Monday, 20 July 2009

IF - Tango

nakasero Nakasero Market

Come with me to Nakasero Market in Kampala where we’ll find the freshest and plumpest of mangos all artfully arranged in towering piles or laid out like big sun-burnished jewels in palm leaf baskets. Or, if it’s a little too hot for the crowded jostle of brightly clad ladies arguing prices at the top of their voices, we could just step into the garden and pluck one or two of those buxom beauties from that tree over there – see, right there next to the that lovely old fig tree?

mango14

Then we can take our filled bowl and sneak into the kitchen while Emanuel is out and cook up a dozen or so of my world-renown Mango Tango Muffins. (Well, I exaggerate a little – my muffins are world-renown in the sense that my family live in various corners of the globe and these are their favourite!)

MANGO TANGO MUFFINS

The marriage of mango and banana in these delicious, tenderly moist muffins is heavenly. They are ambrosia itself when eaten fresh from the oven, but even more so the day after when the spices and lime have had time to entwine their flavours sufficiently to make this a muffin to remember.

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest
  • 2 cups diced ripe mango
  • 1 medium ripe banana, mashed
  • * optional
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ¼ cup slithered almonds

In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, oil, lime juice and zest; add to the dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in the mango, banana, raisins and nuts.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350ْ for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

mangomuff Breakfast with muffin

And while you're eating your Mango Tango Muffin and sipping that freshly brewed coffee, why don’t you sing along with Connery Sean……

Underneath the mango tree
Me honey and me can watch for the moon
Underneath the mango tree
Me and me honey make boobaloo soon
Underneath the moonlit sky
Me honey and me sit hand in hand
Me honey and me make fairyland

Mango, banana and tangerine
Sugar and ackee and cocoa bean
When we get marry we make them grow
And nine little chil' all in a row
Underneath the mango tree
Me honey and me can watch for the moon
Me and me honey we plan marry soon

If that doesn’t put you in the mood for a tango with your honey, well……I’ll eat my hat!

28 comments:

Caroline said...

Perfect! It does take two to Tango - this is perfect marriage of colour and taste. Love your artwork and as for that recipe ...well, if it wasn't nearly midnight here I'd be rushing into the kitchen to rustle up some of these little beauties! Thank you, Tessa!

Cheryl Lynn said...

Mouth watering...brow sweating...heart beating fast...did I say mouth watering?

Oh my, my, my. How delicious those muffins sound. I'm sure I could eat a whole batch by myself (somethings I just don't share. Isn't that awful of me?)

Love the image of the muffin with breakfast. How inviting.

I'm glad my little illo made you chuckle. It's wonderful when we can invoke the emotion we set out to initiate.

Have a great, wonderful, and delicious day, myd ear and thanks for dropping by.

Elizabeth said...

I think I will have to make these
delicious
and, because of the fruit,
definitely HEALTHY
muffins

So kind of you to post my very ancient book.

Chris Wolf said...

yummmmm. Thank you for this!

Holly said...

I'd be better off eating your hat, Tessa for I'm very allergic to mangos! Stop making me want what I can't have!!!

INDIGENE said...

Tessa, your color and the thoughtfulness, you put into your blog is amazing! I can just taste those juicy sweet mangoes! If one could eat the color you use, I'm sure it would taste just like a mango! Bravo! Bravo!

Tess said...

What an absolutely beautiful post! So full of sights and sounds and scents and textures and tastes! I always smile when I come here :)

soulbrush said...

have you really been to all these wonderful african places?? yum yum, i love mangoes, african ones eaten under an african sky, all mushy and smushy...

Madame DeFarge said...

This recipe is crying out to be tried. And scoffed quickly thereafter.

Rosaria Williams said...

Mango Tango Muffins and fresh coffee. When do you want us over your place? I'm in the mood for them.

Your prose is appetizing, Tessa.

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

I adore mangoes and this recipe makes me want to rush right out and buy some, but I don't want to do it in some manky Tescos. Why can't I get out into the market?
Never mind, can't have it all. Can have the mangoes though.

kj said...

you my dear friend are amazing: in one swoop you offer one of a kind colorful cultural art, mouth watering fruitalicious recipes, rhythmic knee slapping song and dance.

thank you thank you universe my access to this blog is again rightfully restored!

Debra Keirce said...

Tessa, I swear you should weigh about 800 lbs. by now! You have the same love of food and recipes I do - how come I put on weight when I post recipes? I haven't figured that out yet, but I had to stop posting!

Polly said...

Sounds absolutely delicious! I'll try it one day.

I've never been a big fan of mangoes but this photo, and this painting and this recipee really makes me crave for one now...

karen said...

I do love the mango tango, and the description of the burnished piles of them in Kampala! reminds me of summer..

A Cuban In London said...

Don't eat your hat. No, seriously. On another note:

WHY DO YOU MAKE ME SUFFER?

Do you know what makes me really homesick, so homesick that swine flu cannot even start competing with my homesickness? The sweet smell and flavour of a 'mango filipino'. Now, this is a smaller version of the standard mango and sweeter. If you can possibly think of a mango that is sweeter than a standard mango.

I lapped up this post (both metaphorically and literally, my laptop has saliva marks on its screen). The image was perfect, the colours, the figures, that photo. Ahhh... it's raining outside and here's little me thinking of mangoes. I have to admit that I do not buy mangoes in the UK. Brits seem to think that the bigger the mango the better it is. Well no, for starters we call the large mango 'manga' in Cuba, that is a female mango and we only use it to make smoothies or the type of muffin your yummy recipe suggests.

Oh, yes, your recipe. I love food left overnight in the fridge so I giggled when you mention the combination of spices and lime the next day. That's what I would normally do.

Oh, well, that's another brilliant post and now you've made consider making a trip to Brixton market (the only place in London where you can get some decent mangoes) to indulge in my favourite culinary peccadillo.

Greetings from London.

Caroline said...

Glad to hear from you again Tessa! I gave up with IE years ago - am a confirmed Firefox addict - try it!!

Becky said...

Absolutely divine!
Thank you for this post!

justdoodleit said...

Beautiful! Always a pleasure to read your stories and look at those colorful paintings dripping with mood. Thanks for your kind words on my blog :)

steve said...

Wonderful job! Art and good food - how can you go wrong?

Woman in a Window said...

Sounds delicious.

I remember my first mango. It was when I was in the Caribbean and the locals laughed their butts off to see me struggle to not get juices down my arm. I learned quickly that they taste better when you relent.

Reya Mellicker said...

Watch for the moon today, or actually watch for the sun. It's a huge solar eclipse going on in just a few hours. Not visible from Britain but you'll feel it.

I love mangoes.

Mônica said...

What a great post! Wonderful words and gorgeous illustrations, so full of light and color and life!

Amy said...

As always, beautiful paintings, Tessa. (They make my heart race a little.)

I can't wait to make the muffins. Mangos are one of my favorites! (I tried the strawberry recipe you posted before and I was in heaven.)

I'm so glad I found you in the Land of Blog!

fashion fucsia said...

Hi Tessa! I love the first illo, with the woman, colours are so bright! and thanks for the recipe, looks delicious mmmmmmm...
^_^

Terri said...

mmmmm mangos...muffins....
This was almost enough to make me want to bake.
And I don't bake.
Ever.
Beautiful post though :-)
I miss mangos...

Holly said...

I MUST make these.

Danette said...

ok so this is OFFICIALLY my favorite tango post.....the recipe sound absolutely delish... I'm saving it for summer so I can buy a few mangoes from a guy on a street corner and give it a bash. And you made me smile thinking of Sean Connery and Under a Mango tree, possibly one of my favorite Bond moments ever;)