Tag: Coconut Milk

New Jersey Style Loco Moco

One of my favorite cookbooks is Love and Olive Oil‘s Breakfast for Dinner. (I did a post highlighting their Huevos Rancheros Tacos a while back.) So it’s probably not surprising that I make a few recipes from this cookbook on a regular basis. One that I love to make in particular is their version of the Hawaiian dish Loco Moco.

 

New Jersey Style Loco Moco

 

Typical Loco Moco is usually made with white rice, topped with a hamburger patty (or spam), a fried egg, and brown gravy. Love and Olive Oil’s version substitutes coconut sticky rice for the white rice, uses ground pork instead of the hamburger patty, and finishes the dish off with a sweet-spicy-salty soy sauce reduction rather than brown gravy.

I decided to alter their recipe slightly to give it a local spin; this version is topped with pork roll (or Taylor ham) instead of the ground pork, and this recipe for New Jersey-style Loco Moco was born!

Pork Roll is originally from Trenton, New Jersey (hence the name of this post), but can also be found in parts of Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. The pork product is thinly sliced and pan fried and is a staple in most breakfast places in the area.

adapted from Love and Olive Oil’s Loco Moco Recipe

Ingredients:

Coconut Rice:

  • 2 cups white sticky rice
  • 1 cup coconut milk

Soy Reduction:

  • 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce (or low sodium coconut aminos to make gluten free)
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon sriracha

Toppings:

  • 4 slices pork roll
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • ground pepper, to taste
  • 4 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh cilantro

 

Note: White sticky rice is sold as sweet rice and can be found at specialty grocers and Asian food stores. I was able to find it at Wegman’s.

 

Continue reading New Jersey Style Loco Moco

Curry Shrimp in Coconut Milk

Next week, many Philadelphia restaurants will be participating in Caribbean Cuisine Week.

The week, held from April 8th – April 10th this year, helps raise funds to send over 700 high school athletes from Trinidad, Jamaica, St. Vincent and Grenada to attend the 2015 Penn Relays.

 

The Penn Relays is the largest track and field meet in the United States and draws over 110,000 people to Philadelphia each Spring.

 

 

CCW partners with restaurants throughout Center City by encouraging the Chefs to prepare Caribbean inspired dishes and offer as specials. The restaurants will donate 5% of food proceeds from the three day period to help bring the students to Philadelphia.

 

The list of participating restaurants can be found here. One of the restaurants participating, 48th Street Grille in West Philly, invited some local bloggers to check out their offerings. 48th Street Grille is a Caribbean-American restaurant led by Executive Chef Carl Lewis Sr. who is originally from Jamaica and brings the flavors and spirit of his home to his food.

 

 

Appetizers included garlic roasted shrimp, jerk chicken quesadillas, 5 island wings, and my personal favorite, conch fritters.

 

Garlic Roasted Shrimp
Jerk Chicken Quesadillas
5 Island Wings

Fried Conch Fritters

 

We were also treated to quite a few of their entrees, including sweet chili glazed salmon, jerk chicken, and savory curried chicken, which were all amazing. I am fairly certain I had dreams about the curried chicken sauce that night (I loved it so much, I didn’t even take a photo! boo), while my fiance was wowed by the flavors and tenderness of the jerk chicken.

 

Chili Glazed Salmon
Jerk Chicken

 

In case we weren’t full enough, we were also served mashed yams with scallions, green beans, and braised cabbage.

 

Mashed Yams with Scallions
Green Beans
Braised Cabbage

 

I wanted to share with you a Caribbean-inspired recipe given to me by CCW, in case you don’t live in the area and can’t participate next week.

I turned this recipe for Curry Shrimp in Coconut Milk into a main dish by serving it over coconut rice, but it also would work well as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

  • 2 (14 oz) cans lite coconut milk, divided
  • 1.5 cups uncooked rice (or about 1 can full)
  • 2 tablespoons margarine
  • 1 cup onion, chopped
  • 1 1⁄2 tablespoons curry
  • 1/2 cup bell peppers, diced (I used an assortment of green, red, and orange peppers)
  • 1/2 cup plum tomatoes, diced
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1 1⁄2 tablespoons of sugar
  • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Continue reading Curry Shrimp in Coconut Milk

Spiked Mint Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate

Today (February 19) is National Chocolate Mint Day! With the cold temperatures across most of the U.S., I think we can all use a nice warm beverage to keep us toasty, and this is the perfect food holiday for such a beverage! So, I present: Spiked Mint Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate!

Blue Chair Bay must feel the same way, so I developed this non-dairy hot chocolate beverage to pair with their Coconut Spiced Rum. The coconut rum, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove is the perfect accompaniment to hot chocolate, don’t you think? To enhance the coconut flavor in the rum, I decided to use coconut milk which makes a rich and creamy hot chocolate base.

Rum always reminds me of warmer weather, and the Coconut Spiced Rum is no exception. Blue Chair Bay offers a collection of premium-blended rums inspired by multi-platinum singer-songwriter Kenny Chesney’s love of the island lifestyle. So even though most of us probably are not soaking up the sun at the moment, we can have our own little escape with this winter-weather treat!

For readers over 21 years of age, I also have an exciting giveaway! Blue Chair Bay has offered to give one bottle of Blue Chair Bay Rum to a lucky winner! Details after the recipe.

Ingredients:

  • 2 (13.5 oz) cans full fat coconut milk
  • 4 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
  • 4 teaspoons turbinado sugar
  • 4 oz Blue Chair Bay Coconut Spiced Rum

Continue reading Spiked Mint Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate

Chicken Satay

I have been meaning to make this recipe forever; seriously, years. I don’t know why it took me this long because it’s a pretty easy recipe, but for some reason I kept putting it off. And boy do I regret that. It’s so tasty! Honestly, what isn’t better with some peanut butter?

 

Chicken Satay is skewered chicken marinated in a peanut sauce that is typically eaten as an appetizer or street food. By adding a side of brown rice, this turns into an easy dinner!

 

This recipe actually has you ground your own peanuts with some other ingredients to make a sauce rather than starting with peanut butter. The result is really tasty!

 

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
  • 1 tablespoon toasted cumin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (~2 limes)
  • 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 shallot, peeled
  • 1/3 cup light coconut milk
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 serrano chile, stem removed
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Continue reading Chicken Satay

Blackberry Black Tea Coconut Ice Cream

I have been meaning to review this really yummy tea for quite a while now. I blame my boyfriend; he swiped my can of The Republic of Tea’s HiCAF Toasted Coconut Black Tea Bags and brought it to work with him!

 

 

The Republic of Tea is one of my favorite tea companies, their tea is so good! (One of my go-to’s is their Earl Greyer Tea) I also really like their packaging; the tins make it easy to transport and keep the tea bags more fresh than they would be in a box.

 

 

What makes this tea particularly noteworthy is that the caffeine content of this tea is enhanced with green tea extract and pure caffeine isolated from premium tea leaves, so it’s a great morning pick-me-up. This tea also has a natural coconut flavor and a touch of licorice flavor, making for quite the tasty tea! It’s really yummy with a splash of milk. To really enhance the coconut flavor, add a little turbinado sugar to your tea too. (You can now understand why my boyfriend stole this tea from me!) The HiCAF Toasted Coconut Black Tea is also gluten free, carb free, with no added sugars.

 

 

I love using tea and coffee in recipes and the flavors of this tea just begged to be used in a dessert! The inspiration for this recipe was a Sunset recipe for a Blackberry-Black Tea Sorbet. Because there is already a flavor of coconut in the tea, I wanted to further enhance that by turning this recipe for a sorbet into a vegan ice cream using coconut milk. 

 

 

Making ice cream is really easy but it takes quite a bit of preparation. First, you need an ice cream maker. (Luckily my mom had one!) The bowl of the ice cream maker has to be frozen for at least 24 hours before it’s ready to use. For this particular recipe, the tea bags need to be steeped in the coconut milk, cooled, and refrigerated before making the ice cream. Plus the whole ice cream mixture needs a few hours in the fridge to get cold. Whew!

 

So, if you’re making this, be sure to prepare ahead!

 

 

Ingredients:

Continue reading Blackberry Black Tea Coconut Ice Cream

Crispy Coconut Kale with Roasted Salmon Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Rice

I have to admit, kale is really not my favorite green. It tends to, well, taste like a leaf. So I was intrigued when I came across this recipe for Crispy Coconut Kale on Food 52 by Ashley Couse of Bloom & Nourish.  The recipe pairs the kale with oven-roasted salmon, spicy sweet potatoes and creamy coconut rice. I couldn’t wait to try these flavors together!

Note: This recipe for Crispy Coconut Kale with Roasted Salmon Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Rice is gluten free and is thisclose to being Paleo. To make it Paleo-friendly, just do not make the rice.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup jasmine rice, uncooked (omit to make paleo)
  • 1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha
  • 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
  • 1 bunch lacinato kale, ribs removed and sliced into strips
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 pound salmon

Continue reading Crispy Coconut Kale with Roasted Salmon Sweet Potatoes and Coconut Rice

Fish in Coconut Curry (Mtuzi wa Samaki)

This is probably apparent with the different types of recipes I post but I really like some variety in what I eat. As a kid, I ate the exact same meals every day because I was so picky, so now that I’ve (luckily) grown out of that, I want something new and different each time I cook.

I was just send Cooking Light’s latest cookbook: Global Kitchen: The World’s Most Delicious Food Made Easy that is filled with recipes from around the world. The recipes can be made with ingredients you can find in your supermarket, making it a great way to experiment with new flavors. There are so many recipes I plan to try in this book, and you can expect to see quite a few showing up on my blog! Cooking Light also sent me an extra copy of Global Kitchen so I am giving one away at the end of this post!

This recipe for Fish in Coconut Curry (Mtuzi wa Samaki) takes a bit longer than most I post on here (~45 minutes) but is well worth the time. Because the recipe makes a really delicious sauce, I served it over rice. I also adapted it slightly to fit with what was available at my supermarket.

According to Global Kitchen, the recipe is based on a Tanzanian dish although fish curry originated in Zanzibar: Tanzania sits at a crossroads in the spice trade routes from India. That’s why Indian spices ended up in so many Tanzanian dishes like this fish curry. The dish originated in Zanzibar but is now enjoyed all over the eastern coast of Africa. Coconut milk enriches the curry and gives it a tropical flavor.   Ingredients:

  • 1 pound skinless flounder or other white fish
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Madras curry powder, divided
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
  • 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • the juice of one lemon
  • 3/4 cup light coconut milk
  • 4 lemon wedges
  • Chopped fresh cilantro

Continue reading Fish in Coconut Curry (Mtuzi wa Samaki)

Thai Green Curry Shrimp with Coconut Rice

This post brought to you by Campbell’s Dinner Sauces. Weekend-worthy dinners with only weekday-level effort needed! Learn more at https://www.campbell.com/sauces.


There are a bunch of reasons why people are not too keen on cooking, especially on weeknights. Not having enough time, the convenience of just ordering food, and the stress of having all of the right ingredients on hand, and the fear of messing up the recipe are common reasons.

Campbell’s has a new line of products out that alleviate a lot of the above issues: Campbell’s Skillet Sauces and Campbell’s Slow Cooker Sauces. The idea is brilliant, the sauce needed to make a delicious meal is already prepared for you. You just add your protein of choice! To learn more about the sauces, check out their interactive Facebook app that gives more information about both the Skillet and the Slow Cooker Sauces.

Because the sauces are already prepared, your cooking time is minimal. Most of the flavors would be amazing with sauteed chicken breasts, with a meal on the table in under 20 minutes! As a member of the DailyBuzz Brand Ambassador Program, I was given the chance to work with some of these new Campbell’s sauces, which are currently available in supermarkets, typically in the Gravy or Boxed Dinner Kit aisles.

I had a tough time choosing which sauce I wanted to feature on here so expect some of the other sauces to show up in the future. I decided to go with the Thai Green Curry sauce because a homemade curry can be quite time consuming, so it is super convenient to have a pre-made version.

I thought I’d snazz up my quick weeknight meal option by adding a few ingredients to the sauce that still cook up quickly: green beans and red peppers. I also used shrimp as my protein of choice. You can purchase shrimp in your supermarket in the frozen aisle. Look for the peeled and deveined ones, but be sure to grab uncooked shrimp. Shrimp cook up so quickly, and by purchasing the already cleaned ones, you’ll save yourself a bunch of time.

The Thai Green Curry Sauce includes lemongrass, basil, coconut milk, cilantro, and a subtle heat from jalapenos. There is enough sauce for 4 servings, and has just 70 calories a serving.

Ingredients (serves 4):

  • 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
  • 1 can coconut milk plus 1/2 can water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 16 oz frozen peeled and deveined shrimp, thawed
  • 1 packet of Campbell’s Thai Green Curry Sauce
  • 1 cup frozen cut green beans (do not thaw)
  • fresh basil, for garnish, optional

Continue reading Thai Green Curry Shrimp with Coconut Rice

Mini Pumpkin Blossom Honey Cakes

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began last night at sundown. Honey plays a significant role in Rosh Hashanah celebrations, signifying hopes for a sweet new year.  Apples or challah dipped in honey is popular, as is honey cake. Because of the time of year, honey cake typically includes flavors associated with fall. My mom had given me a Pumpkin Blossom Honey recently and I thought this would be the perfect way to use it.

I adapted my recipe from one found on Epicurious and gave it my own pumpkin-y spin. Pumpkin Blossom Honey is created by bees that solely pollinate pumpkins and pumpkin blossoms. It has a darker amber color and has a really nice spice flavor at the end.  I thought it would work great with some traditional fall spices thrown in!

Ingredients:

Cake:

  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour (or all purpose flour)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
  • 1 cup Pumpkin Blossom honey
  • 8 oz lukewarm pumpkin coffee (I used Green Mountain’s)
  • The zest of one orange

Chocolate glaze:

  • 1/2 cup shaken canned unsweetened coconut milk (not light)
  • 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
  • 4 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
  • Flaky sea salt for garnish, optional

Continue reading Mini Pumpkin Blossom Honey Cakes

Thai Coconut Mussels

I am excited to announce that I will be a Perfect Protein Blogger for the summer, to help promote a book called The Perfect Protein: The Fish Lovers Guide to Saving the Oceans and Feeding the World. Written by Andy Sharpless, the CEO of Oceana, and Suzannah Evans, the book discusses how protecting, maintaining, and consuming wild seafood can help to fight both famine and obesity globally.

I am only a few chapters in to the book and already find it fascinating. The general idea behind the book is to try to eat seafood, but to try to eat WLLS: Wild, Local, Little, and Shellfish. Many supermarkets, such as Whole Foods, label their seafood which makes sticking to these more sustainable choices a cinch. But even without the labels, you can still find sustainable options at your local grocer.

As a food blogger, I immediately went to the back of the book, where there are 21 sustainable seafood recipes from some of the nation’s top chefs. They all sounded delicious, but I decided to start off my Perfect Protein posts with a recipe that is simple but packs a ton of flavor into the dish: Sam Talbot’s Thai Coconut Mussels. I love making mussels because they cook up so quickly. This recipe takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. (For another take on mussels, check out my recipe for Mussels in White Wine Garlic Sauce)


I altered the recipe a bit to make it into a meal for 2 instead of an appetizer. I also subbed in some ingredients for what I could find. All of these ingredients can be found in Whole Foods.

 

 

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
  • 4 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lemongrass
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
  • 1 pound mussels, debearded, scrubbed well, and washed clean
  • 1/3 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sambal (chile-garlic paste)
  • 1 (13.6 oz) can coconut milk, divided
  • 2 tablespoons torn cilantro leaves, stems discarded
  • 2 tablespoons torn mint leaves, stems discarded
  • juice and zest of 2 limes
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/2 cup white rice, preferably jasmine rice

Continue reading Thai Coconut Mussels

Halibut with Coconut-Red Curry

I am very vocal about my love of Cooking Light and myrecipes.com in general. I think it is a fantastic resource to find delicious recipes of all kinds and sort them easily and helpfully. I was recently sent a copy of myrecipes’ America’s Favorite Food: 200 Top-Rated Recipes from the Country’s Best Magazines which is a collection of recipes from All You, Coastal Living, Cooking Light, Health, Real Simple, Southern Living, and Sunset magazines.

What makes this cookbook different than any I’ve ever seen, is that it incorporates a Scan-It/Cook-It technology. Once you download the free Digimarc Discover app onto your smartphone, you are able to scan photos and info boxes in the cookbook which opens up how-to videos, shopping lists, and related recipes. Brilliant!

When I scanned the photo of the recipe I was making (Halibut with Coconut-Red Curry Sauce), it opened a how-to video to see how to prepare the dish, which is a wonderful tool for beginner cooks. The recipe also includes a side bar with substitutes and even tips on how to cook fish without smelling up the whole house.

This is the perfect cookbook for all levels of home cooks and I’m happy to be able to giveaway a copy of this cookbook! Check out the widget below to enter…

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
  • 4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onions
  • 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger (or a punch of ground ginger)
  • 1 cup light coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon sugar  (or 1 teaspoon stevia)
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 3/4 teaspoon red curry paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice  (about 1 lime)

Continue reading Halibut with Coconut-Red Curry

Slow-Roasted Salmon with Baby Bok Choy and Coconut Rice

Tuesday I received one of my most anticipated ingredients (aside from tomatoes, can’t wait!!) from my CSA share: Fuyo Shumi, or Baby Bok Choy.  I am absolutely in love with this vegetable. It’s just a mini version of bok choy which has a cabbage flavor and is very popular in Asian cooking. I personally am not a fan of cabbage (sorry to my Irish roots), but love the subtle taste and crunchy texture of these little guys.  I’m always looking for new methods to cook salmon so this recipe from Cooking Light was the perfect opportunity. This recipe slow cooks the salmon to keep it really moist. Keep in mind you’ll need a good 30-40 minutes to make this dish.
Ingredients:
Salmon:
8 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray 
Rice:
2 cups uncooked basmati rice
1 1/2 cups light coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
Bok choy:
2 teaspoons canola oil
16 cups bok choy, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (about 4 pounds)
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup sake (rice wine)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sauce:
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon red curry paste (such as Thai Kitchen)

 

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Place the salmon on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, skin side down.


Bake for 30 minutes or until the fish flakes easily. Cut off all the drippings.



While the salmon is cooking, rinse the rice in cold water and drain. Combine the rice, coconut milk, 1.5 cups water and ¼ teaspoon salt in a sauté pan. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. 
Cut the baby bok choy pieces in half
 

While the rice is standing, heat the canola oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the bok choy and ginger and sauté for 1 minute. 
Add the sake and ¼ teaspoon salt, cover, and cook for 2 minutes until the bok choy wilts. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Add the lime juice, rice vinegar, cilantro, brown sugar, fish sauce, and red curry paste to a bowl. Whisk to combine.


Serve over the salmon, rice, and bok choy.
Um. Yum. What an awesome dinner! The flavors go so well together. The sauce has a little tanginess that I really liked with all of the parts of this dish, but especially the rice. The salmon, because it was cooked at a low temperature, came out really moist. And the baby bok choy was crunchy, wilty, and flavorful all at the same time.
This will definitely become a staple meal for me!

Curried Pumpkin Soup with Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

After making pumpkin pie milkshakes this weekend, I thought it was time to make a savory dish using pumpkin. The weather changed literally overnight giving Philly a very November-like day, so I was craving a warm soup that also would deliver some spicy heat. This recipe for Curried Pumpkin Soup with Spicy Pumpkin Seeds from All You seemed perfect. I kept the recipe mostly intact, adding more ginger and switching out the chili for cayenne.

Ingredients:
Pumpkin Seeds:

  •  1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  •  1/4 teaspoon salt
  •  2 teaspoons unsalted butter
  •  1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds

Soup:

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  •  2 medium Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, finely chopped
  •  2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
  •  2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  •  1 teaspoon cumin
  •  2 tablespoons curry powder
  •  1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  •  3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  •  2 15-oz. cans pumpkin
  •  1 13.6-oz. can light unsweetened coconut milk
  •  Salt and pepper, to taste
  •  Plain yogurt, for serving  (optional)

Continue reading Curried Pumpkin Soup with Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Jalapeno Ginger Butternut Squash Soup

When I first came across this recipe for Jalapeno Ginger Butternut Squash Soup, I was intrigued by the ingredients. Never would I have thought to add jalapenos and ginger to a butternut squash dish. It seemed so odd, and yet so delicious as well. This weekend, the weather began feeling a bit more… autumnal. So I used this wonderful weather as an excuse to try out this recipe. I altered the original recipe a bit, but you can find the original here.

 

Ingredients (makes about 8 servings):
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2-in. cubes
3 cups water
3 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/4 cup coconut milk, plus more for serving
I’ve attempted to peel and cube butternut squash in the past. And it is absolutely not worth it. It takes forever and never seems to yield as much as you think it will. So I wimped out at bought the pre-packaged pre-chopped stuff. And I am so happy I did. I ended up using 3 20 oz containers of the butternut squash.
Begin by chopping your garlic and jalapeno and grating your ginger.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. Add the garlic, ginger and jalapeno and cook stirring constantly for 1 or 2 minutes.
Add the cayenne pepper and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring.
Add the squash, chicken broth, brown sugar, and 3 cups water.
Bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the squash is fork tender.
Add about 1/3 of the soup to a blender. Remove the top middle piece of the blender top to allow hot air to escape. Place a paper towel over the opening and puree until smooth. Add to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining soup.

Be very very careful doing this! I managed to burn my hand pretty badly when removing the top off the blender. Ouch!

Stir in the coconut milk and serve. I added a tiny bit more of the coconut milk on top of a poured serving and swirled it.

This was a surprisingly tasty soup. The smooth texture is really nice and the butternut squash taste shines through, with a hint of coconut milk. There is a very slight heat at the end from the jalapeno and cayenne, but is definitely not spicy. I honestly couldn’t taste much of the ginger, so next time I might add a bit more. This soup can also be frozen so I look forward to enjoying it in the colder months, but it only took maybe 40 minutes from start to finish so this can easily be made on a weeknight.

Broiled Thai Curry Salmon & Baby Bok Choy

As much as I try to like bok choy, I just don’t really like the flavor. However, I received two baby bok choy in my CSA so here’s my attempt to hide the cabbage-y taste using a Bon Appetit recipe as a base that includes a Thai Red Curry sauce.

Ingredients: (this only makes 1 serving)
2 baby bok choy
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
1/2 can coconut milk
the zest of 1 lemon
the juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 6-ounce salmon fillet
Chopped scallions, for garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your broiler.
Roughly chop the baby bok choy and place on one side of a cookie sheet.
Place the salmon on the other side of the cookie sheet and season with salt and pepper.
Broil for 5 minutes. Stir the bok choy and broil for another 4 minutes, until the salmon is cooked through and the bok choy has crisped a bit.
While the salmon and bok choy are cooking, heat the oil in a saute pan and add the red curry paste.
Cook for 30 seconds and add  coconut milk and lemon zest.  Boil until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in lime juice and fish sauce.
To serve, add baby bok choy to a plate and top with salmon. Drizzle curry sauce over the entire plate. Top with chopped scallions if desired.
The curry sauce did a fantastic job of making the baby bok choy palatable. I still did get a hint of the taste of the baby bok choy, but it was much more subtle than just a steamed bok choy recipe. I wish the sauce had a bit more spice to it, so next time I’d probably increase the amount of the red curry paste.
I was apparently quite hungry and started eating this before I topped the salmon with scallions. Oops. But after having a few bites without the scallions and a few bites with, I strongly suggest adding them, they really work great with this dish.
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