Mangoes are in season and grown locally on Maui. Support your local farmer, like Patricia Iwamoto of Yee’s Orchard (one of Maui’s oldest mango farms) by buying local mangoes. The Yees were pioneers of mango-growing on Maui, planting their first tree 63 years ago. Now Yee’s Orchard Fruit Stand in Kihei is a favorite stop for mango lovers–you can even find reviews written by visitors on Yelp. Mangoes flower from December to April, and the fruit is ready to harvest around May, bringing us their glorious sweet sunshine-blessed flesh throughout the summer. Even green mangoes are revered for their pickling; you can find this local treat on roadside stands, like the one advertising “pickle mango” I stopped at recently in Ukumehame. Shoyu mango is an easy snack that we ate as kids: just mix shoyu and vinegar to taste, then add semi-ripe mango for this umami snack.
For those who like an altogether different fruit, cherry season in the Northwest starts in June and lasts until the end of August. This month, Longhi’s Lahaina bakery manager Michelle Fabiani is honoring the Rainier Cherry, known for its pale yellow color and sweet flesh, by offering a special Chocolate Cherry Tart. You can indulge yourself and help control your blood pressure at the same time: cherries are a superfood loaded with potassium, which can lower the risk of hypertension and strokes. National Rainier Cherry Day is July 11.
To make your own Cherry Pie, Longhi’s shares this recipe:
Chocolate Cherry Tart
Use your favorite pie crust recipe for a 10″ pie and one for the lattice top.
3 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips melted
1½ # of pitted cherries
½ cup of apricot glaze or jam melted
3 cups whipped cream
Blind bake pie shell bottom and lattice top. Set aside and cool. With a pastry brush paint the bottom and sides of the pie shell with the melted chocolate. Chill. Place cherries in the pie shell. Brush the cherries with the melted apricot glaze so the cherries bind together. Place lattice crust on top of pie. Pipe whipped cream around outer edge of pie and garnish with chocolate shavings and powdered sugar.
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