PART 1 ~ SWEET AND JUICY MANGO WITH LABNEH AND ROASTED OATS

Good Morning to you,

Have you heard the saying 'Your never too old to learn?'

Well that applied to me recently.... and I'll tell you why.

If you had asked me a couple of months ago how I felt about mangoes.  I would have told you they tasted like soap and in fact  they were a fruit I did not like at all.

.... but  oh dear me, how wrong could I be.

It all began on a sunny New Delhi morning, when George decided to stretch his legs by going to the grocers, to buy some mangoes for Natasha, as she loves them.  To be honest, I was a bit sniffy about them, because I had tried them once, many years ago and I really could not see their attraction. The fruit was a beautiful colour but as I said, I thought the flavour was rather soapy and one I really did not like.

George duly returned from the grocers and he showed our friend, Gaja, what he had bought.  Gaja took one look at the mangoes and told George, in a very nice way, that he had chosen the wrong mangoes and promptly took them from George and went to the grocery shop himself.

George thought Gaja had meant, he had chosen the wrong variety, so when Gaja returned he showed George which ones he had chosen. They were the same variety of mango called Alphonso, but Gaja had chosen the most wrinkly looking fruit and not the round firm fruit which George had bought. I was so surprised, because to be honest with you, I would have passed the mangoes by without a backward glance, thinking they were on the turn.... but here's the surprise. When Gaja cut the mango open and handed me a piece to try, I found it to be juicy and oh so delicious.... there was not a soapy note in sight.... I experienced the most wonderful  taste explosion. From that moment, mangoes became one of my favourite fruits.

Looking back, the mistake I had made, was the same as George's. I had bought a firm mango, thinking that was the right thing to do, when in actual fact it was totally wrong.

After the first slice which Gaja had given me, there was no turning back, my prejudice towards this fruit had disappeared and I can honestly say I absolutely love them. We went on to try different varieties of mango and do you know, I even ate a mango which tasted like a pineapple..... now that was a little confusing.

So if you are a complete mango novice like I was here's what you need to do.

Place your mangoes in a fruit bowl, on their own, and and allow them to soften. You might think that as the skin wrinkles they are 'going over' but they are not, honestly, try it,  you won't regret it.

So now that we are back in England, I decided to put the mangoes to the test, to see if they would be as delicious. I am sure you will agree, fruit always tastes different , when eaten in the country of origin, rather than when it has been transported thousands of miles from where it was grown. 

We visited our local market and decided to buy a variety of mango called Keitt which is grown in Puerto Rico. Yes, it was firm when we bought it, but this time  we knew what to do, it was placed in a bowl and left alone for a couple of days.  When I checked, it still was not ripe enough, so I left it a further two days, by which time the skin had become wrinkly and this time, it was perfect and ready to use

..... and this is what I made,

layers of cubed mango, with labneh mixed with vanilla bean paste and a roasted oat and walnut topping. This lovely little dessert was something Natasha made for us and we could not get enough of it.  The mango was so sweet that the slightly savoury labneh and the oat topping worked very well together.

Shall I let you into a little secret, the first time we tasted this dessert, Natasha made it for us and she placed it into small glasses, but as the weeks went by, the glasses seem to get larger and larger, especially when George made the dessert. 

So it's 'on with the pinnie', and the music I am listening to today is,

Trading Snakeoil for Wolftickets by Gary Jules. If you are not familiar with Gary's music, you will probably remember when he sang the remake of the 'Tears for Fears' song 'Mad World'.  The song I am listening to at the moment reminds me of 1960's folk music. Listen to 

Gary Jules singing Pills

So whilst I listen to another song from the album, The Princess of Hollywood Way it is time to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

TO MAKE

MANGO, LABNEH AND ROASTED OAT DESSERT

Serves 2

How to make the Labneh. 

Do you remember we made labneh in April of this year.

You will need to make this the night before.

You will also need,

1 large very ripe mango
2 teaspoons of Vanilla Bean Paste

HOW TO MAKE 

THE ROASTED OAT TOPPING

WE WILL MAKE THE TOPPING NEXT WEEK,

BUT I HAVE INCLUDED THE RECIPE TODAY

SO YOU WILL KNOW WHAT INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED.

4 oz large oats

6 or 7 walnuts

2 oz dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons of agave syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of coconut oil

1/4 teaspoon of salt

HOW TO MAKE 

MANGO

WITH

LABNEH AND ROASTED OAT TOPPING

Slice either side of the mango. 

You will not be able to cut the mango down

 the middle because of the mango pit.

Remove the flesh from the other sides.

Plus any fruit which is left on the pit.

I usually manage to remove quite a bit, this flesh

may not look pretty, but it tastes divine so

you want to be sure you remove it all.

Take one piece at a time and gently run your

knife around the edge to part the flesh from 

the skin.

Then gently cut into cubes, but do not pierce the

skin.

Invert the mango.

You will see the pieces of mango squares which 

you cut.

Using a teaspoon

 remove the mango flesh from the skin

(I find a teaspoon is the easiest tool to use for this

job.)

Then

place the cubed mango into a bowl.

Repeat with the rest of the mango.

(You will find some pieces are perfectly cubed

and others aren't, but don't worry, we will be

placing the cubes around the side of the glass

and the irregular shapes in the middle.

Place as much or as little mango as you like

 into the two glasses. 

(As I mentioned place the cubes around the outer

edge of the glass and the 'bitty' shapes in the centre.)

I tend to fill the glass 2 thirds full with mango.

Remove the labneh, you have already made,

 from the muslin 

and 

place into a bowl.

Add the vanilla paste

and

gently mix together.

Spoon half on top of the cubed mango
then repeat with the second glass.

This is where we are stopping for today, because if I included the step by step instructions for the oat topping, then this would be a very long post indeed and I feel you would tire of reading the recipe.

So next week we will finish this dessert by making 

the roasted oat topping. I have listed the ingredients so that you will have them to hand.

I know this seems like a lot of fuss, but it really isn't. I make the labneh the evening before and also the oat topping, so once made all there is to do is to chop up the mango..... it just needs a little organisation.

..... but there is a variation, if you are busy, you can used Greek yoghurt on top of the mangoes, drizzled with just a little honey, not too much, as the mango is sweet and pop some chopped walnuts on the top.

This makes a lovely dessert as well.

So take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Miz Helen's Country Cottage

and

Leslie from Lamberts Lately

HOW TO MAKE A WATERMELON, FETA CHEESE, RED ONION AND MINT SALAD

Good Morning to you,

When I lived in Cyprus, I used to look forward to the watermelon season, because Cypriot watermelons were delicious and I have to tell you, they were huge.... yes, so huge that we could never do them justice in just one sitting.  So to make sure we did not waste any of this lovely fruit, we would cut the watermelon in half, keep one and share the other half with friends..... if only I had known about watermelon juice back then, we could have enjoyed many glasses of the refreshing juice during the long hot summer months.

So as you can imagine, when we visited New Delhi, I was thrilled to discover that watermelons were in season. 

The watermelons were so fresh, because they had not travelled very far. Cart loads of melons would trundle into the city everyday from the surrounding villages. 

So today, in honour of my love of Cyprus and India, yes, I think you have guessed, one of the ingredients we are going to be using is, watermelon. We are going to make

a Watermelon salad.  It is fresh and zingy and we love it.  It may seem a bit of a strange combination, but the sweetness of the watermelon and the tang of the Feta cheese and red onion work really well together.

So its 'on with the pinnie' and the music, I am listening to is, Indian Bhangra music, which transports me straight back to India.

Nath Dig Pey sung by TEAMBPN (PBN, BAMBI AND RAJ BAINS)

Click on the YouTube link (I do hope it works as it is the first time I have added a YouTube link..... fingers crossed) and I feel sure, you will be foot tapping, if not dancing around your kitchen... I know I am.  I find Bhangra music so infectious..... the music starts and I feel my shoulders moving up and down in time to the music and then that's it, I'm in a world of my own. 

So with my shoulders taking on a life of their own, it's time to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

YOU WILL NEED

TO MAKE

WATERMELON, FETA CHEESE, RED ONION

AND MINT SALAD

2 small red onions (you will use only one)

1/2 water melon

2 large lemons

200g Feta cheese

8-10 fresh mint leaves

black pepper

1 tablespoon of olive oil

HOW TO MAKE

WATERMELON, FETA CHEESE, RED ONION

AND MINT SALAD

THE NIGHT BEFORE

We are going to tenderise the red onions with the lemon juice, so you will need to do this the night before you make the salad.

Peel the onions

and

slice into circles.

Pop into a bowl

Juice the two lemons.

Then 

pour the lemon juice over the onion rings.

  Toss together.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel and place in the fridge overnight.  

If you are happy with full flavoured onions,

 then leave the red onions in the fridge

 for three or four hours.

I soak the onions overnight as

personally I enjoy a much more

mellow flavoured onion.

We will only be using half of the sliced onion in this dish. 

So remove half and place into a separate dish.

 I will explain why at the end

of the recipe.

THE NEXT DAY

Cut the melon in half

(The recipe calls for half, but I assume you have bought a whole watermelon)

and then,

into quarters.

Remove the rind and the pips and cut the

watermelon into 1 inch chunks.

Set aside for the moment.

Cut the Feta Cheese into roughly 1 inch cubes.

Set aside for the moment.

Wash the fresh mint and remove the leaves from the stem.

Place a third of the watermelon, 

a third of the Feta cheese 

and 

a third of the red onion into a large serving bowl 
and,

sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.

Repeat the process until you have used all of the watermelon, Feta cheese and the red onion.

You will notice there is some watermelon juice left in the bottom of the bowl which held the watermelon.

Mix the watermelon juice

with,

 1 tablespoon of olive oil

 and 

1 tablespoon of lemon juice left over from the

 soaked onions

 and

 whisk together.

Pour the dressing over the salad

 and 

add the mint leaves

 and
 there you have it,
 a lovely fresh summer salad.

You must be wondering about the rest of the
 onion rings?

Well it's time to tell you, I pop them into a small Tupperware pot, with the left over lemon juice and keep them for the next day, when we use the other half of the watermelon to  re-make this salad.

I really don't mind having this watermelon salad twice as it really is a refreshing salad when the weather is warm.

.... or if you prefer, you could put them into a small dish and allow people to add extra red onion to the watermelon salad.

.... or you could add the onions to a cheese sandwich as George sometimes does.... he loves cheese and onion sandwiches.

Before I go, I realise some people say a watermelon is a fruit and some people say it is a vegetable.  I have always known it as a fruit. I was wondering, what about you, do you know it is a fruit or do you know it is a vegetable?

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.

This week I will be joining,

Natasha in Oz for Sundays Downunder

and

Miz Helen for Full Plate Thursday

THE TAJ MAHAL ~ THE DAY HAS ARRIVED

Good Morning to you,

'Are you sitting comfortably?

Then I'll begin.'

'Watch With Mother'

1950's

I am so pleased to tell you, the time has finally arrived, we are going to visit the Taj Mahal together.

The excitement began on Friday evening, when we enjoyed a lovely meal with Natasha and her husband. It was agreed, that as we would be getting up so early on Saturday morning, it would be a good idea to have an early night..... but do you know what,  I couldn't sleep. When I finally managed to drift off, I found I kept waking up.  I often do this when I am excited about something, it's usually a mixture of excitement and concern. The concern is, that I will not hear the alarm when it rings in the morning and that I will oversleep. Of course this never happens, but it's a process I seem to go through time and time again.

I really did not need to worry though, because on Saturday morning, we were up bright and early at 4.30 am. We were showered and dressed by 5.00 am and downstairs in the lobby of The Oberoi by 5.10 am, where a lovely cup of Indian coffee was waiting for us.

We enjoyed our morning cup of coffee and we were ready for our adventure

.... and to our surprise, we discovered it had been raining during the night.  This brought a smile to our faces because it meant that the early morning would be cool and it would give us just enough time to visit the Taj Mahal before the sun rose and it became too hot. As you can imagine, it can be very hot in India and with temperatures which reach over 40C the morning rain was very welcome.

Our guide arrived and we were driven the short distance to the Taj Mahal.

We entered the grounds and there before us was,

The Great Gate.  As we walked towards the Great Gate our guide told us that The Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan after the death of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

We walked through the Great Gate.

 and there, before us, in all its glory

was The Taj Mahal. 

Honestly I do not exaggerate when I tell you

that

it took my breath away. 

l wonder, do you recognise this bench?

This is the same marble bench, which  Diana, The Princess of Wales was sitting on, when she visited the Taj Mahal. My over riding memory of the photograph was how sad she looked, in such a beautiful setting.

So of course George and I had to take this photo opportunity.

I'll let you into a little secret.  Looking at this photo, all seems tranquil, but I have to tell you, it really was not.  There were so many people, waiting to have their photograph taken....  I wonder how many people have actually sat on this marble bench. When you consider that over 20,000 people a day, yes you read that correctly, 20,000 people a day visit the Taj Mahal in high season, I should imagine the number runs into millions.

We then made our way to the entrance of the tomb,

but before we could 

enter,

we had to don some attractive looking covers for our shoes. Mind you, we did have a choice, we could wear the shoe covers or we could have gone bare footed, but we all decided to enhance our outfits with these shoe covers..... so naturally we had to take a photograph.... we all do this type of thing don't we, take random photos of odd things.

From a distance, the fretwork looked like honeycomb but as we got nearer, I could see that what looked like honeycomb was in actual fact, beautifully carved  blocks of marble... honestly it is amazing to see first hand.  Each square that you can see, started life as a solid block of marble, which was then painstakingly cut into this fretwork.  If a piece of the fretwork was accidentally broken, then that piece of work would be discarded. Using a new piece of marble, the artisan would have to begin his work all over again.

Our guide told us it took over 20,000 artisans, 22 years to build the Taj Mahal. The work was commissioned in 1631 and ended in 1643, but it took a further 5 years to complete the surrounding gardens. 

When we walked through the Taj Mahal, I understood that the fretwork was not just  a thing of beauty, it had another purpose,  to allow the breeze to flow through the building, which in turn made the interior, so very cool. 

To create the flowers, which you can see in the photograph, each individual block of marble was chiseled to form the shape of flowers and a piece of semi precious stone was inlaid into the shape ..... a little like marquetry, but on a much larger scale. As you can see, the curls and swirls are so very thin, this must have been such painstaking work for the artisans.

.... and the calligraphy on the walls, was made by chiselling the letters and then inlaying with black marble. 

As we looked upwards, our tour guide asked us if we could see anything different about the calligraphy. We noticed that the further up the wall we looked the larger the script. We were told this was to avoid the script looking smaller when viewed from below.

Here you can see the size of the pieces of marble used. The weight must have been immense.

We enjoyed looking inside the mausoleum, but we were not allowed to take any photographs, so sadly I cannot show you inside.... but I can tell you that the vaulted dome ceiling was stunning as were the semi precious stones which were inlaid around the tomb. Honestly, when you see the Taj Mahal you realise what an amazing feat of architecture it is..... and remember it was built in 1631, when there were no lorries to transport the marble and no cranes to lift the marble.

The tomb we saw was not the actual tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, her tomb, was at a much lower level.  When the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan died, his tomb was built and placed next to his wife.

We stayed a while and then finally we wandered back towards The Great Gate,

..... and as a final goodbye, when we looked up, there in the distance, were a troupe of monkeys going about their day.  (I am sorry it is not a very clear picture, but they were quite a long way away.)

The sun rose and as we strolled along

 the avenue, both George and I agreed, 

we were very lucky to have visited 

The Taj Mahal. 

It was so kind of Natasha and her husband

 to treat us to this 

wonderful experience.

It is a memory which will stay with us forever.

Take care and I will see you next Thursday.