Mango Galettes

Oh, hello again! Some of you might be wondering what hole I fell into since the last week. What happened was that my laptop finally decided it's tired of this life and severed its adapter jack from the motherboard. I guess it's served me kind of well over the last three and a half years considering in the last few months its battery no longer worked and wasn't really in stock anywhere. So, not super-portable. And since that time, I flew to San Francisco and didn't acquire a new laptop until recently. And nooo, it is not a Mac. I know some design freaks out there poo on PCs, but I don't really get the belly-aching. I work remarkably well with a PC-- we have a rhythm.

Anyway, so I'm out here, and meeting two of my faaavorite bloggers (and, since my social Venn diagram isn't super-expansive, that means they're two of my favorite people as well), Allen and Joe, and Marvin (more on those later). Without my trusty sidekick, I was able to devote a lot of time to doing fun activities with my host family's kids (my cousins), like cooking lunch, helping with the homework, and indulging the occasional need for a playmate (though chess isn't really challenging against a seven-year-old, Mario Kart on the Wii is). And then there is the simple joy of the Wii fit telling you every day to keep up the good work as you go through yoga poses in the exact opposite way you should be (screaming).

Lent just started for Catholics and I kid a lot about what I would be giving up, but going cold turkey on my blogging habits just made me realize how much time I spend being nearly sedentary. Ah, you thought I was going to mention desserts again, weren't you? Well, combine the two and you have a downward health spiral. But certainly the days when I have two entremets and a tart (oh yes, it has happened) are those when I spend a good 4 hours total walking, and I make it a point to cut back on the savory dish (probably balance it out by boiling a lettuce leaf and drinking the water I've drained from it).

I don't smoke or drink really (and now will likely not for a while after a recent episode of loopy e-mail writing UI), and it makes it a little harder for me to appreciate how hard it is to stop for my patients who do. ("What do I have to show you? A smoker's lung? Sarah Jessica Parker?") I don't nag my friends about it but I give them a concerned look, especially when they express how they really really need one. But no one gives me concerned looks when I go about my day, which is butt planted on the seat, going to the gym only a few times a week. Because the whole thing with blogging and being an academic is about the sitting. But at least it's given me a new perspective on how to talk to people who desperately need help.

So, how should I go about this? Should I get kids already?! (Uh, just stick to the Wii fit for a start.) I'm sure a lot of you have your own suggestions on how I can break the ass-widening cycle. (I expect at least one each of the following replies: babysitting, skiing, and mattress dancing.) Also, what would you consider your vice? No judgment, I promise!

Sooooo.... These mango galettes made from the best mangoes in the world (imagine me saying that with Tyra inflection) are not really going to help matters BUT they are totally worth it as an indulgence. It's part of Lisa's (of Spicy Ice Cream) project with me to work on a few recipes from the Tartine cookbook. Even if I was working in a kitchen at nearly body temperatures (and the pastry looked greasy and gross as I worked on it), the final result is one of the best pastry doughs I've made, and I've even shared it with someone else already. Click here to go to the recipe-- check out her gorgeous berry versions! As the mangoes were already sweet, I only needed a bit of sugar to sweeten them, to taste.