mango float-ish chia seed pudding
three cheers for mango season.
Greetings from offline! I’ve been spending July (mostly) off social media to embrace cancer season, Florida summer showers, and receive my 32nd cycle around the sun with open arms. As such, I’ve been cooking pretty much nonstop.
Being born and raised in South Florida taught me two things: coffee always tastes better from a window (and preferably with a pastelito or croqueta), and the best mangoes come free from friends, family, and, occasionally, strangers on the side of the road desperately try to get rid of them. The Northeast can have all the tomatoes and corn they want. For me and my house, mangoes will always reign supreme.
My original plan last weekend was to attend the annual Mango Festival at Fairchild Botanical Garden in Miami, but my introvert tanks were far past empty and I needed some quiet time at home. Fortunately, my pal Dani came in clutch and secured not one, not two, not three, but four giant boxes of perfectly ripe mangoes on her way back to Gainesville, and graciously delivered one to me earlier this week in between bouts of rain.
Fitting too, because I’d been wanting to test a chia seed pudding recipe that mimicked the flavors of mango float, a much beloved Filipino icebox cake that my sister-in-law introduced to me a couple of years back, and I have been completely enamored with since.
Consider it kismet.
Makes 4 small jars, or 2 big ones
Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup chia seeds
2 cups milk of choice
2-3 tablespoons condensed milk
Small pinch of salt
4-5 Graham crackers, crushed
1 fresh mango, peeled and cut into small cubes
Process:
Blend the oats, chia seeds, milk, condensed milk, and salt until combined. Set aside.
Sprinkle crushed graham crackers on the bottom of each of the jars, then spoon a layer of pudding and mango cubes on top. Continue to alternate layers until all the jars are full.
Put the jars in the fridge to set overnight. Pudding will keep for 2-3 days.
Guten appetit!