Mango Fromage

Mango cheese cake

I don’t care for mangos except fresh mango harvested from the back yard of where my daughter lives. It is easily the best mangos I’ve ever had. I bet Hawaii’s sunshine is good for the fruits. It’s regrettable that I don’t have a photo of the tree.

At the Asian market the other day, Manila mangos were 10 for $10…you mean 1 for $1? Wow! It sounds so inexpensive doesn’t it? But do Manila mangos have the wow factor in taste like the ones in Hawaii? I would soon find out.

I got a hint from a Japanese cake book for this cake but I didn’t exactly follow the recipe. I was yearning for something sweet yet I was in a so lazy mode. Besides, the author who is Japanese wrote French words in katakana (カタカナ) characters that threw me off like gibberish.  I yelled at my husband to Google quick this word and that. He yelled me back with questions ’how do you spell it?’ Sigh,,,,.

1st. Layer- Genoese pronounce jenowaazu (French sponge cake has fairly firm texture and has buttery flavor).

Use a 13x 9 with deep rim pan; spray with nonstick spray.

• 6 egg whites
• 1 and 1/2 cup cup baker’s fine sugar divided in half
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 and 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add half of sugar. Beat until very stiff. Put in another bowl and set aside.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and add the other half of sugar and mix well.
4. Add egg yolks and beat until thick and fluffy at medium speed.
5. Add flour mixture slowly; mix well at medium speed.
6. Heat oven to 350F.
7. Fold egg white gently to combine with egg yolk mixture.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. When an inserted wooden pick comes out clean then it’s done.
9. Cool in pan on wire rack.

2nd. Layer Cream Cheese

• 2 packages of cream cheese (about 450g) softened
• Baker’s fine sugar 60g
• Whole milk 100ml.
• Heavy cream 55g*

1. Put cream cheese in medium bowl and stir with whisk until smooth.
2. Add sugar stir until sugar dissolved.
3. Add milk gradually to combine well.
4. Add heavy cream and mix well until smooth texture is achieved.
5. Pour over cooled sponge and chill for about 1 hour.

*Amount of heavy cream should adjust to right texture-neither too stiff or too runny.

3rd. Layer Mango Jelly

• About 500g of mango puree or about 2 cups of skinned and pitted mango into the food processer to puree. Or store bought mango nectar (no sugar added) may be used.
• 2 packets of unflavored gelatin
• Sugar or honey (optional)

1. In a double boiler, put pureed mango and cook 2-3 minutes but do not boil.
2. Put gelatin in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water and soak.
3. Add soaked gelatin to the cooked mango and continue cooking  for another 2-3 minutes or until gelatin has dissolved completely.
4. Add sugar or honey if the puree lacks the sweetness you desire one tablespoon at time.
5. Add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of water if the puree is too thick. Puree should be warmed honey consistency.
6. Cool for 10 minutes or so then pour over the chilled Genoese and cream cheese. Put back in refrigerator until the puree solidifies.
7. Cut all three layers with knife or biscuit cutter and serve. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped heavy cream are also nice.

This is not an photo of the tree in my daughter’s back yard but it looks like this…

My grand daughter got in trouble when she plucked the still green mangos from the tree using long pole-fruits-picker thing. She was just showing off her skill as fruits picker to me. Is it OK to do that ? I asked. ‘Yeah, I can do it’ ‘I know how to do it’ She protested. That’s not what I asked. ‘See, I did it!’ She exclaimed after dropping a couple of mangos on the ground. I see,,,. She is so wanpaku (わんぱく）mischievous kid. Who could tame her?

Manila mangos are not so bad after all. Though not as sweet as in Hawaii, memories associated with the fruits are precious.

I had some leftovers so I made some mango Jell-O

Gaelic Breeze

Celebrating St.Patrick Day

My part Irish husband likes (most) everything Irish. Especially Irish music. Like Gaelic Storm, an Irish music band. We went to their gig once and he has all of their CDs. The Corrs, which we also have gone to their concert.

Irish folk singer Jean Redpath and Enya her highness, he likes them all. At 6 o’clock on Saturdays he listens to “The Thistle and Shamrock”, a radio show . He sometimes imitates the host Fiona Ritchie’s Irish accent and laughs at himself. We have an Irish named son who was due in the early part of April but came two weeks early in March. For all of the above reasons, we won’t miss celebrating  St. Patrick’s Day.

My low maintenance, easy to please husband requests corned beef for dinner. We went to get nitrate free corned beef from employee owned Season’s Market. They have many locally grown fresh produce which I am pleased with. This corned beef does not come in a package but rather the store cures it themselves and they gave us brine juice too. I simply pressure cooked the corned beef and skinny potatoes in the brine. I made roasted kale salad with sundried tomato and almonds. For dessert he made creamy orange ricotta tart. It does not go well with Irish theme and he wished to make the OTHER cheese cake but I need to get rid of leftover ricotta cheese fast so I overrode him. I told him to put a couple of drops of green food coloring to make it like an Irish dessert but he intentionally forgot to do so. But what is Irish dessert anyway?

Roasted kale with sundried tomato and almond salad

• Olive oil about 1/4 cup
• A bunch of kale washed and pat dry with paper towel well. Remove tough stems and tear in pieces. Kale will shrink when roasted so buy plenty.
• Soft sundried tomato - came in little pouch - if it’s hard and dry, soak in warm water to soften it.
• Sliver almonds about 1/2 cup
• Salt 1-2 teaspoons

1. Heat oven to 375 F
2. Put kale on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, rub kale with olive oil and coat well and sprinkle salt.
3. Roast kale for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add slivered almonds and sundried tomatoes continue roasting for additional 3-4 minutes. *Keep eye out to not burn the kale or almonds.
5. Sprinkle freshly grind pepper over it if you like.

* Roasting time will vary depending on your preference. I like crispy texture so I keep it in the oven longer but it is hard to eat crispy kale with fork so I use with my fingers. Roasting tomato is optional. You could just add after kale is roasted.

Creamy orange ricotta tart

For crust

• 1 cup cookies (ground in a food processor) – 35 vanilla wafers, 25 chocolate wafers or 9 whole graham crackers
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted.

1. Heat oven to 350 F
2. Put your choice of cookies in a food processor and finely ground them.
3. Add butter.
4. Using pulse button, mix all together until the crumbs are evenly moistened.
5. Press the crumb into the 9 inch spring form pan starting at the bottom then up the sides firmly.
6. Bake in oven for 10 minutes.
7. Cool on a rack.

Orange Ricotta Tart

• 15 oz. container whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 3 oz. cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 cookie crust

1. Heat oven to 350F
2. In a electric mixer, combine ricotta and cream cheese at medium speed for about 3 minutes.
3. Add sugar,flour and salt continue beating until well blended.
4. Add the egg yolks,orange zest and orange juice and beat at low speed until incorporated.
5. Use rubber spatula  to scrape the filling into the crust and spread the filling evenly.
6. Bake it in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes. The filling may jiggle but will firm up when cooled.
7. Chill the cooled tart in refrigerator for 3 hours.

We dressed in green and had this simplified version of Irish meal. We welcomed this little silly tradition to have a fun time. I know people in Japan are still suffering and my thoughts are going back there all the time. My friend in Utah participated with bunch of people to have a huge garage/bake sale last weekend to fund raising effort to Japan’s earthquake victims.They made over $14,000. That is so neat! An another one planned for this weekend in Sandy Utah. I’m also thinking of ways to help out besides just donating money.

I received many phone calls and emails from American friends who inquired about my family in Japan. One friend delivered a bouquet of flowers to me. A neighbor brought a plate of cookies to show their empathy. We were also invited to dinner. My family was not at all affected by earthquake or tsunami but I‘m so touched by people’s kindness. I feel very lucky. 

Cheese Cake with Sour Cream Topping

My husband as a pâtissière

This cheese cake is in one of my top 5 dish list he makes(see clam sauce spaghetti). This recipe was given to us from a friend some 25 years ago. The richness of cream cheese flanked by lightness of sour cream makes this cheese cake a delightful treat. Somewhat old fashioned yet never disappointing and always in style with fresh fruits. A friend also shared that clam sauce spaghetti recipe too but my husband tweaked it enough to make it his own but this cheese cake he carefully follows the original. Having this cake reminds me of that friend who is a psychologist lives with her psychologist husband and two beautiful daughters in Dallas Texas. I miss her very much.

My husband made this not for me but his office’s pot luck lunch. I had to beg him to bring home a sliver slice for me to taste and it was good! If it’s more than that then I may have lost control…

Crust

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 cup softened butter

Mix all with fingers until even consistency (pastry will be crumbly).Press over bottom and sides (1/2 inch up) of a 10 inch spring form pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350F

Cheese cake

• 24 oz cream cheese
• 2 egg yolks plus 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat egg whites until stiff
2. Add sugar and vanilla to egg whites and beat until satiny. Transfer to another bowl.
3. Beat egg yolks into cream cheese
4. Fold the egg white mixture into the cream cheese mixture.
5. Pour into the crust
6. Bake 50-60 minutes at 350F until center of pie is firm. Cool at least 15 minutes before adding topping

Topping

• 1 pint sour cream
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix and pour over slightly cooled cheese cake. Refrigerate cheesecake overnight. It is actually better the 2nd and 3rd day.

People in office don’t believe that he made it himself. They all asked him to thank me. Hey, I really don’t mind the mix up.

His favorite pastime - reading.