Thanks to a recommendation from a reader of this blog, I recently picked up “An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude” by Ann Vanderhoof. It’s the best kind of travel book, the colors and flavors of the trip described in such delicious detail that the reader feels immersed in the experience.

Ann and her husband left their jobs and home in Toronto for two years to sail the Caribbean. She kept detailed journals, and published the resulting book in 2003 (from Broadway Books).

Ann is a true foodie, interested in real-life flavors and recipes. She and her husband eat with the seasons as they travel, enjoying the same fish and vegetables and fruits that the people on land rely on each day. Here’s a passage that describes a trip to an outdoor market in Grenada:

“The smell of spices is so strong I can taste them. Heaps of gnarled ginger overflow their trays and vie for table space with finger-long pieces of cinnamon and mauby bark tied in neat bundles, pungent allspice berries, sharp little cloves, glossy mahogany nutmegs, and broom-sized bunches of gray-green thyme. And everywhere, everywhere, the sweet perfume of mangoes hangs in the air. It’s mid-August, the last glorious gasp of mango season, and every market table groans with them. We’ve been devouring them daily, a couple of times a day. Sometimes we do as we see the locals doing along the roadside, when they take a break from their work: cut slabs off the sides with a pocketknife, then pull the flesh from the skin with their teeth. But I also slice them and squirt them with lime for breakfast, turn them into salsas and salads, bake them into sweet crisps. With every mango I use, I stand over the sink and suck the last bits of sweetness off the flat seed, leaving fragrant, sticky trails of juice dripping off my chin. I have become a mango glutton, and I start to worry if my supply drops below half a dozen.”

She sprinkles the book with tempting recipes, ranging from Rum Punch to Bahamian Peas ‘n’ Rice to Curried Lobster to Cream of Calloo Soup, all simple enough to prepare in the boat’s tiny galley. Here’s her recipe for Mango Crisp. (If you don’t have enough mangoes on hand, you can substitute blueberries, raspberries or strawberries for some of the mangoes.)

MANGO CRISP

Yield: 8 servings

For topping:

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

1/3 cup cold butter

For fruit:

6 cups sliced ripe mango (about 3-4 mangoes)

1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

About 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch-square baking dish.

Prepare topping: In large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, nutmeg and ginger. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Prepare fruit: Toss mango with lime juice. Combine sugar and flour; toss with fruit. Taste; add sugar if desired. Spread fruit in dish.

Sprinkle topping over fruit. Bake until fruit is bubbling and topping is crisp and lightly browned, about 40-50 minutes. Serve warm.