A little beauty in spring

Mangos and coconuts

Take this.....

What do you do with a big bag of mangos?  This was the question I was asking myself as I said "Yes please!" to my aunt when she called asking if I wanted her to bring me home a bunch from her new place in Florida. 

add this....

Well, I thought and I thought, but in the end---- I made salsa!!  I've never made salsa of any kind before so this was a new adventure for me.  Was I up for the challenge?  Absolutely.

Now, because I had so many mangos I only loosely followed the recipe I found on line and did what worked for me.  I'm not a fan of a lot of heat in my food, I like flavor just not heat.  So, if you have a lot of mangoes and like heat, then adjust accordingly.

I made a couple of large batches as they became ripe. 
10-15 mangos diced
1 pineapple diced
roughly chopped cilantro
some fresh ginger finely minced
chilli/ jalapeno peppers ( I used cherry chillies because they were the mildest I could fine and they worked perfectly!) finely diced
red onion finely diced
roma tomatoes seeded and diced 
lemon juice
lime juice

mix it all up in a bowl and voila!  An amazing fresh healthy salsa to enjoy.  Tastes great with chicken, pork, or fish. 

and get this!

Now, like I said, I made a couple of large batches of this and was worried about it spoiling so I decided to can it.  What a great idea.  Now I have it in my cupboard to use when its convenient.  (And I even had enough to give some to friends too)  Yummy

Some for now, some for later.  Could it be more perfect?

Well, as if that wasn't good enough, I still had several left over, so when they ripened I cut them up and stuck them in the freezer for fruit smoothies.  I just bought some strawberries to do the same with.  Can't wait to break out the blender and start mixing.  (If I was a drinking girl I can only imagine the concoctions I would be making this summer)  Yummy!

My wonderful aunt didn't stop with just the mangos though....  She brought us a coconut from her back yard and a coconut shell carving for us to play SURVIVOR with.  What fun!!  I love that show!

Our immunity idol up for grabs before one of our immunity challenges!

Will won immunity, and won a coconut to help keep him hydrated.  This show is hard I tel you!  The elements are brutal

We finally cracked open the coconut, Will got the first sip.  I think he would have kept the reward all to himself, but it wasn't ripe and therefor didn't taste good.  So he was more than happy to share.

We played survivor all weekend, Will was sole survivor in the end of course, but we had a great time making up our challenges and voting people out of the game.  I think I was voted out first ( we did have a couple other people playing with us) but they decided even though I was out I had to stay to do the cooking for everyone else! 

OUTWIT, OUTLAST, OUTPLAY  (I did none of those, but I did outcook)

An unexpected joy

I left for work 2 hours early today. Why? Hoping to see a boy. Well, didn't get to see him and didn't have the gas to drive home again until it was time to work.

What to do, what to do? Well, there is a little trail over by the house I work at on Wednesdays. I decided I was recovered from my MS related issues enough to check it out.

I am SO glad I did. I found a beautiful little waterfall and a nice little walk. I even met a very nice family by the waterfall. I plan to go back and get better pictures, I just need better footwear.

This is why I try to keep myself open to new opportunities:

I love spring

These are from my backyard. Lilacs are my favorite flower of all time. They remind me of my gram. And Ledgefield farm.

Rainbows

How many people can say they have a full rainbow in their living room?

Duck Tape

What do you make with colorful duck tape? Purses, coin purse, clutch, and wallet.