Tag: coconut oil

Kielbasa Apple Skillet

Thawed a whole package of kielbasa from Costco so that I could slice some up for a little get together with two friends. Needless to say, I di not use the whole package. What to do, Pinterest? Voila…luckily I had some wonderful Granny Smith apples in the crisper. Alas, no apple butter, but I did have some mango chutney to use in its place. The dish was awesome and easy. Oh yeah…this was not turkey kielbasa…LOL

Kielbasa Apple Skillet

Ingredients

  • 14-16 ounces low-fat turkey kielbasa sausage OR pork
  • 1 large sweet onion, peeled and sliced
  • 2 large Fuji apples, sliced into thin wedges
  • 1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil, optional
  • 1/2 cup Musselman’s Apple Butter OR chutney
  • 2 tablespoons Musselman’s Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat a large skillet to medium heat. Add the butter or oil. (If using a good nonstick skillet, no butter is needed.) Slice the onion and apples. Then cut the kielbasa into 1/2 inch rounds. Remove the rosemary leaves from the stems and roughly chop.

Once the skillet is hot, sear the kielbasa pieces for 2-4 minutes, until brown on both sides. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

Next add the onions to the skillet. Sear for 2 minutes to soften, then add the apples and rosemary. Allow the apples and onions the cook until soft and brown, but not mushy. Stir gently as to not smash the apples, about 5-7 minutes. Salt and pepper liberally.

Add the sausage back to the skillet, along with the Musselman’s Apple Butter, apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 cup water. Simmer and stir to thicken the sauce for 2-3 minutes. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm.

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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.

Teriyaki Salmon Bowl with Coconut Rice and Ginger Sesame Greens

At first glance, this recipe seems complicated as you are cooking three items for the bowl. The salmon and the rice both require the same cooking time! Like many Asian recipes, the prep is more time consuming. The greens take very little time. Trust me, this all makes for a great meal!

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Teriyaki Salmon Bowls with Coconut Rice and Ginger Sesame Greens

Ingredients for the Teriyaki Sauce OR Use store bought to simplify

  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tsp mirin
  • 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 clove fresh garlic, crushed or finely grated
  • 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 1 large salmon fillet, roughly 200g (you could also use chicken breast or thigh OR for a veg version, some firm tofu, cut into inch sized cubes)

Ginger Sesame Greens

  • 5 large handfuls of greens – I’ve used green beans. Feel free to use your favourite green veg. Other delicious options – bok choy, snowpeas, broccoli, broccolini, baby spinach, etc.
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed or finely grated
  • 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

Coconut Rice

  • 1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed well – It’s important to rinse the rice as this helps make it nice and fluffy. It also means we add less water to the pot when cooking, 1¼ cups of water instead of 1½ cups if we didn’t rinse.
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1¼ cup boiling water

Toppings

  • Toasted sesame seeds or black sesame seeds
  • 4 spring onions, finely chopped
  • Japanese mayonnaise for drizzling (optional)

 Teriyaki Salmon

Preheat your oven to 180C / 350F.

In a medium-sized bowl combine the honey, tamari, mirin, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger.

Add the salmon fillet (or protein of your choice) and coat thoroughly.

Place the salmon and the combined sauce into a small paper-lined baking dish.

Bake at 180C / 350F for 15 minutes then grill for 5 minutes, keeping an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.  Once cooked, remove from the oven.

Coconut Rice

In a small saucepan add the coconut oil, rinsed rice, and a little salt.

Add the boiling water, bring to a boil, then turn down to low heat and simmer with the lid on for 15 minutes.

DO NOT remove the lid at any time. We want all the steam trapped in the pot to create that perfectly fluffy rice.

After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the rice to sit for 3-5 minutes.

Remove the lid and fluff up the rice with a fork.

Set aside until ready to use.

Ginger Sesame Greens

While the rice and salmon are cooking, grab a large saucepan and add the sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.

Now add the greens then sauté on medium heat until bright green and slightly wilted.

Add the tamari and stir to combine.

To Assemble

Add a scoop of rice to each serving bowl, some salmon and surrounding leftover baked sauce, and the ginger sesame greens.

Top with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, spring onions, fresh chopped basil and a dollop or drizzle of Japanese mayo (if using). Enjoy!

 

Mixed Fruit Crisp

MIXED FRUIT CRISP

This crisp is just Larry’s version of an old-fashioned apple crisp.  Be creative, and adventurous!

Servings:  about 8 – 10 medium size

You will need 1 oven proof casserole, with lid or use foil to cover.

(He used our  French white corning approx. 11” x 8.5” x 3”. It was the perfect size for this quantity.)

Grease with shortening or a bit of coconut oil.

Set oven at 350 F.

Fruit mixture

1.5 cups pear: peeled and cubed ½ ‘’ size

1.5 cups fresh figs: cut in 1/8ths

1 cup mango: cubed ½” size

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup flour

4 Tbs fresh grated ginger

1 lemon:  zest the lemon and squeeze the juice of ½ lemon into the fruit mixture, cut the other half into small segments, skin removed

1 cup of toasted slivered almonds

Amaretto for drizzling lightly over the almonds (optional)

Topping

½ cup of flour

2/3 cup rolled oats: large flakes, not quick cooking

1 cup of toasted coconut

I cup brown sugar

1/3 cup of softened butter

1 tsp salt

¼ cup of coconut oil (or use ½ cup of butter instead of 1/3 cup)

The remainder of the lemon zest

Coconut liqueur (not coconut rum) for drizzling over the topping

Honey for drizzling over the topping

Preparation

Toast the almonds and the coconut separately and put them aside to be added in later.

Whisk flour, ginger, lemon zest and sugar together.   Mix fruit together, adding in lemon juice, then sprinkle the flour mixture over the fruit and and mix well to coat all fruit.  Place mixture in the greased casserole.  Cover the mixture with the toasted almonds and drizzle with Amaretto.

Combine the dry topping ingredients, flour, oats, coconut, sugar, salt and lemon zest.  Add the coconut oil and butter.  Mix well and press on to fruit and almond mixture.  Drizzle with the coconut liqueur if desired.

Put in oven with lid on and set timer for 30 minutes.  Remove lid after 15 minutes to allow top to become “crisp”. Reset timer for 20 minutes. Check after 10 min. to see if topping is becoming brown.  If you see the topping becoming too brown, replace the lid. Total cook time should be between 30 and 45 minutes.

Best served with a scoop of coconut ice cream or French vanilla if you cannot find coconut.