About

Saludos, I'm so happy you're here!

I'm a physical anthropology nerd, frequent traveler, good food-seeker, and poor grad student soon-to-be totally lost 20-something out in the world.  For the purposes of the blogosphere, my name is Miel.

There are few simple pleasures more satisfying than sitting on the porch, pocketknife in hand, carefully peeling a mango.  There's a technique: halve it longways around the pit, then cut a grid into one half without slicing the skin.  Turn the skin inside out, so the cubes of fruit are in the perfect position to snack on.  Then sprinkle a dash of salt over the mango half, wait until the crystals dissolve and enjoy.

I've had the very good fortune to experience this satisfaction during hot sunsets on quite a few different porches in quite a few different countries-- Panama, Mexico and Nicaragua among them.  I savored the Chilean version sipping mango sours in the port-side bars of Valparaiso. In my hometown of Albuquerque there's a paleteria in the South Valley that serves mango popsicles in cups of chili powder and salt.

I take a little bit of all of these places with me whenever I step into the kitchen-- their languages and culture, the characters I've met, the foreign and familiar smells, spices and flavors of the food itself.  The South also has a strong influence on me, living in Louisiana as I do and with family born and raised below the Mason-Dixon line.  My friends are Indian-food fans, come from Swiss, Peruvian, Jewish, Polish, German and Colombian families and live scattered across all regions of the U.S., providing me with an endless array of recipe inspiration.

I believe in simplicity, nutritious food tasting good, combining new flavors and textures, and the whole experience of eating-- the ingredients, the cooking, the presentation and the sharing with friends and family.  The recipes found here might be family heirlooms, new experiments, Primal/Paleo-compliant, comfort food or all of the above.  For the most part, though, they are all on a budget and gluten-free.

You can reach me at saltedmango (at) gmail (dot) com or 'like' Mango y Sal with the button to your right.  In case you're interested in the blogs I frequent for excellent recipe ideas and beautiful photos, click here.

Buen provecho!