Allison's Coconut Vegetable Curry

Another delicious curry recipe.  It also makes amazing leftovers!

Recipe and Image from Love and Lemons

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• 1 cup chopped yellow onion

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• ½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger

• ½ teaspoon cumin

• ¼ teaspoon coriander

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric

• ¼ teaspoon cardamom

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 2 cups cubed butternut squash (or sweet potatoes)

• 3 red Thai chiles, or 1 serrano, or ½ jalapeño, thinly sliced

• 2 cups cauliflower florets

• 1 can full-fat coconut milk

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving

• 4 cups fresh spinach

• ½ cup fresh or frozen peas

• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and well-browned, about 10 minutes, reducing the heat to low halfway through.
• In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, and salt. Set aside.
• Add the butternut squash and chiles to the pot, stir, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the cauliflower and then add the coconut milk and the spice mixture. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
• Add the lemon juice, lime juice, spinach, peas, and stir. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding additional lime juice, salt, and pepper, as desired.
• Serve the curry over the rice with fresh basil, naan bread, if desired, and lime wedges on the side.

For serving:

• 2 cups cooked basmati rice

• a few big handfuls of fresh basil or cilantro

• Naan bread, optional

Garden Salsa

It's garden salsa season!  An abundance of garden tomatoes has led to a daily snack of chips and salsa.  This year I have discovered that heirloom tomatoes make amazing salsa.  They are so sweet and have less seeds, but you can also make this salsa with ANY variety of tomatoes you have on hand.  Each batch tastes slightly different due to the tomatoes, but it is always delicious!

image from here

In a food processor combine: 
3-5 cups tomatoes (or about 5 LARGE tomatoes)
1/2 of one small white onion

2 cloves garlic
juice from 1 lime or 5 drops lime oil
1/4 cup cilantro
1 bell pepper (any color)
1-2 jalapeños (seeds removed)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp Tone's Southwest Chipotle Seasoning*
1/2 tsp salt (add more at end to taste)

*Feel free to experiment with other spices in place of this if you don't have it.  You can double the amount of cumin, or add some chipotle seasoning, smoked paprika, chili powder, etc.  Also note, the sweetness depends on your fresh tomatoes!

Tilapia Fish Tacos with Mango Peach Salsa

I had never had a fish taco until about three years ago.  To many that may be crazy!  It always sounded a bit weird to me, but I finally made the plunge...and now it is a family favorite!  We especially like this in the summer, but anytime is good.  Trader Joes is a great place to get your tortillas, breaded, tilapia, sprouts, chili lime seasoning, and peach/mango salsa!

Image from here.

Breaded Tilapia (bake according to box directions and cut into strips)
Flour or corn tortillas
sliced avocado
Trader Joes Peach/Mango Salsa (or another favorite brand or a fresh salsa works great too)
sliced radishes
sprouts
Cabbage Slaw (see recipe below)
*jalapenos optional
*limes for serving
*Chili Lime seasoning from Trader Joes for extra flavor/kick

Cabbage Slaw 16 oz:
red/green cabbage
shredded carrots
Coleslaw Dressing:
1/2 c. sour cream
3 TBS honey
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
-Note the coleslaw will seem very dry.  The longer it sits in the dressing, the more it will soften.

No-Churn Mango Coconut Lime Ice Cream

So fresh, delicious, and unusual!  This was really easy to whip up and since I never have my ice cream freezer bowl ready  to go (too much stuff already in my freezer!) this is nice if you want to make ice cream last minute.  (Picture credit goes to Beaming Baker).

In a blender, blend the following:
1 1/2 cup frozen mangos (prefer Trader Joes brand--they are less fibrous)
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 14 oz can coconut cream (not milk)
1/2 tsp coconut extract
3-5 drops lime oil (or can use juice/zest from one lime)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
-After blending, pour into a baking dish.  Cover with plastic wrap and freeze at least 6 hours or overnight.  Let soften about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

Key Lime Cheesecake

This recipe is adapted from melskitchencafe.com.  I made use a few minor alterations from her original recipe.  It is delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 14 rectangle graham crackers, crushed)
• 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

FILLING:

• 3 packages (24-ounces total) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream (full fat)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• Zest from 1 lime, about 1-2 teaspoons
• 1/2 cup  tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3 large eggs

TOPPING 1:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Limes or additional lime zest for garnish, optional

TOPPING 2 Option:

Berry Coullis

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Position the oven racks so one is just above the middle position and the other is in the bottom third of the oven. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter and mix until the graham cracker crumbs are evenly coated in sandy in texture. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
3. Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool while you prepare the filling.
4. In a large bowl with an electric mixer (or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer), whip the cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch and lime zest together until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the lime juice (or lemon + lime juice) and mix until combined. Add the eggs and mix until just combined (over mixing can cause the cheesecake to crack while baking thanks to all the extra air beat into the filling).
5. Pour the cheesecake filling over the crust and spread evenly. Place a metal 9X13-inch or similar-sized pan on the bottom rack of the oven and pour in 2-3 cups of boiling water. Immediately place the cheesecake on the upper rack and bake for 50-60 minutes until the cheesecake is set around the edges. A slight jiggle in the center of the cheesecake is fine.
6. Turn the oven off and prop the oven door open about 4 inches. Keep the cheesecake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.
7. Refrigerate the cheesecake overnight.
8. When ready to serve, whip together the cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until thick and creamy. Either spread the whipped cream evenly over the cheesecake or pipe it around the edges with a large star piping tip or just dollop a spoonful on each individual piece. Garnish with lime slices or lime zest, if desired.
9. Topping Option 2:  Server with a Berry Coullis sauce.

NOTES:

Keep in mind this cheesecake needs to chill overnight so plan ahead.

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 c. uncooked jasmine rice
1 tsp lime zest
juice from 1 lime
1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp salt

-Cook Rice according to package directions.  Remove from heat and add zest, lime juice, cilantro, and salt.  Stir to combine.

Garlic Lime Dressing

This is delicious on steamed veggies or on the "Romaine Tomato Salad". A little goes a LONG way with this! Therefore I usually always toss the salad with the dressing before serving instead of serving the dressing on the side.

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (or fresh lemon juice)
1/2 cup light olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
freshly ground pepper (about 10-15 turns)

-To prevent separation, blend all ingredients for about 2minutes. You don't have to do this, but then you don't have to shake the dressing each time you want to use it.