press, 2004), Rick Stein
The Silver Palate Cookbook (Workman Publishing Company, 2007), Sheila Lukins and Julie
Rosso
The Thrill of the Grill: Techniques, Recipes, and Down-Home Barbecue (William Morrow
Cookbooks, 2002), Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby
Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (Broadway, 2007), Deborah Madison
The Way to Cook (Knopf, 1993), Julia Child

Volunteers are building a a specially adapted barrier free home today and tomorrow for paraplegic Army Sergeant First Class Steven Holloway at 219 Forester Court, Wellington.

Homes for Our Troops and the Dunkin’ Donuts & Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation are the hosts.

A representative of Homes for Our Troops along with General Contractor Wallace Sanger from Royal Concrete Concepts and Jeannie Graff of Dunkin’ Donuts raised the first wall at 8:30 AM today in a special ceremony. Dunkin’ Donuts is serving coffee, bagels, donuts, muffins and water both mornings to the volunteers.

Army Sergeant First Class Steve Holloway was a patrol leader on a mission to train Iraqi Police when his team was rerouted to assist at the scene of a deadly IED attack in Mosul, Iraq. After radioing for a Medivac, SFC Holloway went to the aid of a severely injured soldier and was immediately hit by a sniper’s bullet which left Army SFC Holloway a paraplegic as a result of the injuries he sustained. For more information visit www.homesforourtroops.org/holloway.

Throughout the Build Brigade, professional tradespeople will volunteer their time, skills and materials to frame the home, install doors windows and make it weather tight.

To help, show up ready to work at 219 Forester Court, Wellington, or visit www.homesforourtroops.org

Jay Leno has just a few days left to avoid an all out burger war.

Jaws Jumbo Burgers of Farmington Hills, MI, has been waiting to hear from Leno since March of 2009 to come to try The Thank You Jay Leno Burger, honoring him for doing free shows for the Michigan unemployed.

They offered him an all expenses paid trip to try the burger, took out a $1,500 quarter-page ad in a Los Angeles newspaper, sent emails, letters, hand-delivered packages, started a blog, Facebook page, customer email campaign, and even offered Leno his very own franchise. But they are tiring of chasing him.

Now they say enough is enough! If Leno doesn’t respond by April 15th, Jaws Jumbo Burgers plans to to introduce a We Miss You Conan O’Brien Burger, and invite Conan O/Brien to Michigan to try it, all expenses paid.

Ran across this at Winn Dixie and had to share.

The Jelly Bean Prayer candy (Slogan: “Reaching The World, One Piece at a Time.”) has eight colors, and each represents a religious theme:
Black = Sin
Red = Jesus’ blood
White= Clean
Yellow = Heaven
Green = Growth
Purple = Royalty
Pink = Thank you
Orange = Lord.

This differs from the Jelly Bean Prayer taught to children, which begins “Red is for the blood He gave. Green is for the grass He made. Yellow is for the sun so bright.”

Each bag contains about 17 individual packets, each with a key to flavors and meanings. They are made in Mexico, and distributed by Scripture Candy, Inc.

Prayer Jelly Beans are kosher. Available at Winn Dixie stores while supplies last.

I’ve just found a wonderful new bakery called The Sugar Monkey. I =met owner and baker Jennifer Reed at the Oceanside Farmers Market, in downtown Lake Worth.

There, I bought banana bread as a gift. I learned that she makes real French macaroons, which I love. She made cupcakes for a friend’s baby shower, and another friends’ birthday. She has a sense of whimsy, of fun, that I admire.

The Sugar Monkey specializes in modern American pastries, wedding cakes and special occasion cakes. They use natural and organic products, fresh fruits, single estate chocolates, and European style butter. They focus on the natural progression of the seasons – a juicy Florida strawberry in the winter or wild Maine blueberries in the summer.

Reed is the pastry chef and owner of the Sugar Monkey. She worked with the famous chefs Remy Funfrock and Daniel Boulud in New York and Palm Beach learning classic French pastry.

While working at Café Boulud Palm Beach, she received numerous accolades for her desserts. I can vouch for her cupcakes, macaroons and banana bread. Her prices are reasonable, too. You can find her on Saturdays at the Oceanside Farmers Market on J St. in Lake Worth, and her contact details are below.

Details
Phone: 561.252.8400
Email: jennifer@thesugarmonkey.com
Website