Add some tropical flavor to your breakfast pancakes with my Mango Pancakes Recipe.
A ripe Mango is super sweet fully ripe. They are quite easy to peel, then just slice off the soft flesh into bite-sizes to add to your fave pancake mix. When they make contact with a hot grill they sweetly caramelize like grilled pineapple (ha, another future pancake recipe!)
Mangos are ripe when soft to the touch, kinda like an avocado. I have gotten Mango that goes from green to bad on occasion, sometimes they will not ripen right...oh well. But when they do they have the best flavor.
I peel a Mango by just slicing into the skin, top to bottom about 4 slices per Mango. That is usually enough to then peel each segment of skin to reveal the orange flesh underneath. Then you just slice off the flesh until you hit the large flat/oval seed.
Living in L.A. Mango are easy to get and cheap, too. I get mine at my local Latin grocery store, Superior Grocers.
For the pancake batter, I use a commercial brand. If you have a homemade recipe then use it. I can get a large box of dry pancake batter at my local 99c only Store or Dollar Tree. Regular grocery stores sell it cheap enough, too.
Start your day right, with my tropical cheap$kate breakfast of Mango Pancakes.
Mango Pancakes - Video
Play it here, video runs 1 minute, 34 seconds.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients (2 servings, using a pancake mix)
1 cup pancake mix - any favorite
3/4 cup water - okay to use milk for a richer pancake batter.
1 mango - roughly sliced or chopped. Depending on the size, one larger size is plenty. Okay to substitute with any fresh seasonal fruit like: blueberry, peach, apricot, strawberry, and even sliced banana or canned fruit like pineapple.
1 tablespoon of cooking oil - to grease skillet. Add more when needed, depending on how many pancakes you make.
Butter and favorite pancake syrup - add as much as you like.
Directions
Prepare pancake batter according to package directions. My pancake mix calls for 1 cup of flour and 3/4 cup of water.
Mix pancake ingredients in a bowl. When mixed it will be like thick country gravy.
Start to heat the pan over a medium/low heat.
Peel Mango and slice off flesh from the seed. I slice into skin top to bottom, 4 slices total. Then loosen the top of a slice and peel off the skin. Sometimes it breaks and sometimes it peels all the way off. I do one half at a time so it's less messy to separate the flesh.
I then slice off the flesh of one side. Then I turn over Mango and slice into skin and remove it. Finally slicing off the rest of the flesh.
Mix sliced Mango into pancake batter. Sometimes I will lay out the mango slices directly on the hot pan and pour pancake batter over the slices. It's okay to just mix in the Mango into the pancake batter.
Add oil to pancake pan and pour on the pancake batter with Mango pieces. Brown each side of the pancake. Mine took about 3 minutes for each side. It really depends how hot your pan gets.
The box directions above mentions cooking time to brown each side as 1.5 minutes each....hmmmm, they must be using a super hot pan!
If you want a dark brown pancake presentation, then just cook one side to get the right amount of brown, then cook the other side for a minute, to finish. Serve browned side up, on the plate.
I serve hot with melted butter and favorite pancake syrup.
I like a recipe with just two ingredients and my Mushrooms Sauteed in Coconut Oil fits the bill.
I guess you could call this an anti-recipe video and it's a pretty recipe too, just check out the bright yellow mushrooms I picked up. And while there's nothing to it, you will still like the simple flavors of my latest Cheap$kate Recipe video.
I chose these mushrooms because they showed up at my local 99c only Store. Called Champignon Mushrooms, they have a mild flavor similar to white or brown button mushrooms. I was expecting a more pungent taste like shitake or oyster mushrooms. But that's okay, the more flavorful Coconut Oil shines strongly through.
Click on any photo to see larger.
Normally, I would saute mushrooms in a little butter, but I know my vegan visitors like a budget recipe too. It's fun to mix it up with flavorful cooking oils.
The mushrooms I got came in a sealed package and as a large root segment. I split the mushrooms into smaller segments for easier sauteing. I used a tablespoon of oil. You only need to cook them until soft and tender - just a couple of minutes on each side.
If you like mushrooms caramelized, then saute on one side without moving them for about 3 minutes, and flip mushrooms once to finish for another minute.
For the last couple of years, Coconut Oil has been showing up at my local 99c only Store and even the Dollar Tree. Like the name says, Coconut Oil has a distinct flavor, so if you don't care for coconut then you can substitute any oil like Olive, Peanut, Walnut or even Avocado Oil. I've noticed Coconut Oil can be semi-solid like butter or it is liquid, I think it depends on the temperature.
I like sauteed mushrooms plain. I could have added them to a hot soup of 25 cents per package ramen with veggies and topped with a boiled egg; or add them to a medley of button mushrooms for an earthy Mushroom Soup (like I did in this recipe, here.) But they don't show up cheaply very often so I just wanted to enjoy them sauteed in Coconut Oil.
My Mushrooms Sauteed in Coconut Oil can be served right out of the frying pan, or add them warm on a fresh green salad or a fave protein. They can also go into your favorite pasta dish.
When you find mushrooms on sale then give them a quick saute in Coconut Oil for a tasty snack or add to a fave entree.
Mushrooms Sauteed in Coconut Oil - VIDEO
Play it here, video runs 3 minutes 10 seconds
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
Ingredients (1 to 2 servings)
Fresh mushrooms - about 4 to 5 ounces. I cooked with mushrooms I found on sale, called Champignon, but okay to use regular white and brown button mushrooms or any favorite you like.
1 tablespoon coconut oil - Okay to use any tasty veggie oil you like.
Salt and pepper - optional. I did not season this recipe, but you can.
Directions
Prepare mushrooms. If there is dirt then brush or scrape off. Discard dried or old stems from any mushroom cap.
Slice or break apart mushrooms into bite sizes. You can leave whole for smaller button mushrooms. You can also break apart mushrooms after sauteing.
Over a medium-hot pan coconut oil, then add mushrooms.
Depending on the size of mushrooms you can saute each side for a couple minutes each, until soft and slightly browned. Saute about 3-5 minutes total. Time will depend on the temperature of the frying pan and the thickness of mushrooms.
A quick saute is what you want - best not to overcook mushrooms.
Today is National Taco Day, the most hallowed of culinary days in my cocina (kitchen.) I can have tacos morning, noon and night. So read on and you'll know what I mean - just click on any taco name, or highlighted text, to see all the tasty details from my blogpost recipe or review.
In the morning it's spicy Mexican chorizo with scrambled eggs and refried beans nestled into a warm corn tortilla.
Breakfast Tacos
And my Chorizo & Egg Taco is about as cheap as you can get. I get Mexican chorizo from the 99c only Store natch, and all kinds too, like beef, pork and even soy (which is a recent favorite.) Eggs still show up at my local Dollar Tree.
And for Breakfast Tacos, it all about the salsa toppings. I like salsa from a jar, but sometime I just gotta go for it and make my own Homemade Salsa, and it's easy to do.
My Mango Salsa recipe with yummy photos and tasty text is right here, but you can check out the video below:
I'm ready to party on this auspicious day, and when this cheap$kate does it you can bet pennies will be pinched without a sacrifice in flavor. For my backyard soirée it's my favorite taco: a slow-cooked pork Carnitas. Just check out my video below to see what I'm writing about.
I buy a 5 to 6 pound budget pork shoulder, and I can get a couple dozen tacos out of it, too.
And boy it's the perfect budget recipe that your friends and neighbors will line up for. You let them do most of the work -- they get to build each taco to suit their taste. I like to set out some chopped onion and cilantro. You can make your taco bar any way you like, go ahead and add a bowl of shredded cheese, chopped lettuce and tomato, and a cheap jar of salsa, too.
Chicken is one cheap protein. My Chicken Tinga recipe will have your guest coming back for seconds...and thirds! Chicken Tinga is a stew simmered in tomato sauce with a can of spicy chipotle peppers, but you can make a mild version with a can of enchilada sauce.
Chicken Tinga
One of my most unique tacos came about one summer while on vacation at our spectacular national parks in Utah. I stopped to eat and had an Indian Frybread Taco. Frybread is flour dough that's rolled out and deep fried. You top the frybread with chili beans, lettuce, tomato and cheese.
Frybread Taco
Carne Asada, or grilled steak, is a favorite taco of mine. Just make my marinade for thin sliced steak, let it set for an hour, then slap it on the grill. After the Carne Asada is done you chop it up and serve on a corn tortilla
Carne Asada Taco
The marinade is a simple mix of lime juice, oil, cilantro, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper.
Drive anywhere in Los Angeles and you will see taco trucks, sidewalk taco vendors, and taquerias on almost every street. And I've stopped at most of them. What follows are a few of my faves - with a few recipes I cribbed from them, too.
When I moved to Los Angeles over 40 years ago, I discovered the taco truck. Boy, have they evolved over the years. In the beginning it was just hamburgers and tacos made with ground beef. Well, that all changed about 9 years ago when a hotel chef named Roy Choi, who was down but not out, rebounded from couch surfing to start Kogi Taco Truck.
A fellow co-conspirator came up with the idea of a Korean taco, and Roy Choi assembled the taco ingredients of Korean barbecue short ribs with an kimchi-style coleslaw, served on corn tortillas. His truck was an instant hit, and Kogi jump-started the ongoing nouveau taco truck renaissance.
Kogi is still around and I still love them. Check out my video below, where I hang out night and day, for L.A.'s most uniquely mouthwatering taco.
Inspired by Kogi's mashup of Korean BBQ and Mexican Tacos, I came up with the Loxaco, that combines Jewish and Mexican cuisines.
A Loxaco is comprised of homemade lox (cured salmon) in a fast food crunchy taco shell topped with cream cheese and thin sliced red onion. I introduced this preposterous concoction at a book signing in Libros Schmibros, a lending library in East Los Angeles. How did it go over with book lovers? The following video is a twofer, you get a recipe plus a literary happening scene.
After a double feature at my fave art house cinematheque like the Egyptian or New Beverly Theater, on the way home I swing by Leo's Taco for a few al pastor pork tacos. They just cost a $1.25, and the line can be long, now that the word is out.
This is porcine perfection on a paper plate. It's tender and flavorful grilled marinated pork, that's cooked in front of a gas grill called a trompo. A cook manning the grill slices off thin slivers, finishing the taco with flare: a flying slice of pineapple. Check out the yummy action below.
I've followed the Two Hot Tamales from the beginning, when the Border Grillwas in a storefront with half a dozen tables on Melrose Avenue. Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken are fixtures on the L.A. dining scene who jumped on the taco truck train, bringing their neuvo take on Mexican cuisine to four wheels. They primarily park their taco truck in the environs of Silicon Valley West Coast, Santa Monica.
My Tacos El Primo video review has gone viral. That means this YouTube video gets thousands of views per month - right now it is pushing half a million. Why? I'm not sure. Let's see... in this video I review Buche and Tripas tacos, or tacos made from slow-cooked stomach and intestine. Gross right? One thing I noticed is half my visitors are from Mexico, so maybe half my audience is curious how gringos react to offal.
That doesn't seem interesting enough really, but hey, what do I know, I'll take it. I did the taco review because Tacos El Primo was a midnight munchies stop on my return home from various Hollywood treks.
When you have a neighborhood food stop, you eventually dive deeper and try eats you would not normally taste.
Tripas (intestine) Taco
Well, join the multitudes and check out my Cheap$kate video review of Tacos El Primo.
Deep fried Fish Tacos are one of L.A.'s great culinary contributions. These battered depth charges of crunchy perfection are based on the street food of Baja Mexico and other coastal communities. If you like British Fish & Chips, you will love Fried Fish Tacos.
Fish Taco
The battered fillets of fish are typically served on corn tortillas and topped with a white crema and chopped cabbage. I have my own recipe for Fish Tacos you can see by clicking on the recipe name.
And this is the best taco deal in town: Today (Wednesdays) is $1 Fish Taco day at Tacos Baja! Yeah, that's what you heard - don't believe me? Just watch the video below and see it for yourself.
Celebrate National Taco Day with me today. Hey, celebrate it any day now that I've shown you a slew of taco recipes you can make easily and cheaply.
And I'll end with a queasy taco review, from of all places, Jack In The Box's 2 for 99 cent tacos...ugh, watch it with a barf bag.
This is my favorite Salsa to make at home. Just watch the video below for my Mango Salsa, and see how easy it is to do, enjoy.
Mango Salsa - Video
Play it here. video runs 1 minute, 53 seconds.
Typical salsas are made with tomato and/or chili, instead of fruit. And I've made all kinds of salsas from scratch, just click on any name to view: tangy Roasted Salsa Verde (tomatillo,)Red Chili (2 dried types - but the same recipe,)Pico de Gallo, andPeach Salsa.
I first made Mango Salsa with a Coconut Crusted Fish almost a decade ago, and I keep coming back. There is just something about scooping up sweet-tangy salsa on a tortilla chip and chowing down. Light sweetness sure goes with heavy flavored pork Carnitas, or spicy Chicken Tinga, tacos and burritos.
Guests go crazy for my Mango Salsa. Every time I bring a bowl it becomes the favorite dish and the first one to disappear, at a party. It's also an aphrodisiac for date night with your amour.
Mangos used to be as expensive as avocados, and I'm lucky to live in Los Angeles where I can now get them two for a dollar at my local Latin market, Superior Grocers. I know they are expensive in other communities but do try this recipe sometime when they show up on sale at your local grocery store.
Click on any photo to see larger.
In the above photo I show two types of mangos I find, Manila Mangos cultivated in the Philipines, and regular Mangoes. If you ever find Manila Mangos give them a try, while smaller than a typical Mangoes the flesh is sweeter to my taste.
Try out this recipe with fruit that shows up at your local farmers market or roadside produce stalls. Could you make a Strawberry, Blueberry, Pineapple, Peach, or even Kiwi Salsa? You can only find canned fruit cocktail, peaches and pineapple slices to work with? Sure, go for it!
A mango is ripe when it's slightly soft to the touch. When very ripe they do get messy to work with. Under my Directions below I show you how I peel one.
The other Mango Salsa ingredients are cheap enough. I use purple onion, but you can use cheap white or yellow onion. Cilantro and fresh jalapeno peppers are showing up in most neighborhood groceries these days.
Typical salsas use lime juice but I like to mix it up with lemon juice sometimes (plus I have a lemon tree by the laundry room here, so they are freeeeee!)
I used fresh jalapeño, but you can use it from a jar as well. The jalapeños may have a vinegar taste, but that's okay, just drain them first.
I also remove the jalapeño seeds, but you can leave them in for a fiery Mango Salsa.
My Mango Salsa travels well to your neighbor or friends party. Just remember to bring a bag of tortilla chips!
Ingredients
2 mangos - peeled and diced. About 1 1/2 to 2 cups.
1 cup of chopped onion - red, white or yellow. Add more or less to suit your taste.
Cilantro - 2 tablespoons chopped.
Juice of a lemon or lime- or 2 tablespoons from a jar.
Jalapeño - about a teaspoon, chopped. Add a little at a time and taste, until the desired spiciness is reached. Okay to use jalapeño from a jar, just drain off pickling vinegar.
Directions
Mangoes are a bit messy and slippery to work with. They should be ripe first, with a slight softness, and yellow or reddish color, depending on the type of mango.
There are a few ways to peel a mango. I've seen them sliced in half, lengthwise around the large seed, and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Below is how I do it.
I like to peel them this way. First I slice into the skin from top to bottom four times. Make sure to slice intersecting at the top and bottom.
Now just peel each segment to remove half of the skin, at the widest half of mango. The mango seed is flat and wide so you want to slice off the most flesh along the seed. The seed will guide your blade, just follow the seed as you slice.
Once one side is stripped of flesh, then peel the other side and repeat, slicing along the length of the seed. You can keep slicing around the seed to get all the mango flesh. Now just cut the mango flesh into bite sizes.
Chop the onion into small pieces. I used about a quarter of a large red onion. You can add more or less onion to taste.
Chop enough cilantro leaves to fill 2 tablespoons. Okay to add more or less to taste.
Add cilantro and onion to the bowl with mango.
Squeeze in the juice of one lemon or lime. Normally lime is used for salsa, but I used what I had on hand. Okay to use juice from the jar or plastic.
A good trick to get lemon or lime extra juicy is to slice it in half, then microwave it for about 10-20 seconds until warm. This will release more juice.
Mix mango, cilantro, and onion with the lemon or lime juice.
Finally, add jalapeño.
When handling jalapeño make sure not to touch your eyes or lips or you will get burned. Be sure to wash your hands with soap after working with a jalapeño. The oil from a jalapeño is very hot to delicate body parts!
When handling jalapeño make sure not to touch your eyes or lips or you will get burned. Be sure to wash your hands with soap after working with a jalapeño. The oil from a jalapeño is very hot to delicate body parts!
I like to slice the jalapeño lengthwise to cut out the white pith and remove the seeds. Discard the stem. You will have a little spiciness from jalapeno flesh, but not as much as when adding the seeds.
I used about a quarter of a large jalapeño, or about a teaspoon when chopped. If you like your salsa hotter then add more chopped jalapeno, or add jalapeño with the seeds.
If you are unsure about how much you spiciness you can take, just add a little chopped jalapeño at a time and mix, then try salsa.
Serve Mango Salsa with tortilla chips, on a taco, or in a burrito. Keep Mango Salsa in the refrigerator until ready to use. You can make it a day ahead, as it will keep for several days.
Hindsight
This recipe is easy to double or quadruple for more guests.
You can adjust the ingredients to suit your taste - add more mango or less jalapeño, more cilantro or even leave out the onion.
Another way to peel a mango is to just slice lengthwise against the seed, skin and all. Now you can just scoop out the flesh from half-slices with a spoon. Chop into bite-size pieces.
My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.
