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Coconut

Recipe

This recipe is a winner all around.  It is warming, healthy, and delicious.  We have made this on several occasions, and have always gotten requests for the recipe.  Feel free to add other vegetables and herbs as you see fit. 

2 cloves garlic

2 scallions

½ medium onion, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil or creamed coconut*

1 ½ tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds, toasted and cooled

2 cans lite coconut milk

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups fresh pumpkin, peeled and cubed

1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, medium dice

1 14-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

Garnish: fresh cilantro

Combine the garlic, scallions, onion, and ginger in a food processor. Grind until they form a smooth paste.
Heat up the coconut oil and/or creamed coconut in a medium-sized heavy bottomed pot. Add the paste to the oil and fry for a few minutes on medium-high heat, stirring well.
Add the curry powder to the frying paste and cook for a few more minutes.
Pour in the coconut milk and add the mustard seeds. When the mixture comes to a boil, turn down to a light simmer, and stir in the tomato paste.
Add the pumpkin and red pepper and simmer, covered, for about 20-30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fork tender.
Stir in the garbanzos and let simmer for a few more minutes.
Turn off the heat and serve over rice, garnished with cilantro.

Serves 4

*Creamed coconut is a Caribbean product that can be found in some specialty markets.

Recipe

This ice cream sundae with freshly toasted hazelnuts is a treat from the Willamette Valley, Oregon. It combines fresh filberts from Hentze's farm in Junction City, Oregon, along with colorful raspberries, and a local brand of dark chocolate ice cream made from coconut milk. It is simple in its preparation, yet euphoric in its manifestation.

1 pint ice cream (a variety of flavors work for this- chocolate and brown sugar are some suggestions, although vanilla would be a no-brainer)
½ pint fresh raspberries, yellow and red if possible
½ cup fresh filberts, dry toasted and chopped
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
1 tablespoon confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the whipped cream by whipping the heavy whipping cream to soft peaks. Stir in the crème fraîche, confectioners sugar, and vanilla, and whip until it holds stiff peaks.
Serve a few scoops of ice cream, throw in the berries, and top with the crème fraîche whipped cream. Scatter over the shopped filberts.
Serves 4.

Fresh red and yellow raspberries from the <a href="http://lanecountyfarmersmarket.org/" target="_blank">Eugene Farmer's Market</a>, toasted local filberts, whipped cream and creme fraiche atop some delicious ice cream... This Oregon-inspired sundae is the perfect antidote to a long day in the hot sun.
June 24, 2009   |   1 comments
Tags: Coconut, Desserts, Local, Nuts, Summer
Recipe

This authentic Bahamian recipe uses coconut cream to give it its intense coconut flavor. If you can't find coconut cream, use coconut oil instead of the vegetable oil for cooking the vegetables. It will not be as potent, but it contributes a coconut aroma.

1 cup kidney beans
2 cups long grain rice, well rinsed
½ green bell pepper, seeded, small dice
½ red bell pepper, seeded, small dice
½ yellow bell pepper, seeded, small dice
½ white onion, small dice
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1 tomato, chopped and pureed, or 2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 handful cilantro, stems and leaves, finely chopped
2 sprigs of thyme leaves
¼ cup coconut cream (from an Island grocer)
Vegetable oil
Water

The night before, cover the beans with ample water and soak at room temperature.
The next day, drain the beans of their soaking liquid, place in a large pot with 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Let simmer for an hour or so, or until the beans are soft and tender.
Meanwhile, chop up the vegetables and combine in a bowl (not the tomato puree).
Heat up some vegetable oil in another pot and add the vegetables. Sweat the vegetables in the oil until soft and translucent.
Add the tomato puree and continue to cook. Next, add the coconut cream and the herbs and let the flavors meld for a few minutes. Pour in the beans with their cooking liquid and bring to a boil.
Tip in the rice and bring to a boil again. Cover and simmer until cooked through, about 1 hour.
Serves 4 people.

Rice and beans are cooked with coconut cream and fresh vegetables. The aromas of thyme and cilantro will take you places you have never been. This is a great one pot meal that is really healthy and full of island flavor.
April 22, 2009   |   0 comments
Tags: Caribbean, Coconut, Entrees
Blog entry

The idea behind the past two recipes I have posted on the blog is to use one ingredient in a variety of different ways. You can save money on ingredients by knowing how to cook once and eat twice. Since I live alone and eat by myself often, I need to know how to stretch ingredients from one meal to the next. In this case, I made a Forbidden Rice Salad with Shrimp, Papaya, and Avocado the other day for lunch and then made it double up as a healthy breakfast alternative the next day.

For the breakfast dish, I heated up the leftover cooked rice with a splash of water, then once it was reheated I added coconut water. I then topped with sliced banana and a sprinkle of cinnamon. This is a great breakfast, because the rice is an unrefined carbohydrate full of fiber and antioxidants. It fills you up for the whole morning, giving you sustained energy to last until lunch. Coconut water is an incredibly healthy food- it is a great source of electrolytes and full of potassium. I heated up the rice with water, and then added the coconut water afterward, so as not to heat it and harm its nutritional properties. The banana was just for taste- coconuts and bananas are made for each other!

February 15, 2009   |   1 comments
Tags: Antioxidant, Breakfasts, Coconut, Food
Recipe

1 Thai coconut
1 clove garlic, optional
½ lb shrimp, shelled and de-veined
½ lb scallops
¼ lb tuna fillet
3 juicy limes (3/4 cup juice)
2 lemons (3/4 cup juice)
1 handful cilantro sprigs, rinsed well
1 T mint, finely chopped
1 more lime
1 jalapeno pepper, very small dice
1 T + 1 tsp. red onion, chopped into small dice
½ avocado
¼ tsp. salt
For the shrimp:
You can buy the shrimp already shelled, or even already cooked.
However, if you would like to make a tasty broth that adds more flavor to the dish, you should make a quick cooking broth as follows:
Thinly slice the garlic.
Once the shrimp are shelled and de-veined, rinse the shells well. In a small saucepan, fry the garlic with a lug of olive oil and then toss in the shells. Once the shells turn pink, cover them with water and bring the liquid to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Drain the broth.
Bring the aromatic broth to a boil and poach the shrimp until just cooked through and pink, about 1 minute.
Strain the shrimp, cool completely, and then slice in half lengthwise. Keep refrigerated until the end.
For the scallops:
Squeeze the lime juice into a plastic container or small bowl.
Rinse the scallops and remove their foot. Dry them off well and slice each one in half horizontally, and then into quarters vertically.
Once they are all sliced, put them into the lime juice and refrigerate.
They should sit for about one hour before you are ready to serve. If the scallops are fresh, they could be eaten raw. However, for this dish, the lime juice adds a nice flavor.
For the coconut:
Place the diced red onion in a small bowl with water and let sit while you prepare the coconut base.
Pour the coconut water into the blender.
Scrape out the coconut meat with a spoon and add it to the blender.
Blend the meat and water together until completely combined and thick.
Save a few sprigs of cilantro for the garnish, but add the rest to the blender.
Blend the cilantro with the coconut milk just until it turns pale green.
Strain the liquid into a bowl, pushing down with a wooden spoon, so that you get all of the milk out of the coconut.
Squeeze the remaining lime's juice into the coconut mixture.
Drain the onion from its soaking water, and add it along with the jalapeno and mint.
Finely chop the rest of the cilantro (about 1 T) and add it into the base.
Slice the avocado into small dice, and add to the base as well.
Season the base with the salt and taste it.
Now drain the scallops from their marinade and add to the base, along with the shrimp.
For the tuna:
Squeeze the lemon juice into a plastic container or small bowl.
Slice the tuna into small dice. Let them sit in the juice for about 5 minutes before serving. The tuna brings a nice color to the dish, and should be pink. It cooks very quickly in lemon juice, so if you want it more opaque, put it to marinate in the juice for longer.
To serve:
Drain the tuna from its marinade, and carefully stir into the coconut mix.
Pour everything back into the coconut, and serve on ice, with small martini glasses alongside.
Serves 4 as an appetizer, and 8 as a party dish.

September 17, 2007   |   2 comments
Tags: Appetizers, Avocado, Ceviche, Coconut, Fish, Latin America
Recipe

This soup is great hot or cold, making it perfect for serving at parties. The curry blends perfectly together with the coconut and red bell peppers. It is light and healthy, so include it in any weightloss plan.

5 red bell peppers
1 T curry powder
1 Thai coconut, top cut off
½ onion
2 cloves garlic
2 T olive oil
Utensils: hammer or sturdy kitchen knife to crack open the coconut.

Garnish:
2 T creme fraiche and freshly cracked black pepper (Tellicherry peppercorns are best)

Rinse and dry the red peppers. With a small knife, cut around the stem and remove.
Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, and slice off the white veins on the inside. Remove the seeds, rinsing the peppers if necessary.
Slice the peppers into ½ - inch strips lengthwise, and then cut across horizontally, so that you end up with medium sized dice.
Slice the onion into thin half moons.
Crush the garlic cloves with the side of your knife.
Heat up a pot and pour in the olive oil. Add in the onion and saute for a few minutes.
You want to them to soften and gain a little bit of color.
Turn the heat to low and then add the crushed garlic. Season with some salt.
After about 2 minutes, add in the curry powder and stir. The heat should be low, so that the onions, garlic, and curry meld together.
Turn the heat up slightly, and add in the diced peppers. Stir them with the onion well, and let them sweat until they are nice and soft.
Meanwhile, hammer the nail into the coconut in two different places at the top, just as you would open two different holes in the top of a juice can.
Pour the coconut water over the red peppers, and then top off with some water so that the peppers are fully covered. Simmer until the peppers are completely soft.
Blend the soup either with a hand held or regular blender.
Strain the soup and keep it warm if you are going to eat it immediately.
If not, allow it to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate.

For the garnish (optional): whisk together the creme fraiche with the freshly ground black pepper. Spoon a dollop atop the soup before serving.

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as the main dish.