Mango Macadamia Bread, and old friends

"Ribbit... Frogggggy!!" Those were the first words spoken in almost 30 years when my high school "brother" and dear friend Victor, with his sweet wife Vicki, landed on my doorstep a few months back. Through the wonders of facebook, my "bro" and I were able to reconnect, and finally catch up on life again.

Victor and I met in high school, instantly clicking, able to talk about anything and everything. Having had similar, dysfunctional family backgrounds, we knew we had to be brother and sister somehow. He gave me the nick name, "Froggy", and honestly, I can't remember why. Could be that I always drew pictures of frogs :-) A sight we were, too... me at 5' and he 6'. After high school, we simply lost touch. Back in 1981, you had to rely on the written word and a home phone to keep in touch. We both moved around so much, each of us just sort of disappeared.

Victor teaching Kidlet how to play the ukelele

Victor and his wife, Vicki, now live in paradise- Hawaii- and with an amazing green thumb they grow mango's, orchids, love to smoke meats, and make lots of mango bread! They are about the neatest couple on the planet, and I love and miss them to pieces...


So when I was in the grocery store the other day and saw mango's on sale, I knew that I had to make the mango bread that Victor is always talking about. He said that he got the recipe from someone else, who said that it was actually an adapted Sam Choy recipe. All I know is that it is fabulous! My husband took almost an entire loaf to work to share with his co-workers, declaring it the best he has ever eaten!

While mine didn't rise as much as Victors does (due to testing with a knife too soon while baking, and deflating a tad), it didn't affect the flavor one bit. I could truly, and dangerously so, eat both loaves on my own- they're that good!

Here's to dear friends, and "brothers"...

Mango Macadamia Bread

2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup oil
1 1/2 c sugar
2 cups peeled, diced fresh mango's
1/2 c golden raisins
1/2 c chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 c shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 9 x 5 loaf pans with non stick cooking spray, and flour the bottom only.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.

With a whisk, combine eggs, oil, and sugar. Add dry ingredients and mix. The mixture will be very thick. Fold in the mango, raisins, nuts and coconut.

Bake 45 to 60 minutes until golden brown, and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and leave in pans 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks. Makes 2 loaves.

Edna's Cafe Biscuits

There is something just so comforting about a fresh homemade biscuit. Just out of the oven, steam rising off the top, bathed in butter. It can send you down memory lane in a few blinks of an eye.



In this day and age of everything from a can, and freezer to oven convenience, the art of making biscuits for dinner has largely gone by the wayside.

There was a time when making a stellar biscuit got a gal a husband, and heck, in the movie "McLintock" it even got Yvonne DeCarlo a job when Chill Wills handed John Wayne a biscuit she had made.



Over the last 30 years I have been obsessed with making the perfect biscuit. I've made some good, but many bad. I'd get the flavor right but then they would be too hard. Some were supremely tall, but tasted like aluminum because I had added too much baking powder.


Over time I'd make little notes in my cookbooks as to what I had liked and disliked about a certain recipe. The flakiness. The flavor. The crunch of that first bite. I found that two things stood out the most. Many recipes called for shortening. Maybe it's just me, but I've found that shortening leaves a coating and somewhat of an unpleasant taste in my mouth after I eat one containing it.

The other was the liquid ingredient. So many people love a buttermilk addition to many recipes, and generally I am one of those people. But I found that most often, like most people, I would have to use a substitute for it. Buttermilk is not something I usually keep on hand, and I really don't care for the powdered variety. I found though, that I actually preferred the flavor of lemon juice and whole milk combined, as a substitute for the buttermilk.



Thirty years is a long time to figure out how to make a biscuit. I'm happy to say now though that I am done. I don't care to peruse recipes for another, or jump when someone else says they have a great recipe. These are delicious. They are satisfying. They keep my hubby happy. Need say more?

Edna's Cafe Biscuits

3 c flour
1- 1/2 tsp sugar
2- 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt, slightly heaping
1/2 c unsalted butter, cubed small and very cold
Scant 1- 1/4 cups whole milk
1 Tbs lemon juice

In a large measuring cup, add 1 Tbs lemon juice. Then add whole milk up to the 1-1/4 c mark. Mixture will start to curdle. Stir and set aside.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add unsalted butter and using pastry blender, blend until butter is the size of large peas. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir only until just combined. Place dough onto a well floured surface and pat out to a large square or rectangle, of about 1/2" thick. You can cut biscuits into squares with a knife, or use a round biscuit cutter to make approximately 9 to 12 biscuits. Pat together any remaining scraps and form into biscuits as well.

Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray and place biscuits on pan about 1" apart. Bake in a pre heated 425F oven for about 10 to15 minutes, depending on your oven, until light golden brown. Serve hot with butter, jam, honey, or whatever your heart desires. Me, I just like 'em plain. Enjoy!

Strawberry Bread

We love Strawberries in our house. I love them all the more when I can buy 4 lbs for $4.77. My 2 year old eats them like an apple. My hubby loves Strawberry shortcake in his lunch. I put them on my salads. But even after all that we still had a lot to eat. So out of what was left, I flash froze half, and then with the other half decided to make some Strawberry bread. I've had this recipe in my files for awhile... you know, the "someday" file. As I was looking it over though, I knew I had to make some adjustments to cut out some fat and cholesterol, add some fiber, and make up for some missing ingredients.


I wish I had a better camera (or maybe if I'd read the instruction manual once in a while) to take some nicer pics. There is something, well, very internal looking in them there slices... Makes ya really want to make this something bad now, huh?

This bread really did taste pretty good. My hubby said it tasted even better with what looked like a pound of butter on his slice... ok, yes, I admit, I was envious of the butter! When I do make this again, I think that I may change out the cinnamon for cardamom. I'm one of those weird people, that after December 31st passes, just feels a little OD'd on cinnamon. I'm thinking the cardamom may pair well, or better, with the strawberries. If any one of you does this, please, let me know how it tastes. By the time I thought of it though, I had already added the cinnamon. (For those who just want to try the original version, just click on the pic above and it should enlarge enough to see the original recipe)

As I was making this, I thought it funny that creating one loaf of bread took up this much space.

Strawberry Bread

2 c sliced strawberries
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
3/4 c AP flour
3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites
1/4 c melted margarine
1/3 c non-fat plain Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray loaf pan with non-stick spray and flour pan.

Place strawberries in small bowl and mix with brown sugar.

In a large bowl, blend together the remaining sugar, both flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, with a whisk, beat the egg whites until foamy, then beat in melted margarine, and Greek yogurt. Add to dry ingredients, blending until moist. Stir in the strawberries.

Scrape batter into loaf pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, depending on your oven, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack about 10 minutes before removing from pan. Makes 1 loaf.

Check this out- I've been cooking and baking like crazy, and have still managed (with exercise) to finally wear me a pair of baggy pants- 18 lbs down and only 22 more to go!

I know, I need a manicure, bad...