Mangoes!

For all those that know me, know that I LOVE Mangoes! It is the one fruit of the year that I get really excited about. Seeing that first tray of mangoes available for the season is a joy in itself. In the midst of mango season, I will easily eat on average between 5 and 10 mangoes per day. When I'm hungry, I eat a mango, when I'm thirsty, I eat a mango, when I'm bored, I eat a mango. And the best way to eat a mango is raw, ripe and freshly sliced with nothing added - they are perfect just as they are.........that is until this season! and that's the reason for my post tonight.

Sadly, we should be in the peak of the mango season, they should be available by the tray full in all stores, shops should be filled with the scent of fresh mangoes.....but so far they aren't. I haven't been able to buy one for a couple of months now. But, you may say...."I've seen them in the supermarkets, tray fulls....." These, my friends, are NOT mangoes. They are not a true mango, but a modern hybrid variety known as Calypso mangoes, and that is all they are selling by the tray load to my disappointment.

To the average person who likes the odd mango may think that the Calypso mango is fine, but to me, who is a 'mango connoisseur', believes its taste is nothing in comparison to the magnificent essence of the Kensington Pride, or commonly known in QLD as the Bowen mango. This mango is superior in taste to all mango varieties. Its texture is juicy, its flavour is devine and its aroma is like perfume..... when my house is filled with this beautiful fruit, the essence fills every room. 

So this year as I walk through the shops searching for my beloved mango, all I have found so far is Calypso, honey gold and some other strange unheard of variety called Parvin....  So with this disappointment, I conducted a little internet research on the Calypso mango and was disheartened by what I found. 

Created only a few years ago by crossing the Kensington Pride mango with some other unknown Florida form of mango called 'red blush' or something a rather and creating this hybrid poor tasting mango now dominating the market known as the Calypso. Creating hybrid fruit is nothing new and is not always bad, but just like most modern fruit sold today is designed and marketed for all the wrong reasons.  

This Calypso variety is being haled as the 'new improved' mango to meet so called - 'customers demands'...
- as it has a higher seed to flesh ratio,  
- a constant yearly yield,
- a more cosmetic appeal with its pretty little red 'blush' cheeks' 
- has firmer flesh so that it can 'chop up' nicely
and most importantly.....dah dah dah, drum roll.....
- it has a high shelf life!
And that says it all!

So once again another exquisite tasting fruit such as the magnificent Kensigton Pride mango is getting the 'boot off' the shelves as undesirable because it doesn't look as pretty, yield as consistant and last for many months to export around the world all year round - with no concern or reference for the taste. As usual, the taste of the fruit is of no consideration or of any relevance to the marketing of the product with all concern to what will generate the most money. So in another few years we will adding the mango to the growing list of fruits that we will be saying..."oh, those mangoes in the shop just don't have any taste any more, they taste like rubber!"

Anyway, now that I have that off my chest, I will admit, that a Calypso mango, no matter how bad they taste in comparison to the Kensington Pride, is still better than no mango at all - I cant survive a summer without a few mangoes, so for the first time ever, I have been experimenting on some raw mango dishes. In the past I considered a mango used for any other purpose than to eat fresh straight out of the skin as is, was a waste, but if you are using a Calypso variety, then I am willing to add it to anything to improve its flavour.

Here is my latest simple and refreshing mango salad, great for these lovely 40 degree summer days in Kalgoorlie!

Simply dice a couple of mangoes into a bowl, add shredded fresh basil leaves, a handful of afalfa sprouts and drizzle with a little olive oil and lemon juice.

Simple raw summer mango salad

All that said, I know the first tree I will be planting on our 'space of love' when we move back east - actually, make that about 10 - the Kensington Pride mango so they will never be 'out of fashion' on our place.

Doubt

With all the intentions of enjoying a wonderful day by the lake, sharing delicious raw food and interesting conversations, it just didn't happen. Disappointingly, the great raw picnic event was a non event. The interest in attending was not reached and the weather was not ideal. The failure of this event has slightly dampened my spirits today, following on from a 'low' couple of days.  

Like any 'extreme' lifestyle choice that ventures away from the normality's of general society, I guess the journey along this path can be a little difficult and can wear away at the emotions sometimes. Choosing a raw lifestyle can have so many benefits on a personal and spiritual level that are overwhelming, but at the same time, there is the downside, the daily struggle to 'fit' within society and the expected obligations. 

Over the last couple of days I have felt the negative emotion of 'doubt' lingering as I wonder why this can be so hard when it feels so easy. 

Doubt about the long term emotional negative effects this lifestyle will have on my children as they feel 'deprived'. Doubt about becoming a complete outsider to the entire community as we are continually excluded socially, doubt about whether raw diets gain the required nutritional requirement based on scientific evidence considering I have no scientific knowledge. And mainly, doubt arising, due to this lifestyle sometimes feeling so isolating and restrictive when all we search for is a life that is completely free and abundant.  

So, for the last couple of days and after today's non event, due mainly to non interest, I have been feeling a little flat and emotionally exhausted as I fight the conflict of doubt and reassurance in my mind.     

By freely expressing my raw preference, I feel I have also created an 'exposed' self image that I feel is now opened to judgement and requires a level to maintain. 

I am new on this journey of raw and find it somewhat difficult as we live amongst the world of modern living, with all its chains of supermarkets, cheap takeaway, constant media exposure selling junk, endless social events based on food and alcohol, acceptable long working hours for husbands and tiny backyards being the norm.             

So what is my conclusion to pull myself out of this low point?
Remind myself that we will be moving back East and will be living in the hills amongst like minded raw vegan hippies in the next year, then eat a slice of raw blueberry tart and go to bed.
But most of all, I think it is important to stay strong and follow my heart, my truth, my desire, the passion that led me in this direction - the search for a life of simplicity, for all that is pure and natural - a life of raw Harmony.

Food - Love it or Loathe it!

I found myself tonight beginning to loathe food. I realised I have this up and down relationship with food. I can be completely obsessed with food. My daily thoughts are consumed by it. Everyday I am thinking about what to make, what I could make, what ingredients I need to buy, what would this taste like, what is raw, what is not, what is good, what is not, what is that, what is this, how do I do that...Most of the time I am excited about the ideas, creations, possibilities, new discoveries, new tastes, new found knowledge...and then, like tonight, I begin to loathe the every thought of food. It usually hits when the kids start to refuse to eat their dinner and say they don't like it, the husband tells me he would be happy if I just made tomato and avocado on almond crackers every night and wonders why I go to so much trouble, and I get swamped down with  piles after piles of dishes to wash and food to pick up off the floor. Providing food soon feels like a chore and something that has to be supplied 3 times a day just because it should.  

Just re-reading my title: Food - Love it or Loathe it! and re-evaluating my thoughts, no its not food that I love and sometimes loathe, its our lifestyle.  Pure food in its natural form is perfect. Its the ideals we associate food with. We assume we need to eat 3 times a day, one of which needs to be a gourmet meal if we are providing for a husband who works ridiculous long hours to repay a mortgage and needs lots of nourishing, we need to keep the meals varied so no-one complains they had the same dish 3 days in a row, we need to invent raw masterpieces that substitute our cravings for the pre-raw days of animal fat laiden, processed junk food, we are expected to serve meals on plates and sit at a table daily to provide an hours worth of washing up daily, and we expect everyone to like what they are served and eat it all. No wonder I begin to loathe the whole process of food preparations even if it is raw and organic.

My ideal way of eating and something that we will be working towards as we establish our self sufficient lifestyle back east is a way of living where food is easy and of no effort. Fruits, vegetables, herbs and berries of all sorts  will be growing prolifically on our property in our edible food forest where we can wonder as we please as many times a day to forage though the living food halls to pick at our leisure our daily intake, straight from the branches of the plants, eating in the open air, choosing only what we feel like at that time. And on days to call for a celebration such as the full moon, or the start of a season or a child's birthday or just because we feel like it, we will all help to prepare a special feast of gourmet raw foods, blended and dehydrated, squeezed and milked, sliced and marinated, for all to enjoy. This will be done not because we feel we have to, but because we want to. 

It seems that our lives are so revolved around the processes and ideals of food, that sometimes we loose the truth of what real food really is or should be. To expand that thought further, its our lifestyles we need to re-evaluate and discover what is truly ideal.   
I think I feel a fast coming on.......... a time to disconnect and then reconnect.
          

Raw Cacao or Raw carob?

After reading a number of conflicting articles on raw Cacao, I decided I would like to reduce my intake of this 'superfood' and try to substitute a sweeter and more easily obtained ingredient - carob. My reasons for this is quite simple. Its not about comparing each on its high nutritional value, but instead my decision is of a practical one. Cacao beans are grown in a remote part of the world in a tropical rainforest where I have never been and the possibility of ever growing my own cacao tree in my backyard is very unlikely, whereas, the carob tree actually grows prolifically in Kalgoorlie lining the streets, each tree flourishing with carob pods covering the limbs of each tree and piles of pods scattered all over the ground. 













Eating within ones natural, local environment is one of the most important ideals of good health in my belief and carob is certainly a good example of that.

The other reason is taste. To eat a raw cacao bean straight from the tree is rather unappealing. It is quite bitter and not at all nice. The only way it is enjoyed is when it is mixed with a high amount of sweetners such as dates, honey or agave to create a resemblance to chocolate we all know. In fact the beans are not at all inticing to the animal kingdom as not one known species of animal will eat it. Whereas the carob pod on the other hand is a really nice snack, delicious bush tucker freshly picked from the tree.

Rhody enjoying fresh bush tucker

Often when we are out bike riding and we pass under a carob tree loaded with pods, we will stop to pick a few and the kids will chew on them like a lolly stick. The flavour is close to a chocolate caramel and is really tasty. Im not sure if animals eat them, but my kids and I do and we like them. So those are my two main reasons for choosing carob over cacao.

Fallen pods ready to eat

To put the carob to the test, I made up a simple chocolate pie for dessert and I was really impressed with the outcome.

  Michael enjoyed a huge slice and Starzi exclaimed while she was eating her piece ' This is my favourite'. I found it to be really delicious and not over powering as I didnt get that sweetness overdose that I often experience when I indulge in a lovely piece of raw cacao treat.
I will be sure to experiment further with carob powder as I satisfy my chocolate cravings.

As I am not one to ever measure my ingredients while I am creating meals, nor keep record of what ingredients I used, I will try my best to give a general idea of what was used to recreate this delicious dessert.

Raw Carob pie
Base:
Using equal parts macadamia nuts,  presoaked almonds and dates, I processed until a sticky crumble.
Pressing this into the bottom of a lined pie tart, I placed it in the freezer to set as I prepared the carob centre.

Carob centre:
In the high speed blender, I added about 1/2 cup of carob powder, the flesh of 3 young coconuts, about 1/2 cup of coconut oil, about 10 dates, 1 tablespoon of honey, pinch of vanilla powder and a handful of macadamias. This was blended until really smooth and fudgy. I poured this yummy goo over the pie base and let set in the freezer for an hour.
I served our slices with raw cream (cashews, macadamia nuts and a date blended with water until creamy) and topped with frozen berries and fresh fruit.