Mango Chicken Salad and Mango Lassi

Last fall, a shopper was woman-handling the peaches at a nearby grocery, squeezing one then another for ripeness. "The produce here is terrible," she complained loudly to no one in particular. I attempted to explain, “It's past-season for peaches." She stared my way as if I were daft and answered with ferocity. "Not anymore. You can get them all year."

So we can. But that doesn’t mean we should, not when the peach orchards of Missouri and southern Illinois bear juicy-sweet fruit all July and August, plenty time for gorging.

But what about fruit that doesn’t grow nearby? How much should ‘season’ matter when fruit is imported from California or Mexico?

I asked these questions while peeling and cutting mangoes these past few weeks, breathing deeply to capture the unfamiliar scent, licking my fingers to capture the stickiness. If Missourians were strict locavores, we’d forego artichokes, bananas, lemons, oranges, figs, blueberries, cherries and … and … and …

The locavore movement is all well and good but who wants to give up tropical fruit? Mangoes remind me to be grateful for global food distribution. Surely, surely, there’s room in our world for swapping mangoes and peaches.

ALANNA’s TIPS A mango lassi is an easy addiction! If you can’t find fresh mangoes, look for cans of mango puree in a market that sells Indian ingredients or jars of mango slices in the produce section of larger supermarkets. Trader Joe’s some times has bags of frozen mango pieces, they’re great. Once the almond extract is added, take a quick taste. To my taste anyway, no additional sugar is needed. For an extra-special treat, substitute a dollop of sour cream for the yogurt. Yum!