Mango Lassi, Mango Lad

BECAUSE SOMETIMES YOU NEED A TOTALLY UNSEASONAL TREAT (*all my foodie friends turn up their noses*).

And sometimes Sainsbury's has a buy-one-get-one-free on mangoes.

I know, I know. London is a far cry from India and anywhere tropical. And, sometimes, these fleshy, juicy fruits can be downright unpalatable out of season and region (I never liked mangoes until I had them in season in the middle of the Caribbean. It was the nectar of the Gods). But, when you're broke and looking for something to diversify your produce pile, a buy-one-get-one sale can make you do crazy things. I guess I trusted that the large Indian population in our neighborhood and London's general love and appreciation of Indian fare would mean that they get pretty good mangoes, year round. So, into my cart they went.

I let them sit for a few days until they were just a bit tender-er and let off a sweet aroma. The little drip of syrup that came from the stem bit was a good sign of peak-sweetness, too. :)

Then it was Mango Lassi time. Fruit and sugar and cream and Autumn spices? Ummm yup.

Happy 11.11.11!!

I'm baaaaaaaaack!

It WOULD take a nerdy event like 11.11.11 to bring me back to blogging. But really, if you know me, you know that self-motivation is a tricky business in my brain. I need to have a 'reason' – no matter how unrelated, random or feeble – to initiate action. So, because I didn't want 11.11.11 to go by uncelebrated, I'm choosing this date to start a new blogging resolution and to inaugurate my new kitchen (Yes, we've moved! To London!) into the blogosphere. The plan is to post once a week, sharing one of that week's adventures in my kitchen-the-size-of-a-middle-school-locker. But seriously, I do love my cramped haven:

I mean, look at that chopping block.

For today, a special date numerically and historically, enjoy the beauty that is a morning sugar high.

Yay! More elevens!

I couldn't fit these 11 silver-dollar pancakes in the shape of an 11 onto a normal plate, so I used my massive tray. :)

The recipe is just the simple version from the Joy of Cooking 1970-whatever edition.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
(I also do a smidge of baking soda . . . not really sure why)
3 Tbs sugar
1 or 2 eggs, beaten
3 Tbs butter, melted
1 cup milk (or more if it's too thick)

Whisk the dry ingredients together, then add wet ingredients and stir gently until just combined. They go on a lightly greased frying pan (I used butter today, but often use a light oil instead) over medium-low heat.

I drizzled these with acacia honey, a sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar, then a dollop of Nutella, just for good measure.

In all honesty, I felt like a bit of a fool actually EATING off that massive tray, so I turned the horizontal eleven into a vertical eleven and had at it. 

The coffee was a very important part of this morning's feast. I'm off to do some freelancing on my couch in my PJs!

PS: THANK YOU and God Bless to all the veterans today, living and gone. Especially to my recently-passed Pop-Pop (aka Major John C. Menzies) and to my dear friend, CPT Andrew Michaelson, who just became a daddy 2 days ago.