Category Archives: Recipes

Thai Coconut Shrimp

I don’t often tackle Thai cuisine at home because 1) the ingredients are sometimes a little obscure and 2) we can get such great Thai at local restaurants. However, when I found this recipe in the May/June issue of Clean Eating, it sounded so easy and so good that I had to try it out. Besides, while Thai food from restaurants can be loaded with extra fat and calories, this recipe has under 350 calories and 2 g of saturated fat per serving! Beyond that, it’s packed with pungent, fresh flavors like fresh ginger and garlic and balanced with a nice richness from the addition of peanut butter and light coconut milk to the sauce.

If you normally shy away from ethnic cooking, this may be a great recipe to get you started. I like to serve this with a simple marinated cucumber salad, but that Carrot Ginger dressing I posted a few weeks ago on some simple greens would be great too!

Thai Coconut Shrimp with Brown Rice Pasta
adapted from Clean Eating magazine May/June 2010

serves 4

8 oz. dry brown rice noodles (or whole wheat pasta)
2 c. broccoli florets
2/3 c. light coconut milk
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
3 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 c. bean sprouts
24 medium raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and rinsed under cold running water

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook pasta, then rinse with hot water and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, place broccoli florets in a glass bowl with 1/2 c. water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes on high. Rinse under cold water, drain and set aside.

3. In a bowl, add coconut milk, tomato paste, peanut butter, ginger, garlic, pepper flakes, and lime juice. Whisk to combine.

4. Simmer coconut mixture, red pepper, and bean sprouts in a nonstick skillet over medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes more, then flip shrimp and cook for 1 final minute.

5. Toss noodles and broccoli with coconut-shrimp mixture and serve hot!

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Blueberry Crumb Cake

I seem to feel the need to bake on long weekends! Something about wanting to do a little something extra for my family to make breakfast more than just our normal routine. This weekend, I tried a new recipe for a lightened-up blueberry crumb cake and it did NOT disappoint! Blueberries are so perfectly in season right now and I was staring at the huge carton I couldn’t resist buying and then I found this recipe…

The test of a good crumb cake for me is threefold:

1- Is it moist?
2- Is the crumb topping crumbly (not soggy) and sweet (but not TOO sweet)?
3- Does it hold up for a few days so I don’t feel compelled to find people who can eat the whole thing in one day?

This one, I’m happy to report, passed the three part test with flying colors. Beyond that, it comes in at under 300 calories per serving so you can have your cake and eat it too (so to speak). Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend…and hopefully a piece of this cake as well!.

Blueberry Crumb Cake
From Perfect Light Desserts by Nick Malgieri & David Joachim

serves 12

Cake batter:
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 large eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. each baking soda and salt
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk
3 c. blueberries, rinsed, drained, picked over

Topping:
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1. Heat oven to 350. Coat a 9″ springform pan with baking spray.

2. CAKE: In large bowl, with electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until lightened, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla and zest, then eggs, 1 at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. On low speed, beat in baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then half the flour. Beat in buttermilk, scraping down sides of bowl, then remaining flour, until batter is smooth. Stir in 2 cups of the blueberries; scrape batter into prepared pan. Scatter remaining berries over top, lightly pressing them in.

3. TOPPING: Combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; add butter and rub together with your fingers until mixture is evenly moistened and clumpy; evenly scatter crumbs over top of cake batter.

4. Bake 55-60 minutes or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan; cool cake completely on rack.

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Avocado Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing

Photo credit: SmittenKitchen.com

You know that fabulous ginger dressing you’re always served with your small salad at a Japanese restaurant? The one that is so fresh and tastes so amazingly perfect on the few simple greens it’s covering? This is even better than that.

Apparently, it originated in one of Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP.com newsletters…and then was adapted by one of my favorite food bloggers (whom you can check out at SmittenKitchen.com) …and now here it is from me to you!

The first time I made this I didn’t have miso in the house – so I used tahini instead. It turned out to be “just okay” – it was a little heavy, not very bright. I was looking for more zing. I didn’t want to give up until I’d tried it as written and I’m SO glad I didn’t! This is really, really delicious. The recipe specifies a combination of vegetables over which to serve it but I’ve been dolloping it on any salad combination I can think up and it hasn’t disappointed me yet. So if you are not an avocado fan, fear not! Use your culinary imagination for the salad itself, but DO try this dressing.

Miso, in case you are wondering, is a traditional Japanese seasoning that comes in a thick paste. You can find it in the refrigerated section of Whole Foods or other grocery stores (usually within the organic section). It is most often made by fermenting soybeans but many other grains can be used as well. Miso soup is eaten daily in most Japanese households and miso makes its way into lots of other foods that are Japanese in origin. And as for this dressing? Don’t make it without it!

Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
As posted on SmittenKitchen.com

Serves 4+

1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Tbsp. roughly chopped fresh ginger
2 Tbsp. sweet white miso
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1/4 c. grapeseed or another neutral oil (I used canola)
2 Tbsp. water

1 small/medium head of lettuce or mixed greens of your choice
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
1 avocado, quartered (or cut into small chunks)

Mix the carrots, shallot and ginger in a blender or food processor until finely chopped. Scrape down the sides, then add the miso, vinegar and sesame oil. While the machine is running, slowly drizzle in the neutral oil and water.

Divide the lettuce among four bowls, add some of the onion and a quarter of the avocado. Drizzle with plenty of dressing and serve.

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