Happy Fall, y’all

Where has this year gone?
This morning at breakfast, my friends and I were discussing this very thing, and it was like; wow! Goodbye September, hello October. Football season is in full swing, and Saturday when I wanted to watch the evening news, that’s all that was on TV. This year is moving on entirely too quickly for me! It is simply impossible to believe that it is already three-fourths over. It seems that I blinked and all of a sudden it is almost time for Halloween and as we all know, that will rapidly be followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas way before we are ready for either one. I have a really hard time dealing with Christmas music in October, but then, maybe others enjoy it.
Right now as I’m writing this, I’m waiting for my sister to come pick me up to go to the grocery store. It was very foggy as I drove home from church this morning and I used my lights. This particular model of Toyota does not have automatic lights, so when I went out to use the car, there was no battery power. We went to the store, the charger she brought me was only a little better than the one I had, and as we were standing there, the young man from down the road came by, as I had called them also, and he brought their charger. Guess what, he plugged it in and in about three minutes the car started. I might have to check on the price of those and get me one! First thing Monday morning will find me at the local tire and battery store, as this one is getting close to three years old. Things like this sure do make for an interesting life for my friends and me!
My brother and his wife were down Thursday and Friday for a short visit on their way to South Padre, so we got to do a little visiting and eating out those two days. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to do any shopping. She loves to go to our local thrift store that supports Bluebonnet Ranch, which is a children’s home, as they closed at 4:00 p.m. and I didn’t get home until after that, so we just sat and talked and caught up on what had been going on in our lives since May when I was with them in Alabama for their granddaughters wedding.
This week, we are going to talk a little bit about mangos. Unfortunately, in spite of having over 2,000,000 sites with information about mangos, I found very few recipes using them. There were lots of sites for purchasing mango trees, so I got the impression they are not hard to grow. Many of the sites are repeated from one section to another and one of the sites that did have recipes and good information would not print, nor could I copy and paste it. The amount of information was too much to write by hand, so here is what I have.
The mango originated in Southeast Asia. It has been grown there for over 4,000 years. Over time, mango groves have spread to many parts of the tropical and subtropical world where the climate allows them to grow best. Mangos trees require hot, dry periods to set and produce a good crop. The trees are evergreens and will grow to over 60-feet tall. The trees will bear fruit four to six years after planting. The mangos we find in stores here in the United States are imported from Mexico, Haiti, the Caribbean and South America.
According to the article this is from, there are over 1,000 different varieties of mangos throughout the world. However, according to another site I was on, there are 150 varieties of mangos. There are a variety of shapes, colors and sizes, but they all have the delicious golden fruit inside.
Mangos can be eaten fresh, frozen or dried. Fresh is great for eating out of hand and is extremely good for you as they are rich in vitamins, potassium, fiber, minerals and anti-oxidants. A single serving of mango (average sized fruit), can contain up to 40% of your daily fiber requirement. Mangos also contain an enzyme with stomach soothing properties, which acts as a digestive aid. It also, in either ripe or green form is a very good tenderizing agent due to these same enzymes. A ground sour mango powder, called Amchur, is used in India both as seasoning and as a tenderizing aid.
To determine the ripeness of mangos, either sniff or squeeze. A ripe mango will have a fruity aroma from the stem end. They can be considered ready to eat when slightly soft to the touch and yielding to gentle pressure, as a ripe peach would. If you purchase them slightly green, they will ripen on the counter at room temperature. If you want to accelerate the process, place them in a paper bag overnight. After ripening, a mango will keep for a few days in the fridge.
With the article I found, they included directions, with pictures for cutting a mango into serving pieces. Here are their instructions for serving four different ways.
For slices: Cut off both ends of the fruit. Place fruit on flat end and cut away peel from top to bottom along curvature of the fruit. Cut fruit into slices by carving lengthwise along the pit.
With a spoon: Use a sharp knife to slice off mango “cheeks” (rounded portions) lengthwise. Separate halves, saving the tasty center. Use a spoon to scoop out the fruit from the “cheeks”. Enjoy the juicy center over the sink!
Cubes: Start with the mango “cheek”, cutting it off the pit lengthwise. Cut into ½-inch squares by scoring with a sharp knife. Do not cut through the skin. Turn the mango half “inside out,” separating the cubes. Slice off squares with a knife. (Some of us use this method when we peel avocados).
On a fork: Cut skin on top of mango in an “X”. Pull skin away from fruit in quarters or eighths. Place a fork in opposite end of mango and enjoy.
A friend brought these “cookies” to lunch as dessert several years ago, and when I saw these cookies, my first thought was that there were “red skin” peanuts in them, then I thought it was malted milk balls, but couldn’t figure out where she had found some that were that small. At first taste, I was still confused, as were a couple of others at the table. She then told us the cookies were made with Cocoa Puffs cereal. They are simple to make and taste really good.
Cocoa Puff Cookies
½ cup white Karo®
¼ cup honey
1 cup sugar
1½ cups chunky peanut butter
4 cups Cocoa Puffs cereal
Place Karo®, honey and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a fast boil; remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter mixing until well blended. Add the Cocoa Puffs cereal and stir just until coated. Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper. Allow to cool before serving.
This reminds me a lot of the no-bake cookies we used to make when my children were small; they are simple and easy and taste good. The recipe is also similar to a recipe from my Mother for the following Corn Flakes Crispie cookies. Since they received both honey and peanut butter in school cafeterias as commodities, it was a way to use some of both in something the children liked.
Mom’s Cornflake Crispies
5 cups cornflakes
½ cup sugar
½ cup honey or white Karo®
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup dry roasted peanuts
Butter a large mixing bowl, pour in cornflakes and set aside. Butter a 9×12 pan and set aside. Combine sugar, honey or syrup and peanut butter and bring to a boil over medium heat. Pour over the cornflakes. Mix well and pat into prepared pan, cool thoroughly and cut into squares or bars.