Tag: coconut milk

Creamy Baked Acorn Squash

Amazingly, as I write this I note that is recipe#450! Outside today (August 19) the skies are sunny here in our part of Mexico, but the winds are beginning to howl with the approach of Hurricane Grace. Thankfully, it will pass south of us, but we still expect winds and rain.

Rarely do we see acorn squash in our part of Mexico; for that matter, we rarely see butternut squash or spaghetti squash. Whenever we find them, we grab them up! This latest squash recipe, incorporating sweet potatoes, is awesome!

Creamy Baked Acorn Squash

If you need to feed four people,use two acorn squash…

  • 1 large acorn squash, cut in half and seeds removed
  • 2 tablespoons of grass-fed butter, unsalted
  • 1/2 cup of heavy cream OR coconut milk with cream
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 5-6 sprigs of thyme
  • 1-2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil for the sweet potatoes only (optional)
  • 1/4 cup hard cheese like: parmesan, pecorino Romano (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Prepare squash and sweet potatoes.  If using the sweet potatoes, drizzle the olive oil over the tops of them.  Place in baking dish.  Add heavy cream, salt, pepper and thyme to the center of the acorn squash.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Remove and grate cheese over the top.  Bake an additional 20 minutes of until squash is soft.  Bake uncovered.

Buen provecho amigos!

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Coconut Rice Pudding

Due to my spouse requiring a modified diet for a few days, I decided to make him some rice pudding. Without too much work, this one filled the bill!

Coconut Rice Pudding

Serves/Makes: 4    |   Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (15-ounce size) coconut milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup uncooked rice (I used Jasmine)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Combine the coconut milk and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Add the rice and cook until it returns to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover the pan, and let simmer for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg. Pour into custard cups.

Serve warm or chilled.

Butternut Squash Coconut Curry

Imagine my surprise at finding more butternut squash at our Favourite supermarket, Superama, here in Mexico. It is highly unusual, so much so that I bought all seven of them! They were hidden among the pumpkins which had just arrived. Those of you who live in northern climates will easily find these everywhere this time of year. Pinterest to the rescue with this recipe…

Butternut Squash Coconut Curry

Ingredients

  • 4 cups butternut squash, peeled, deseed and diced
  • 1-2 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
  • 1 cup vegetable broth, or 1 vegetable bouillon plus 1 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper, optional
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium-high. Add onion, garlic and ginger.

2. Cook until onion is soft, about 3 minutes.

3. Stir in curry powder, paprika and thyme. Cook for 1 minute.

4. Stir in squash, coconut milk, vegetable broth.

5. Bring to boil, Cover and reduce to a simmer on low heat.

6. Cook for 15 minutes until squash cubes are tender but not mushy

7. Stir in pepper, salt and cilantro.

Delicious served with rice.

Crustless Quiche with Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese

Have a friend visiting who is Gluten Free and Lactose Intolerant, except for goat cheese! Since we had smoked salmon on hand, Pinterest was the perfect place to look for dinner! It never fails me. This is a great recipe with lots of flavour. Serve it up with a nice green salad. It would also be great for a brunch.

Crustless Quiche with Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 white or yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 8- 10 eggs depending on size
  • ¾ cup full-fat milk (or coconut milk)
  • 6 ounces wild caught smoked salmon, chopped
  • 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
  • ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh dill, (divided)
  • Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
  • Capers, for serving

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Grease a 8 x 10 Pyrex baking dish very well with olive oil. Set aside.
  2. In a medium-sized heavy bottom pan heat the olive oil over a medium high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion slices and stir to coat the onions with the oil. Spread the onions out evenly over the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium or medium low if the onions begin to brown too quickly. Don’t stir too often, let them brown. Continue to cook until the onions are caramelized and lightly golden brown. About 15-20 minutes.
  3. Arrange the onions in a single even layer in the greased sheet pan.
  4. In a large-bowl beat the eggs. Add the milk and a small amount of each the smoked salmon and goat cheese and all but 1 tablespoon of the fresh dill. Season with black pepper and just a little pinch of sea salt. Combine.
  5. Pour the mixture over the onions in the prepared sheet pan. Arrange the remaining smoked salmon and goat cheese evenly on top and place in the center of the oven.
  6. Bake until the eggs are set, about 30 minutes. Check if it needs more time. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve with the remaining fresh dill as well as capers.

 

Creamy Leek and Salmon Soup

If you like leeks and also salmon, this recipe is for you. It is pretty straightforward to make. In place of the fresh salmon, I chose to use smoked salmon pieces. The flavour was great…

DSC_0096

 

Creamy Leek & Salmon Soup

Author: Rachael Bryant / Meatified

Prep time 5 mins Cook time 25 mins Total time30 mins

Serves: 4 large servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. avocado oil
  • 2 leeks, washed, trimmed and sliced into crescents
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 cups seafood OR chicken broth
  • 2 tsp dried thyme leaves
  • 1 lb. salmon, in bite size pieces (thawed frozen salmon works really well here) OR smoked pieces
  • 1¾ cup coconut milk
  • Salt & pepper to taste (omit pepper for AIP)

Instructions

  1. Heat the avocado oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven at a low-medium heat.
  2. Add the chopped leeks and garlic and cook until slightly softened.
  3. Pour in the stock and add the thyme. Simmer for about 15 minutes and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  4. Add the salmon and the coconut milk to the pan. Bring back up to a gentle simmer and cook until the fish is opaque and tender.

Nutrition for 1 serving – Calories 241, Carbs 33 g., Fat 12.8 g., Protein 29.1 g

Thai Coconut Curry Soup

Thai is undoubtedly one of my favourite foods and this soup is no exception. Hope you will try it and let me know what you think. And..its from Michael Smith, one of my heroes…LOL. (My apologies to Michael for altering the original as shown)

Thai Coconut Curry Soup from Michael Smith
Meat
• 2 Chicken breasts (Good old Costco – I used their chicken strips in a bag – two handfuls partially thawed)
Produce
• 1 handful Bean sprouts (I substituted frozen broccoli pieces)
• 1 Carrot, shredded
• 1 bunch Cilantro, roots
• 1 bunch Cilantro, leaves
• 1 small knob Ginger, frozen
• 2 Green onions
• 2 stalks Lemon grass or 1 Tablespoon lemongrass paste
• 4 Lime, leaves
• 2 Limes, zest and juice
Canned Goods
• 2 cups Chicken broth
• 2 14 ounce cans Premium coconut milk
• 1 heaping tbsp Thai curry paste
Condiments
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce or less as you prefer
• 1 Sprinkle or two salt or soy sauce
Pasta & Grains
• 1 8 ounce package Rice noodles (Or skip either of these if you don’t want the starch)

Scoop the thick coconut cream from the top of just one of the cans into a large stockpot set over a medium-high heat. Melt the cream, add the curry paste and stir for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle.

Add the cilantro roots and chicken and sauté until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Add the coconut juice from the first can and all the contents of the second can along with the chicken broth, carrot, lime leaves, lemon grass, fish sauce and lime zest and juice. Grate the frozen ginger into the broth with a Microplane grater or standard box grater. Simmer for 20 minutes or so.

OPTIONAL – Stir in the bean sprouts. Add the rice noodles, gently pushing them beneath the surface of the broth. Turn off the heat and let stand until the noodles soften, about 5 minutes. Rice noodles don’t need to simmer like pasta to cook; they simply need to rehydrate in the hot liquid.

Stir in most of the cilantro leaves. Remove the lemon grass stalks. Taste and season with a touch more salt (or soy sauce) as needed. Ladle into large bowls and garnish with the green onions and remaining cilantro leaves.

Thai Curry Meatballs

Keeping with the Thai theme from last week, here is another you might like. Since we buy meatballs in bulk at Costco they are a staple in our freezer. I came across this recipe in Canadian Living.
THAI CURRY MEATBALLS

Ingredients
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) grated ginger-root
• 1/2 tbsp (15 mL) mild Thai red curry paste (or more if you like it hotter)
• 1 can (398 ml) coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
• 20 prepared meatballs, (frozen)
• 1 cup (250 mL) frozen peas
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) lime juice or lemon juice
Preparation
In heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; fry carrots, onion, ginger and curry paste, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 3 minutes.
Add coconut milk and salt ; reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
Add meatballs; simmer, stirring often, until hot, 20 minutes. Add peas, coriander and lime juice; heat through.

Thai Pumpkin Soup

Must be the cold weather here (a chilly 23 degrees C) that makes me crave soup…LOL. Was looking for a quick lunch the other day and noticed we had canned pumpkin. Since I love almost all things Thai I thought I would try this one. I loved it but Larry thought it was a little sweet with the brown sugar and coconut milk. Guess next time I’ll cut down on the sugar…and maybe add pieces of real Thai chili…FYI – I skipped the peanut butter option!

Thai Pumpkin Soup
Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes Servings: 4
A tasty Thai inspired pumpkin and coconut soup that that takes less than 15 minutes to make!

ingredients
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 2 (15 ounce) cans pumpkin puree or 4 cups homemade pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar (okay Larry I will cut this back!)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice (~1 lime)
directions
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat, add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about a minute.
2. Add the broth, coconut milk, pumpkin puree, fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Note: If you want to start with raw pumpkin, get two small 3 pound pumpkins, peel them, seed them, cut them into 1 inch cubes, add to the coconut milk and broth and simmer, covered, until tender, about 15-20 minutes, before pureeing.
Option: Use another sweet winter squash like butternut squash  instead of pumpkin.
Option: Add 1/4 cup peanut butter! Try it, you’ll love it!

Mango Chicken Curry

Pretty simple recipe with a great flavour!

Mango Chicken Curry

  • Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 1 hour Yield: Serves 6.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced*
  • 2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger*
  • 1 Tbsp yellow curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 mango, peeled and diced
  • 2 Tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar
  • 1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk (If using low-fat coconut milk, add 2 Tbsp heavy cream)
  • 1 1/4 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Cilantro for garnish

* QUICK TIP #1 When you buy ginger root, peel it all and place the pieces in a freezer bag. When you need to use some, take out a FROZEN piece and use a grater to grate/mince it…. Put the leftover back in the freezer.

* QUICK TIP #2 I also use a grater with garlic cloves. It saves the chopping. This also works with a small amount of onions!

Method

1 Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and bell pepper cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute. Add the curry powder and cumin, cook for a few more minutes. The spices will absorb some of the oil, so if anything begins to stick too much to the bottom of the pan, add a little more oil to the pan.

2 Add the vinegar, coconut milk, and one of the two chopped mangoes to the pan. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Scoop the sauce into a blender. Purée the sauce, pulsing until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan.

3 Add chicken pieces and raisins to the pan. Return to a low simmer. Cover the pan and let cook for 8-10 minutes. Chicken should be just cooked through. Use a knife to cut open the largest piece to check.

4 Add remaining chopped mango to the pan. Stir in the cream, if using. Let cook at a very low temperature for another minute or two, uncovered. Do not let boil! Or the cream may curdle. Adjust seasonings. If a little too sweet, add a little more vinegar. If not sweet enough, you can add a dash of sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro.

As viewed http://www.simplyrecipes.com

Coconut Chicken Stew – Thai Style

Coconut Chicken Stew – Food and Drink Magazine
AUTUMN 2007
BY EMILY RICHARDS
1 lb (500 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
½ tsp (2 mL) ground cumin
½ tsp (2 mL) each Chinese 5-spice powder and Asian garlic chili paste
1 tbsp (15 mL) vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, slivered
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised and cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) pieces*
1 tbsp (15 mL) minced fresh ginger
1 cup (250 mL) coconut milk
3 cups (750 mL) baby spinach leaves
2 plum tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp (25 mL) fish or soy sauce
Cooked basmati or Thai jasmine rice*
Lime wedgesShredded coconut

*If you don’t have lemongrass, just had some orange and/or lemon juice to the rice when cooking to get the citrus flavour.

1. Chop chicken into bite-size pieces and place in large bowl. Add cumin, Chinese 5-spice powder and chili paste and stir to coat chicken well. Let stand for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil over medium heat in large nonstick skillet. Cook garlic, lemon grass and ginger for about 2 minutes or until light golden.

3. Add chicken and increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes or until browned. Add coconut milk and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 8 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside. Add spinach, tomatoes and fish sauce and cook, stirring for about 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted and tender.

4. Serve each bowl with basmati rice and lime wedge and some shredded coconut.

Serves 4