Day 74

Summer time in Australia is all about seafood and barbies, and outdoorsy eating.  One of the phenomenon I'm sure I'lln ever understand is prawns and mangoes.  Now I know that we get these in NZ but seriously in Australia the fish markets go NUTs before christmas with punters loading up on their seafood. We are talking about massive queues and parking traffic jams with the traffic situation updated on the radio traffic reports. And a couple of christmas's ago, my sister delegated to me the precious job of cutting up the mangoes for breakfast.  I'm always pretty stressed in her kitchen for fear I'll wash the lettuce the wrong way or stir the pot in the wrong direction, so when entrusted with a tray of mangoes and a table full of eager Aussie/kiwis, I was under the pump.  And made a hash of it.

But in my own home, I thought I'd dodged the prawn/mango bullets.

Until Smith asked me if he could have a mango the other day, and in the spirit of encouraging my children to eat as much fruit as possible, I brought one, and proceeded to destroy it as I attempted to cut it up.  The second mango was more successful as he decided that instead of eating it, it would now become his "new best friend", and he drew a face on it instead, slept with it that night and took it to kindy for Show and Tell (in a plastic bag by now as it had an ominous bulge out the side that sounded very slushy).
But the fact remains, I live in Australia and I need to embrace all things Australian.  Like cutting up mangoes the right way.  Although I absolutely draw the line at queuing at fish markets on Christmas Eve for overpriced prawns.  That will take a little longer to get used to.

So how do you cut a mango?

Watch this and find out, although promise me you won't hold the knife like the guy - I have a knife/blade  phobia.
You get it? It's all about the cheeks, slice off big fat cheeks, checker board them, then flip them inside out.  So simple!
I'd better order up a tray for christmas.