Like many celebs, Kevin Bacon has been a delight during lockdown by allowing selected glimpses into his private world with wife Kyra Sedgewick. He’s not divulging any major Bacon family secrets, just letting us peek in a few windows. Recently, Kevin did a short video for TikTok to discuss his Morning Mango Routine (doesn’t everyone have a morning mango routine?) Fortunately, for us non TikTok-ers, he also posted it to Twitter. So here it is, folks, since I know you were dying to see how Kevin eats a mango:
Forgive the whispering, someone (and I’ll name names here @kyrasedgwick) was still asleep. I often like to have a little #MorningMango. What’s your favorite fruit trick? Hope you enjoy the accidental #ASMR. pic.twitter.com/ZYHOmvl9aV
— Kevin Bacon (@kevinbacon) August 22, 2020
A couple of things: I’m relishing the irony of a man named Bacon discussing non-bacon related breakfast foods, even though I get how obvious the joke is. Second, I am of the ‘fell in lust with Kevin during Footloose’ generation so watching him bear down on that mango made me sit down and take a moment. I was once in a crosswalk in front of Kevin’s car and my toddler daughter got away from me, veering in his direction (it was a gorgeous car, I get her motivation). When I regained control of her hand, I mouthed sorry at the driver before I knew who it was. Kevin gave me his famous side mouth smile and two-finger it’s-okay salute with his hand still on the leather rimmed steering wheel. It was so effortlessly sexy I almost lost control of my kid a second time. But I digress. Why I wrote about this is because I want to talk about food. Don’t you? Don’t we all? As for Kevin’s mango and chili – it’s delicious. I agree he overloaded the chili powder in parts, I would do a light dusting, but the lime squeeze is what pulls that all together.
Now, those of us on the West Coast have grown up eating the popular Mexican seasoning Tajín on fruit. It’s sold in the produce aisle of the grocery store because it pairs so well with virtually all fruit and vegetables. It is comprised of: chili peppers, lime and sea salt. So Kevin is just doing an at home version of that and I can attest, it’s delicious! It also looks refreshing and, as some of you know, we’ve been going through a heatwave in California the past few weeks. So anything cool and flavorful, especially if you don’t have to fire up an oven is marvelous at this point. The whispering and slurping Kevin does in the vid just enhances the experience as a whole
To that end, I wanted to share a few food items I’ve been enjoying lately. I’m trying very hard to improve my diet so instead of reaching for the tortillas to snack on, I am back to one of my favorite snacks – cottage cheese with a spoonful of fresh salsa. I find cottage cheese and fruit too sweet so I avoid fruit based salsas, and generally stick to a restaurant style salsa fresca. If I just want a kick, I do the cottage cheese with a couple of shots of Tapitio. I love cottage cheese as a snack because if you train yourself to eat it in small forkfuls, even singling the big curds out for a single bite, it fills you up so you only need about a quarter cup max. My husband has been frying up some tofu in small bites. He seasons them heavily with salt and pepper and cooks them in cooking spray on a cast iron griddle. They get a little crunch and just a handful dipped in the hot sauce of your choice makes for a nice protein rich snack. If you don’t need to focus on protein, plain popcorn tossed with chili powder and a squeeze of lime is delicious too. You can put a few shots of hot sauce on the popcorn instead, just be careful how much so the stuff at the bottom doesn’t get soggy.
But, the real reason I wanted to discuss food is because of this Balsamic steak and gorgonzola salad we had the other night. I got it from Aberdeen’s Kitchen with whom I have no association, and this is not an ad, but it was so good, I feel the need to share it. The thing that delighted me the most was first of all was how beautifully the flavors worked in harmony for a mouthful of deliciousness. We added cucumber. We did not add, but agreed after the fact, that half an avocado, cubed, would have worked beautifully with it. And, like with all salads, you can keep certain items out if you have picky eaters and just add them to your own dish. Here’s the recipe. Happy noming!
Photo credit: Instagram and Twitter
That mango dish can be found anywhere there’s a large Latinx population. They are sold by pushcart vendors all over Chicago (along with elotes).
In Miami.. Dadeland Mall to be exact, there is a stall that spiralizes mangoes and you can add various seasonings etc,
It’s reminiscent of green papaya salad in Thai restaurants.
Yes. My college-age son eats mango that way because of the pushcart vendor that sold it outside his CPS school every day when he was younger. That’s where he learned to like street corn, too.
Yesss…. mangonadas,chamoy, tajin…I want it all. I live in San Antonio- it’s very popular here.
India – raw mango with salt and chili powder!
I haven’t even read the article yet, but tasty!!!
Edit: now that I’ve read it, definitely Tajin. I put it on almost all summer fruits and on loaded corn. It’s so good.
I got bored one time and put it on a popsicle. It was good on that too!
Tasty. With Tajin it’s especially good. Also orange sections, green or jazz apples sprinkled with Tajin. Yummy. It’s a Latin thing. In college I worked with a guy from Goa, India who sprinkled salt and pepper in his OJ. Said it was cultural. 🤷🏽♀️
My mother in law roasted Christmas nuts in Taijin thus past year and it was amazing. It really does work on everything.
Tajin rocks my world. Tajin is great on all melons, mangos, apples. A popular Mexican fruit salad usually has a bunch of melon, other kinds of fruits, and jicama that adds an amazing crunch, all topped with lime and tajin. Jicama is a pain to prepare so I pretty much only have it at parties, but it’s a party staple here in the Southwest so I get my fix now and then.
Mmm jicama w lime and chili.
It’s hard to get here and a gamble that it won’t be brown inside already.
I’m lazy af and get jicama from Trader Joes pre-cut. I think it’s only around this time of year.
Reminds me of some Mexican drinks and ices we enjoy. It’s all very good. They’re sold everywhere down here.
I was never a fan of mango but I’m absolutely fixated on the mango-chili-lime combo (I’m actually planning on making grilled mango-chili-lime chicken tonight)
I will be right over! <3 Tajin. One of the first things I tried when I relocated from the midwest to California was mangos from a cart. They asked what I wanted on it and I said everything! The vendors in my neighborhood would squeeze a key lime into the baggie before adding the Tajin. Sooooo good. I will have to try it with chicken!
ooh thanks for the recommendation. I’ve been using a mango-habenero blend I found in the store to rub on the chicken and then marinating in a fresh mango-lime juice blend but will have to look for Tajin!
Why would it be gross it’s not gross, many people eat it as a snack.
Yeah, I’m tired of people calling certain established food recipes/snacks/cuisines as “gross” when a very large population eat it and have been eating it for a long time. If it’s foreign because it’s “ethnic,” you don’t need to label it pejoratively. It’s rude and discriminatory.
We need to stop labeling and talking about ethnic foods from a white person’s perspective. So many recipes and cuisines are co-opted by white chefs and they completely leave out the origins of that dish, spice, herb and the people who have been using it or cultivating it for generations, if not centuries. I’m tired of this white lens that food is seen through.
So many people in North America are so uneducated on world cuisines, even with the proliferation of cooking shows featuring dishes from all around the world. It’s like they all have tunnel vision and have Americanized Asian dishes, Italian, Mexican, Indian, and it becomes a disgusting, fatty and unhealthy co-opting of really good and healthy recipes. If you’re going to plagiarize a recipe, at least give credit where credit is due – the originators of the recipe.
I agree, when I was a kid in Hungary, we would eat all parts of animals, like chicken and pig. While in the UK where I live now, they only eat certain parts and it is such a waste.
On another note, I cannot eat chilli and I noticed that there is an increasing trend of putting chillies in everything (I assume because they are trying to reduce salt) and it is making my life hard, I have to read the small print on everything now and check with takeaways and restaurants.
I’ve recently been eating local peaches with a light dusting of tajin. Yum. I usually have papaya, mango, pineapple, banana and chickpeas with tajin and lime juice as a lunch or snack. Sometimes I add Greek yogurt diluted with lime juice and crushed tortillas chips to it.
This sounds delightful (and healthy)! I’m adding tajín to my amazon cart. So glad I read this today!
This is a staple in our Mexican household. Love tajin on everything, just had it with watermelon.
I put it on watermelon, too…and mango, and peaches, and pineapple, etc.
I am Mexican as well and grew up eating this. It is so refreshing and tasty.
I ave seen Kevin Bacon along with his wife and dogs on a trail here in Los Angeles, I have to say that he looks so good and his pups are pretty cute as well 🙂
Now I’m craving one of those mango flavored suckers with chili powder coated on top.
Tajin on everything and they have it at aldis!
Definitely not gross! A squeeze of lime improves everything!
I love this post! Chilis and salt is also excellent on grapefruit! I put tajin on near everything, including cottage cheese.
I like my cottage cheese savory as well. For lunch I like to take about half a cup, warm slightly (like 15 seconds in the microwave, just enough to not be super cold) and then add whatever mixed seasoning I’m feeling that day. Pizza, Fajitta, etc. And if I’m feeling like I need more substance or texture, I throw in a few pieces of pre-cooked grilled chicken strips.
This summer I have been living on watermelon w/ Tajin, and cucumbers w/ Tajin. Cold, crunchy goodness!
That made my mouth water. I’m ordering mango with my groceries this week for sure. Kevin Bacon has always seems liked a lovely human being. After the Kimberly Guilfoyle videos, his was very soothing.
Mango (esp green mango) with salt and chilli
powder is street food throughout Southeast and South Asia. It’s so delicious. Are the Mexican mangoes available on the West Coast tastier than the cardboard we get here in Toronto, I wonder?
Trader Joe’s chili lime seasoning on pineapples, peaches, and melon is absolutely heavenly.
I’m so glad you talked about Tajín and mentioned it is a common way Mexican ppl eat their mango. We add chilli to almost every fruit. It is the BEST.
Also, I’m gay but he is still the cutest thing ☺️
Thanks for the Kevin Bacon post. I have enjoyed his posts during quarantine, especially the duets with Kyra. Everyone should be so lucky to have someone look at them like he looks at her- couple goals.
Not gross at all! I put Tajin on mangoes, pineapple and watermelon…so good, especially as a summer snack.
Yum. My sister in law introduced me to cottage cheese with diced tomatoes and basil, sort of like a twist on caprese salad. 20+ years later and my stomach can’t handle cottage cheese anymore.
I like the tofu idea. I used to bake/roast cubes tofu with a splash of olive oil and salt or sometimes soy sauce and tahini. Taking a break now as we overdid it for a stretch. I hadn’t thought about doing it on the stove, I need to try that.
He’s got charisma, doesn’t he?
One of my favorite salads right now is the weirdly delicious melon salad from a local place. It is greens, prosciutto, melon, jalapeño and bocconcini. Sounds strange, but soooo good.
Damn that sounds gooooood! Will have to try it!
Trader Joe’s used to sell dried mango with chili seasoning. I used to keep a bag of it in my desk for mid-afternoon snacks.
Tasty!
it’s a Latin thing, the headline was pretty harsh and ignorantAF. we all know the choices should be….tasty or mutha-effing amazing!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣 I don’t think many people will jump on the bandwagon as fast as they did the avocado toast one…..more mangos for me!!!!😃😃😃
This is a Latin world staple. Not gross or weird at all.
I lived in Mexico for several years back in the early seventies and mango or jicama sprinkled with tajin and lime juice was a staple. I still love it! I also use tajin when I make jerk chicken – I make a mango salsa with it as an accompaniment.
I grew up in Texas and know plenty of people who sprinkle tajin on their fruit. One of my coworkers would bring in a bottle when he brings a fruit tray to the office.
I’ve also seen my Japanese friends and family sprinkle salt on watermelon. They say it makes it taste more sweet.
I just stuck our container of Tajin next to our salad for dinner tonight-yum.
My favourite fruit forever and ever is mango and this is my summer treat, a ripe and nice mango with lime, chilli flakes or tajin and homemade chamoy. Yummy. Even my toddler is addicted to mango without the spice and lime but not so much my lhusband who didn’t grow up used to this delicacy. I’m glad that in Toronto I can find mangos from my home country during all summer.
Go to Southeast Asia, everyone eats it like that. Mango, chili peppers and salt. Y’all should try it.