Winter Citrus & Mango Frenzy

Magic happens when mangoes meet winter citrus I am lucky to live in California, a place where citrus literally falls off  trees in winter and brightens our rain soak days. Our grocery stores and farmers markets are brimming with a variety of  brightly hued choices  and my neighbors give me buckets of Meyer lemons,  mandarins,…

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Minneola Mini Mango Yogurt Cakes

Minneola Mini Mango Cakes with Mango Cremé Anglaise and Citrus & Barberry Floral Salsa This recipe  was adapted from Dori Greenspans Mediterranean Yogurt Cake with Clementines. I  took the concepts of  yogurt and olive oil cake and made it even moister by adding mango puree.  I got further inspired by love of the Middle East…

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Can Mangoes Make You Go Absinthe-Minded

I find out in this new cocktail recipe inspired by local Absinthe This cocktail is inspired by one of my favorite teas and a bottle of locally made (Marin County) absinthe I was gifted on a  recent writing assignment for Edible Marin & Wine Country Magazine.  (The Crespo Organic Kitchen creates its magic from my…

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The Squeezed Squeeze Back

Round Mango Market Difficulties Ahead Weeks 8-12 are the problem. Last Friday there was an early morning surge of mango chatter amongst industry folks.  A handful of the bigger conventional players released a series of statements —more like warnings, in the form of internal and external emails, the subject being massive shortages of round mangoes…

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Fresh Mango & Coconut Bubble Tea

& The Perfect Amount of QQ Bubble Tea is a Taiwanese invention said to have originated in the 80’s at a well-known tea stand.  Randomly some flavor was shaken into tea, the bubbles that formed with the shake essentially named the drink.  Milk tea was already quite common, so adding sweet flavors become new way…

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The Fruits of Crespo’s Labor

Direct trade tends be a quality-centric, mutually beneficial model where the farmer is the expert on production of a high-quality product, and the customer on product distribution to the consumer. The two parties exchange information on the challenges and opportunities, and they strategize to build long-term commerce relationships built on trust, transparency and respect.

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Smoking Mangoes

Stove-top winter smoking for fruity folks like me It’s winter so most of us, even here in coastal California, have put away our BBQ’s, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t smoking anything, it is after all California. Learning the art of indoor, stove-top smoking, offers great reward in terms of adding depth, flavor and  deep…

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