Thai Coconut Lime Soup

It was grocery day and I was searching for a new dish to make that featured some sort of seafood.  Came across this and was immediately interested not only because of the lovely photos, but also because three of the four words in the name of this dish are some of the best foods in my opinion.  I figured three out of four wasn’t bad, and I would try to get past my distaste for soup and give it a shot.  I am glad I did.  This soup definitely has a LOT of flavor between the fresh ginger, green curry, coconut, lime, shrimp, serrano, garlic, and cilantro.  It also packs a LOT of heat!  I think next time I will wimp out and dispose of the seeds from the pepper.

One of the reasons I don’t particularly like soup is because of the broth… it just seems like too much to me I guess.  Figuring I had probably already done a number on my stomach from the heat in this dish I didn’t finish my broth, but did find that dipping some bread in it was a nice way to mellow out some of the heat and make me not feel like I was drinking my meal.  Both my husband and I though agreed this soup would be better with a little less broth, and more stuff in it.  So I would suggest increasing the ingredients in the soup to about 1.5x or maybe even 2x the amount listed, and sticking with the listed amount of broth ingredients.  I had doubled the recipe and we ended up tossing a lot of the left over broth after filled our bowls with the extra shrimp, mushrooms and onions.  Or you could throw a bit of rice in it to make it a little heartier and get rid of that excess broth issue if you are like me.

Anyway, this was still a winner in my book, and smelled amazing.  I loved the blend of flavors, and I just love trying new things.  In particular I don’t think I had ever had green curry paste before this dish.

Serves : 2                 

Ingredients :

• 1/2 lb raw shrimp
• 2 T. vegetable oil
• 2 T. fresh ginger, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 serrano, thinly sliced, seeds and all
• 1/2 onion, sliced into thin wedges
• 3 T. Thai green curry paste
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• juice of 2 limes
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• zest of 1 lime

Directions :

1. Heat the oil in a pot and saute the shrimp just until pink on both sides.  Set aside.
2. In the same pan saute the ginger, garlic, hot pepper and onion for a few minutes on low to medium heat, until the onion starts to soften.
3. Add in the curry paste, brown sugar, and mushrooms.  Saute for a few more minutes.
4. Add the coconut milk, lime juice, and water to the pan.  Bring up to a simmer and cook gently for a couple of minutes.
5. Add the cooked shrimp and cilantro to the pot.  Heat through.  Taste for seasoning adjustments.
6. Serve hot with cilantro and lime zest as garnish.

Recipe from The View From The Great Island

 

Day 147 : Islander Smoothie

I often make a parfait using similar ingredients, and in fact I believe I have shared it here, but today I just felt like having a drink for breakfast.  Normally I have fresh ingredients on hand, but today I was down to some I had frozen from before and I didn’t want to deal with thawing and then cutting them so into the blender they all went.  Add a bit of milk and you are left with a nice thick, creamy, and island inspired smoothie!  Even better yet… it’s healthy!

Sorry for the boring shot… as I said I didn’t have any fresh ingredients for garnish and the frozen one broke in half when I tried to slice one side.  It may look boring but it tastes great I promise!

Islander Smoothie

Serves : 1                      Time to make : 3 minutes

Ingredients :

• 1/2 large banana sliced and frozen
• 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
• 1 container (I think about 6 oz) vanilla greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 2 T. shredded coconut (sweetened)

Directions :

1. Combine banana, pineapple, yogurt and milk in a blender and blend on high until smooth.
2. Add the coconut and blend until combined.

Day 118 : Coconut Key Lime Muffins

I bought some key limes on a whim a while ago and had originally thought to make a key lime pie, but I just never got around to it and wanted to use them before they went bad.  I did a quick search and came across this recipe and decided to give it a try.

As usual, I altered the recipe a tad because I was hoping to make it a little healthier but I am not sure it worked out as well.  We liked them well enough, but they stuck to the papers pretty badly, and had an almost chewy texture and obviously some of that could have been due to my alterations and additions.  I used coconut milk, applesauce in place of oil, and added some shredded coconut to mine.  I also used paper liners, which I have a feeling these muffins would do better without.

Despite the issues though I did enjoy the flavor of these.  A bit bitter perhaps, but I doubt that the key limes we get in our area are of the highest quality/ripeness.  My only complaint though is that key limes are VERY small and in order to get enough juice (I opted for the 1/2 cup) I had to squeeze a ton of them by hand because they were too tiny to work with my juicer.  It was also a bit of a pain to zest them.

Coconut Key Lime Muffins

Serves : 12                        Time to make : 30 minutes (not counting the zesting/juicing lol)

Ingredients :

• 2 C. all purpose flour
• 1 C. sugar
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4-1/2 C. fresh key lime juice (don’t substitute)
• 1/3 C. milk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp. grated key lime zest
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions :

1. Combine first 4 dry ingredients in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl combine the rest and mix well.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just moist.
4. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake for 18 minutes or until lightly browned at 400 degrees.
5. Immediately turn muffins out of pan to cool.

Day 109 : Toasted Coconut Iced Mocha

Just a quick one tonight.  Needed a little pick me up after a rough day.  Baby has been sick for two days now, had a bunch of stuff to get done, and to top off my bad day Jack in the Box forgot to give me my salad which I didn’t realize until I got home.

This is just something I threw together and I think it turned out well. Now to get back to my poor sick baby.

Toasted Coconut Iced Mocha

Serves : 1                Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream
• 2 T. marshmallow creme
• 2 oz. coconut syrup
• 2 T. chocolate syrup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee or espresso
• whip cream
• toasted coconut

Directions :

1. Blend ice cream, marshmallow creme, coconut syrup, chocolate syrup, milk and coffee together.
2. Top with whip cream and toasted coconut.

Day 82 : Island Mojitos

Day 2 of not being able to get around or move…. so that means another quick recipe for tonight.  Sorry for another quick intro and review but typing is not helping my back at all!  I love mojitos, and have had quite a few different versions, but tonight I decided to just wing it and come up with a new one altogether.

This is a very strong flavored and sweet mojito.  If you prefer a less sweet drink you can certainly just use club soda, or cut back on the limeade, but once in a while I like a little sweet in my day. You could also just use fresh lime juice rather than the limeade, which would afford you more control over the sugar levels.  If you do that just add a bit of sugar to taste.

Island Mojitos

Serves : 2           Time to make : 10 minutes

Ingredients :

• green sugar (for rims)
• lime juice (for rims)
• 4-5 T. limeade concentrate
  
• 4 sprigs fresh mint, chopped
• 2 oz. pineapple rum
• 1 oz. coconut flavored syrup
• 12 oz. lime sparkling water
• ice, crushed
• sugar (just enough for muddling the mint)

Directions :

1. Dip rims of glasses into a bit of lime juice, and then into the green sugar.  Place in freezer to chill glasses.
2. In a small pitcher, muddle the chopped mint with a little bit of sugar to release the flavors.
3. Pour in the limeade, rum, and syrup, stirring to combine.  Add the sparkling water and give it another stir.
4. Fill glasses about 1/3 – 1/2 of the way with the crushed ice and pour drink over top.

Day 77 : Almond Joy Shake

Ugh, it’s days like today that I wish I lived almost anywhere else!  I had a photography session scheduled today that I had to cancel because of the weather.  All week I was watching it, and figured we’d be in the clear since it was forecasted as cold but just cloudy….. then today I woke up and it was snowing like crazy and was very wet looking outside.  I am just so ready for spring already!  Anyway, it threw me off the for the rest of the day and we pretty much just chilled around the house.  Since it was a resting day we had take-out for dinner and I decided to make shakes to go along with that.

I didn’t use a recipe for these, but just threw them together.  I knew I wanted to use the coconut cream I had in the fridge from the other day, and figured why not make it like an almond joy since I also had some leftover toasted almonds from the other night.  I figured it would be good, and knew it would have the key ingredients of a real almond joy, but I was actually quite pleased at how similar it was to the actual candy bar when all was said and done.  I think I got the perfect balance.  My family really enjoyed it too, though Jeff almost wouldn’t taste it because he for some reason thought I put coffee in it.

 

Almond Joy Shake

Serves : 1                 Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 3 scoops fat free vanilla ice cream
• 2 T. chocolate syrup
• 1 T. coconut cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• whip cream
• toasted almonds

Directions :

1. Blend ice cream, syrup, coconut cream, and milk in a blender on high until smooth.
2. Pour into a tall glass, and top with whip cream and sprinkle toasted almonds over the whip cream.

 

Day 66 : Pineapple Buganda

I feel like I am back in Tahiti!  In fact I wish I were, because I bet this drink would be so good made with their amazing fresh ingredients.  The Pineapple Buganda though, actually originates from Uganda, which is in Africa.  Pineapples are a major crop there, and this drink is traditionally made with rum, but I left it out so my entire family could enjoy this…..which they DID!  Archer devoured it and Perrin even tried and liked it!

It is such a refreshing drink, not too sweet and so smooth and creamy.  The recipe gives you the option to use cream or coconut milk, but I strongly suggest using the coconut milk because the flavors go so well together.  If you want to make it family friendly like I did tonight just exchange the rum for either milk or some fat free half and half.  The original recipe also calls for 4 T. of brown sugar which I felt seemed like a bit much and I am glad I cut that in half.  I am sure it tastes good with the additional sugar, but IMO it wasn’t necessary and is a bit more figure friendly without.

This drink goes together in a matter of minutes, and is the perfect thing to serve for large crowds!  You could even do one blender with rum, and one without, maybe adding a bit of green food coloring or something to the one without so you don’t get them mixed up and serve the wrong one to the kids lol.  For me this is a drink I could enjoy every day!  And it looks so pretty in the glass with the garnish of mint and cherry.  I was even able to find to my convenience, the perfect small can of coconut milk and a container of pre-cut fresh pineapple in the proper amounts!  It really doesn’t get any easier than that!

 

Pineapple Buganda

Serves : 2-4                Time to make : 5 minutes

Ingredients :

• 2 C. fresh pineapple, very ripe and cut into small pieces
• 4 T. brown sugar (I used half as much)
• 1/2 cup cream or 1/2 cup coconut milk (I recommend the coconut milk)
• 6 oz. white rum (or as much milk or cream)
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 C. crushed ice
• mint sprig for garnish
• maraschino cherry for garnish

Directions :

1. Blend everything but your garnishes in a blender on high until nice and smooth.
2. Serve in a nice glass with your mint and cherry garnishes.

 

Day 4 : Orange, Coconut, Banana Smoothie

I had a different recipe in mind for today, but after it snowed all day our driveway was in need of a bit of snow blowing.  That of course went to my husband to take care of, but since it is nearly impossible to cook with a 10 month old hanging on you I decided to put it off for another day and make something a bit simpler for today instead.  The inspiration for this one came from Food.com, but I ended up changing it enough to suit me that I didn’t think it was necessary to post the original recipe.

I really liked this smoothie and I have to admit that I am hard to please when it comes to drink recipes.  I tend to tire of them long before I can drink mine, and textures are a big issue with me.  This one is so perfectly creamy and has a great blend of flavors.  I think using bananas in smoothies is tricky…. you have to use JUST the right amount or it’s overpowering.  For me at least this was very refreshing in a more subtle way.  I could definitely see myself doing this one again for a light breakfast on occasion.

I wasn’t feeling super creative as it was already late in the evening when I made these, so my picture could use some work lol, but I promise it tastes MUCH better than it looks!

 

Orange, Coconut, Banana Smoothie

Serves : 2                                                 Time to make : 5 minutes

 

Ingredients :

• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1/2 C. vanilla frozen yogurt
• 1/2 C. half and half cream
• 3/4 C. orange juice
• 1/2 C. coconut milk

 

Directions :

1. Place in blender and process on high until smooth.
2. Enjoy!

 

 

Be sure to check back tomorrow!