THAI MANGO SALAD

I am sure this is not entirely authentic but so delicious, nevertheless. I did not put in the usual mung bean sprouts.  Couldn't find them. These flavors are amazing.  To the average American, putting fish sauce in with mangoes is not necessarily appealing.  If you have never tried Thai, it's worth taking that taste risk. Something about the way the lime, cilantro and fish sauce play together that makes it absolutely appealing.  You will find this combination in other Asian dishes as well.

I totally will make this again but add in mung bean sprouts, carrots and maybe even lettuce.

THAI MANGO SALAD

1/2 cup coarsely chopped cashews
2 firm mangoes , sliced thinly
1 sweet red pepper, thinly slice
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons basil, Thai basil if you have it

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons granulated sugar, grated palm sugar, even better
1 teaspoon minced hot pepper
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
Toss the mangoes, red pepper, green onions, mint, basil and cilantro.  In a separate bowl whisk together the  dressing ingredients.  Stir into the mango mixture.  Sprinkle cashews over top. Serve with lime wedges.

One of my very dear friends shared with me 9 big, beautiful cloves of garlic from her garden.  I dutifully planted them in the Fall of last year.  I was rewarded with scapes in the Spring that I blitzed in the food processor with oil and froze.  (By the way, they lose their pungency after they have been frozen, which is a good thing for me because they are very strong) I was also rewarded these 8, huge garlic bulbs.  My biggest and best cloves will go to planting so that I can increase my garlic yield next year!  Yeah.  Garlic is one of the most expensive things at the market.  I have tried planting it before but for the last couple years when I went to look for it in the Fall to plant, I could not find any. They were bought out.  A few years before that I gave garlic a try with organic garlic from the store. I don't know if they were the right variety for our climate but I got very small heads. It was supremely disappointing.  This year though, EUREKA!  Thanks to my good friend, J.