An Embarrassment of Mangoes (36 page)

One-Pot Coconut Brownies

Leave out the coconut and coconut milk, and you have the basic brownies we took to Dingis and Gennel. The recipe, which was adapted from one in
Cottage Life’s Summer Weekend Cookbook
, by Jane Rodmell, is ideal for making in a galley, since you’re left with only one pot to wash. The original calls for melted marshmallows on top—a bit of finesse that I dispensed with onboard. But I “islandized” the recipe after seeing a suggestion on a box of coconut milk powder.

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate (3 squares)

1⁄2 cup butter

11⁄4 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2⁄3 cup flour

1⁄3 cup coconut milk powder (see Tip, below)

1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1⁄2 cup fresh shaved or coarsely grated coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-9-inch pan.

2. In a medium saucepan melt chocolate and butter. Remove from the heat, and add sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir until smooth.

3. Stir in flour, coconut powder, baking powder, salt, and nuts. Mix well.

4. Spread mixture in prepared pan. Sprinkle coconut shavings on top.

5. Bake for about 25–30 minutes, or until brownies dimple slightly when you press them in the center. (If coconut shavings begin to get too brown, cover top loosely with aluminum foil.)

6. Cool and cut into squares.

Makes 16–20 brownies

Tip

• Instant coconut milk powder is available in boxes in U.S. and Canadian stores that carry a selection of Caribbean foods. If you can’t find it, substitute 1 teaspoon coconut extract and omit the vanilla.

References

Books and periodicals

Doyle, Chris,
The Cruising Guide to the Leeward Islands: 1998–1999 Edition
(Cruising Guide Publications, 1998).

———,
Sailors Guide to the Windward Islands
(Cruising Guide Publications, 1996).

Fuson, Robert H., transl.,
The Log of Christopher Columbus
(International Marine, 1987).

Glinton-Meicholas, Patricia,
How to Be a True-True Bahamian
(Guanima Press, 1994).

———,
More Talkin’ Bahamian
(Guanima Press, 1995).

Grenada Today: The National Newspaper of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique
, August 7, 1998.

Hamilton, Edward,
Rums of the Eastern Caribbean
(Tafia Publishing, 1997),
www.ministryofrum.com
.

Hendrickson, Robert,
The Ocean Almanac
(Doubleday, 1984).

Moeller, Jan, and Moeller, Bill,
The Intracoastal Waterway: Norfolk to Miami, A Cockpit Cruising Handbook
(McGraw Hill, 1997).

Parsons, Kathy,
Spanish for Cruisers: Boat Repairs and Maintenance Phrase Book
(Aventuras Publishing Company, 2000).

Pavlidis, Stephen J.,
On and Off the Beaten Path: The Central and Southern Bahamas Guide
(Seaworthy Publications, 1997).

Sheriff, Marguerite, “A Ride on the Board Bus,”
The Melibea Review
, March 1998 (on-line at
www.cruisingthecaribees.com/boardbus.htm
).

Van Sant, Bruce,
The Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South: The Thornless Path to Windward
(Cruising Guide Publications, 1996).

Warner, William W.,
Beautiful Swimmers: Watermen, Crabs and the Chesapeake Bay
(Little, Brown and Company, 1976, 1994).

Music

Baha Men,
Junkanoo!
(Big Beat Records, 1992).

Buffett, Jimmy,
Somewhere over China
(MCA Records, 1981).

Quinn, Eileen,
No Significant Features
(1997) (
www.eileenquinn.com
).

Rudder, David,
Beloved
(Lypsoland, 1998).

———,
The Gilded Collection 1986–1989
(Lypsoland, 1993).

Organizations

New Life Organisation/Newlo (P.O. Box 609, St. George’s, Grenada, W.I.; ([email protected]).

Acknowledgments

Many, many thanks to Charlie Conrad, my editor at Broadway Books, for all his professional help, ideas, and attention every step of the way. And special thanks to Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists for her boundless enthusiasm from the start. Maya Mavjee and Brad Martin at Doubleday Canada were among the first to champion this book; a particular thank you to them. I am also extremely grateful for the assistance of Alison Presley at Broadway Books, who did many things—including baking some of my recipes.

A big thank you as well to Mom and Dad, who instilled early on a love of travel, a love of food, and a love of the kitchen; to Myrna and Murray Manley, the ultimate good sports; to our cruising buddies Belinda and Todd Jackson, Carol and Jack Farmer, Nancy and Terry Newton, and all the other cruisers we laughed and learned with along the way; to Elizabeth Narayan and Gennel Narine, who opened their hearts and home to us; to singlehanders Cleo Boudreau and Ed Hagar, who shared arcane knowledge; to Herb Hilgenberg, who helped us avoid bad weather; to home economist Jill Snider, who tested many of my recipes; to Christina Hartling, keeper of my e-mail correspondence; to Sari Bercovitch, Peter Broecker, and John Warren, who kept business running back home so we could concentrate on cruising; to all the islanders who welcomed us; and, above all, to Steve, who convinced me I could do it.

AN EMBARRASSMENT OF MANGOES.
Copyright © 2003 by Ann Vanderhoof. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information, address Broadway Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

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and its logo, a letter B bisected on the diagonal, are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Visit our website at
www.broadwaybooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Vanderhoof, Ann, 1952–
An embarrassment of mangoes : a Caribbean interlude / Ann Vanderhoof.—1st ed.

p. cm.

1. West Indies—Description and travel.  2. Vanderhoof, Ann, 1952—Travel—West Indies.

I. Title.

F1613.V36 2004

972.905'3—dc21

2003052354

Map designed by David Cain

eISBN: 978-0-7679-1804-6

v3.0