Caramelized Mangoes

Here's another dessert featuring fruit. I'm so tempted to bring this into restaurants around town! Why oh why, as a vegan, am I so often condemned to a generic bowl of berries for dessert, when they could so easily whip up something like this?? Serve the mangoes over vegan vanilla ice cream, or just eat them plain they're so delicious!

Slice 5 cups worth of mango into 1/2-inch wedges (about three mangoes). It took me a while to figure out how to properly slice a mango so as to retain the most fruit. First, peel the skin off the mango with a vegetable peeler. You'll notice that the mango has two sides that are slightly flatter, opposing one another. These are the sides you should cut off, using a good sharp knife. The pit of the mango extends into the two shorter sides, making it impossible to cut through. Once you have your two sides, cut into wedges like it's an apple or pear.

If that made no sense, follow this link: http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookbasics/ss/cutmango_2.htm

Set aside your mango wedges. Combine 1/3 cup raw sugar and 1/4 cup water in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then continue cooking 3 minutes until golden, without stirring. Add one tablespoon vegan butter, cut into small wedges (such as Earth Balance) to the pan, and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the mangoes and toss to coat, then cook for ten minutes until the mangoes are lightly browned, stirring frequently. (Confession: I think I should have cooked mine just a couple minutes longer for them to be sufficiently browned, so use the 'ten minute' cook time above loosely).

That's it! Now serve for dessert. Each 1 1/4 cup serving has 150 calories.

Cost:
mango $6.00

p.s. if you do choose to spoon this as a topping over "ice cream" there's a new vegan brand on my radar screen. The Soy Cream from Double Rainbow comes in absolutely incredible flavors! These mangoes would probably be best over plain Vanilla Bean, but they also have Cinnamon Caramel, Blueberry, and Coffee Almond Fudge, to name just a few. http://www.doublerainbow.com/