What's On the Side: Fresh Mango-Tomato Salsa

Sometimes, all you need for a meal to be special is to make just one portion of it from scratch. Sure, there are a million varieties of bottled salsa available at the grocery store, but given that all it takes to put together a salsa is just a bit of chopping and mincing, why not make a batch from scratch instead?

Last week, our friends invited us over for grilled fish tacos and among the sides was a bowl of mango-tomato salsa. The flavor was amazing (I love the combination of sweetness with spice), and I couldn't wait to re-create the salsa at home. Since I neglected to ask for the recipe, I took to the Internet and found one that looked pretty similar. I made a few tweaks here and there (as I am always wont to do), and, after just a few minutes of chopping (and a little fridge time to allow all the flavors to meld together), voila, the fresh salsa was ready to eat.

Fresh Mango-Tomato Salsa (printer-friendly version)
makes about 1 cup

1/2 cup chopped fresh mango
1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes (seeds removed)
1 teaspoon finely minced habanero chile (I removed the seeds, you can leave a few (or a lot) if you prefer more spiciness)
1 tablespoon finely minced red onion
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon raw sugar
1 tablespoon roughly-chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a bowl, stir together the chopped mango, chopped tomatoes, minced habanero, and minced red onion. Add in the lime juice, apple cider vinegar, and sugar and stir to combine. Stir in the cilantro.
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes prior to serving.

(adapted from this Food & Wine recipe)

What's In My Kitchen: Vitamix

Our newest kitchen gadget was the unexpected and extremely generous gift of a Vitamix from my parents for Christmas. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) I had heard about the wonders of the Vitamix and seen the demo at our local Costco, but owning one was not on our radar. The Vitamix takes blending to a whole new level. (It is a "high-performance blender," after all!) Thus far we've made several smoothies, protein shakes, and even a batch of vanilla ice cream (that recipe still needs a little tweakage). I'm looking forward to trying many of the recipes from the cookbook that came with the Vitamix, and I've already got my eye on several hearty soup recipes that look absolutely delicious. 

Good Mornin' Vitamix Smoothie

makes two 16-ounce servings

1 orange, peeled and quartered

1 apple, cored and halved

1 cup frozen mango chunks

1 banana, peeled (frozen or fresh)

1 cup ice cubes

1. Add all the ingredients to the Vitamix pitcher.

2. Start blending at variable one. Increase the speed to variable ten, then flip to high.

3. Blend for 45 seconds, or until the smoothie reaches the desired consistency.

4. Serve it up and start your day!

Holiday Cocktail Hour: Passionfruit Mango Martini

Passionfruit Mango Martini

makes one cocktail

2 oz Stoli raspberry vodka

1 oz mango nectar

2 oz passionfruit juice

fresh raspberry to garnish

1. Chill a martini glass.

2. Pour together the vodka, mango nectar, and passionfruit juice in a cocktail shaker with a few pieces of ice.

3. Shake to mix.

4. Pour into the chilled martini glass.

5. Garnish the rim with a raspberry.

(from the archives)

What's To Drink: Passionfruit Martini

Passionfruit Martini

makes 1 drink

2 oz Grey Goose vodka

3 oz passionfruit juice

1 oz diet 7-Up

fresh fruit to garnish

1. Chill a martini glass.

2. Pour together the vodka, passionfruit juice, and 7-Up in a cocktail shaker with a few pieces of ice.

3. Shake to mix.

4. Pour into the martini glass.

5. Garnish with a couple of orange slices and raspberries.

And, I've got a bonus cocktail, too:

Passionfruit Mango Martini aka I'd-Rather-Be-On-A-Tropical-Island-Tini

makes 1 drink

2 oz Stoli raspberry vodka

1 oz mango nectar

2 oz passionfruit juice

fresh raspberry to garnish

1. Chill a martini glass.

2. Pour together the vodka, mango nectar, and passionfruit juice in a cocktail shaker with a few pieces of ice.

3. Shake to mix.

4. Pour into the chilled martini glass.

5. Garnish the rim with a raspberry.

What's To Drink: Mango Smoothie

The other day, D brought back Indian food from Taj Mahal, our favorite Indian restaurant in Fort Collins. The last time we hit up the local Indian restaurant here in Laramie, D and I both got a mango smoothie (mango lassi) with our meal. It was quite refreshing and tasty. So, I decided to see if I could re-create the smoothie concoction here at home. It appears that to make an authentic lassi, you need mango pulp -- I had to make due with mango nectar, which I happened to have on hand. I think the resulting smoothie was pretty spot on with what we had tasted before, though of course fresh fruit would always trump bottled juice.

Mango lassi

makes 2+ servings

1 cup organic vanilla yogurt

2 cups mango nectar

1/2 cup organic skim milk

1. Blend together all three ingredients. Pour into glasses (I was feeling fancy so poured myself one in a martini glass; D got his in a pint glass) and serve immediately.