About that half a plate of fruits and vegetables we should be eating...

Ataulfo mango

As much I love browsing recipes, sometimes I just get excited about the flavors and fragrances of foods straight from nature, especially in the case of fresh fruit. That happened to me this morning when the Produce department put out incredible samples of organic Minneolas and navel oranges. They were just bursting with juice - why would you ever want to cook with them? I felt that way again looking at the display of Ataulfo mangoes -

- and it was a good reminder: While  local produce “doldrums” are common in the shoulder season of March, there is still plenty of great produce available with a few more food miles on it, and maybe it’s just the time to take out a knife, grab that orange or mango or pineapple, and sink in.

Ataulfo mangoes, also called Champagne mangoes, are golden with a smooth, creamy consistency. They are the second most popular mango sold in the U.S., after the so-called Tommy Atkins mangoes with the green and red skin. They come to us from Mexico. Incredibly, in the Mexican State of Chiapas, mango production is just behind commodity agriculture crops like corn, beans, coffee, sugar cane, and cocoa.

I like to cut the sides off of a mango, avoiding the pit, and slice each side into a grid, then turn it inside out (you can cut a little more fruit off the pit, or use your teeth to get the rest of the pulp).

In India, Madhur Jaffrey tells us, kids used to put salt and chili pepper on mangoes. In Mexico and many South American countries, people like to dress up their fresh fruit with a sprinkle of cinnamon, which also has a spicy kick.

Anyway you slice it, mangoes are a treat, and a few extra vitamins (in the form of vitamin C and beta carotene) can't hurt this time of year, either.