Cravings gone overboard…

Okay, not really.  Actually that is half true – these watermelons are not for me but I have had major watermelon cravings with this pregnancy (much to the delight of Neal) and have bought 2 watermelons a week for the past two months.  I think I’ve definitely improved on my watermelon selection skills.

A few months back, I suppose before I got my nursery calling, I was asked to serve on the food committee for our upcoming Stake Youth Conference.  I tell ya, between this and making goodies for our Stake Gold and Green Ball, you would think that I would open up my own catering business.  But really, with this pregnancy, I haven’t wanted to deal with food, more than I have to anyway, and so these two big events have been a HUGE challenge for me.  Dealing with this much food is such a turn off for me right now.  But.. I will go, I will do, right? :)

This all happened last week and really I only ended up helping with Thursday’s meals as I was going out of town to St. Louis for the weekend.  It was extremely tiring and while I had fun,  I am discovering very quickly that I can have fun cooking, but I certainly don’t want to make a living out of it because it would surely kill me!  :)

I took no pictures of the event because I really didn’t have time.  It was so intense.  Oh well!

**EDIT: I just realized I didn’t make the connection between the two thoughts (clumsiness is also something I deal with in this pregnancy…) and I just wanted to make it clear that these watermelons were for youth conference.  I’m sure you made the connection on your own but oh well!

Aedan and the Giant Peach

"These foods are rare beyond compare - some are right out of reach;

But there's no doubt I'd go without

A million plates of each

For one small mite,

One tiny bite

Of this FANTASTIC PEACH!"

On the way back from dropping my mother-in-law off at the Charlotte airport, we decided to stop to see the Gaffney, SC water tower which was built to look like a giant peach. I remembered that I had seen a picture of it in a past Reader's Digest where they featured unusual water towers and so we thought we better take a picture while we could.

They both look sweet!

"And thus the journey ended."

(quotes from James and the Giant Peach)

So I know how water towers generally work (water towers are tall to provide pressure, the tank is enough to provide the community with a day's worth of water...) but of course I wanted to find out more and I found some interesting facts. I found a website that explains howstuffworks:

"In a city, tall buildings often need to solve their own water pressure problems. Because the buildings are so tall, they often exceed the height that the city's water pressure can handle. So a tall building will have its own pumps and its own water towers"

"Another interesting fact about water towers -- they can affect your insurance rates! During a fire, the water demand increases significantly and may greatly exceed the capacity of the pumps at the water plant. A water tower guarantees that there will be enough pressure to keep water flowing through the fire hydrants. Fire insurance rates are normally lower in a community in which the water system has water towers."

Well, here are a few other fun looking water towers that I haven't been to but I need to watch out for:

Basketball in McHenry Co - IL, Pineapple in Honolulu - HI, Catsup bottle in Madison Co. - IL

Coffee pot in Montgomery Co - IA, Globe in Montgomery Co - MD, Dixie cup in Fayette Co - KY

Mangoes On My Mind

I have had a really bad craving for mangoes today. I think it is because the weather has been warming up and I am ready for the tropical flavors now. On Neal's mission for our church in Bolivia, they called the mango a "trash fruit" as it was available in an overabundance. When I was younger I thought they tasted like rotten fruit but for some reason, it has really grown on me and I can't get enough of it now. It seems to be a very popular flavor in many Asian countries and I am amazed at the many different ways in which it is used. Perhaps, La Fuji Mama has already done a post about mangoes (sounds like something she would do and she sure is in a better position to do so) but I figure this will help stave off my cravings just a bit until tomorrow.

First off, I am amazed at how many people don't know how to cut a mango. Come on people, this is what makes eating mangoes fun!

I love dried mangoes but there is a difference in quality depending on where you get them (at the flea market at Aloha Stadium = good, in a bulk bin of your grocery store = bad). Mango Dofu (basically a gelatin/pudding mix) is very yummy, especially with diced mango in it. My Hong Kong family introduced us to this and it is a family favorite.

We loaded up on these mango gummies at the Aji Ichiban stores we saw all over in Hong Kong and at the Tokyo airport. These little treasures didn't last very long at our house. I have yet to introduce the mango jelly cups to my family but they are a fun slurpy treat - like mango jello in a tiny cup with a chunk of mango in it. These we can find at any asian grocery store, the gummies we have not found nearby. :(

The first picture is a variety of smoothies (incl mango) with black tapioca mixed in. We first had these in the Chicago area China town. If you have issues with texture, this one might not be for you but I promise, it is very good. Mango Calpico drinks are yummy (non-carbonated) and gotta love a good Mango Lassi. My taste buds tell me it is wrong to have Indian food without a Lassi.

I first had mango ice cream on Andros Island, Bahamas, from an old man who ran an ice cream shack. The second picture is mango mochi ice cream and I first had those in Hawaii but I am excited to find them at our local Asian grocery store. It is a ball of mango ice cream within a layer of mochi so you get this chewy outside with a chilly inside. I think we weird people out when we offer these babies but wow are they good.

The Fujis introduced us to some excellent Thai mango dishes when we were in Thailand a few years back - the first being Thai Sticky Rice with Mango and the second was something we ordered by chance and it turned out to be very good, the Thai Green Mango Salad. This dessert has become a standard for any fancy Thai dinner we host and it has been a while since I've made the salad as I don't often find green enough mangoes here. I rarely find an excellent ripe one too, they are mostly in between blahs.

Hopefully this has opened a whole new world for you or just made you share my cravings! Now get out there and tango with a mango!