MANGO PIES

Mango season in the Caribbean has arrived!  And today was the Mango Melee festival on St Croix.  My hubby and I take this season very seriously! The first summer we dated, every weekend for the season consisted of mango hunting adventures around the island.  Each weekend we collected a bin or two.  A full bin held atleast 100 mangoes or more (we counted).  We must have collected eight or more bins.  We were almost sick of them.  We gave a bunch away to friends, cut, ate and froze a ton, and even tried smuggling a bunch with us stateside for family (only to have customs find & throw them away - so sad!!).   We put mangoes on everything; salads, cereal, ice cream, sauces, pies...or best just plain.
Here are a couple pie recipes I whipped up before leaving to go to the festival.  Every year at the festival is a competition and this was the first year I made it in time to try the winning dishes.  Next year I might enter.

Mango Tart

Ready made crust (I used graham cracker crust or any other will do)

3-4 med mangoes

1 small box of instant pudding

2 large eggs

1 cup of milk

Cut up mangoes in slivers and place in a pinwheel design.  In a blender, mix eggs, milk & pudding.  Pour pudding mixture over mangoes to the top of dish.  Bake at 375 until lightly browned and puffed up.  Pie will settle when cooled, refrigerate to serve chilled or serve warm.

Mango Crisp

3-4 med mangoes

2 eggs

1 cup of milk

1 box of instant pudding mix

For crumb topping mix

1 instant oatmeal mix (like natural maple flavor) 

1/2 cup of flour

1/2 stick of melted butter.

Arrange sliced mangoes in pie dish.  Mix eggs, milk & pudding in blender then pour over mangoes.  Add melted butter to flour & oatmeal packet.  Sprinkle crumb mixture over mangoes.  Bake at 375 until the top is lightly browned, about 30 minutes or less. Enjoy!

**If you don't have mangoes, no worries, this is great with fresh peaches and/or berries***

PASSION FRUIT JUICE

Passon fruit are one of my favorite caribbean fruits.  Besides being tart & tasty, the blooms are amazingly cool!  Luckily, we have the perfect place for our huge vine on the trellis at the entrance of our house. When passion fruit are ripe they turn yellow and drop to the ground. So, whenever I come home, I find ripe passion fruit on the ground.  Lucky me.

Passion fruit can also be found at the local farmers market, specifically the one at Lorainne every Saturday morning.  I have never seen them fresh at the supermarket here or stateside, only in a carton in the juice aisle (not nearly as good as fresh juice).  I have seen them in Hawaii and am sure they grow Florida or Cali.

Okay now the super simple juice... It makes about 1 gallon.
8 cups of water (more or less)

8 passion fruit (about one cup of pulp)

1/4-1/2 cup of sugar
1. Scoop pulp & seeds into mixer
2. Add water and sugar to the mixer (Add less sugar at first.  You can always add more)
3.Pulse on low 20 seconds or so, till the pulp seperates from seeds (the lowest setting on my Kitchen Aid mixer doesnt break up the seeds. 
4. Wait a few minutes before pouring a glass.  The seeds will drop to the bottom of the mixer.
 You can also use a strainer.  Passion fruit juice is good by itself, over ice, with rum, vodka, champagne, or mixed with OJ if you like it more sweet.   Some passion fruit juice I have bought in the store is overly sweet. To me I think it tastes like a tart version of OJ.  Well, better then that. Enjoy!