Coconut Shrimp with Fiery Mango Sauce & Coconut-Cilantro Rice

Lately, you could say my presence in the blogosphere has been a little MIA. I've gone AWOL. Rogue. But not by my own doing, I assure you. See, I was seduced. The cloudless days. The shimmering pool. The garage sale-lined streets. It’s all been a little too much to resist, and in the end, summer inevitably won me over.

Like a lovesick teenager, I’ve spent every free second of precious weekend time scavenging for five-cent deals, sipping frosty drinks and glued to an inflatable pool raft at a closeness even the ruler of a prom chaperone couldn’t separate.

I tried to resist, really. I sat down to upload photos. I attempted countless times to write something…anything... about the food I've been making. But that sneaky sun slithered its way through my curtains and blinded me with the promise of sultry tan lines and natural highlights.

So I gave in. I strapped on my suit, slathered on the SPF and decompressed.

But I’m still here.

Thankfully, in all my summer lovin', I still managed to slide on an apron over my swimsuit and spend a little time in the kitchen. It’s just the sharing with you all that’s been a bit delayed. So I now have a mile-long list of grilled, chilled, stacked and speared summer recipes that I’m dying to tell you about. Grilled jalapeño poppers…blueberry almond lemon coffee cake…Jamaican jerk beef kabobs... Oooh yeah. We’ve been eating quite well.

So let’s get to it, shall we?

This dish definitely screams summer. A specific summer, actually, where I fell in love with more than just the sun.

Summer, 2006. Clearwater Beach. The sun was blazing, the air was salty, and the seagulls were the only things I could hear over my pounding heart. I was drunk on love, you see, with the man who would one day become my husband.

After spending the day lounging in the sand, we headed to a beach side seafood shack just in time to watch the sun dip below the horizon. Toasted from the sun, we somehow managed to stop gushing over each other long enough to peruse the menu, and that’s when we realized that there was only one thing that could make the day more perfect. A heaping platter of deep fried, crunchy coconut shrimp.

And perfection was definitely reached. Nothing beats a sweet-spicy sauce mellowed by shrimp coated in a crisp, sweet, coconut-panko crust. Making the meal at home is a bit more involved than pointing to a word on a menu, but well worth the major decrease in moolah and calories.

First, shell and devein your shrimp. You just need a knife, a little patience and a husband. That's right. Put him to work. The job involves raw meat, sharp objects and an intestinal track. He'll love it. Check out this simple tutorial.

While Luke did surgery on the shrimp, I made the aromatic sauce, a delicious mix of ginger, onion, garlic, lime, mango nectar and scotch bonnet or habanero peppers. (Don't rub your eyes...they're hot!) I chopped, sautéed, simmered and blended my way to a sauce so good it'd make a grasshopper taste delicious.

While the sauce chilled in the fridge, I prepared the coconut rice and breaded and fried the shrimp. Have you ever used Japanese panko breadcrumbs? Oh. my. crunchies. Brilliance, actually. The light crunchiness of panko has made it my go-to choice for breading shrimp and chicken.

(The most perfect chicken fingers: dredge chicken into flour, then beaten egg, then panko...then back in egg and back in panko... fry in a little oil....then enjoy. And thank me later.)

Coconut rice makes the perfect compliment to coconut shrimp, if you ask me. And while this lightened up recipe is definitely not as indulgent as the full fat version, it works. After all, it's just rice. The real stars of this dish are pictured below.

So Luke and I took a seat on our patio as the sun began to set, still crazy in love, and once again enjoyed a heaping plate of fried coconut shrimp. And it was delicious. Definitely as good as the restaurant's version we had years before. Sweet, crunchy, saucy, spicy. Perfection.

In fact, the only thing different was the manner in which Luke ate the meal. I guess marriage tends to make you loosen up your manners a bit because he literally licked that sauce bowl clean. But since I was the one slaving over the dish this time, I'll take it as a compliment.

Coconut Shrimp with Fiery Mango Sauce

Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light, January 2010

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 7 shrimp and about 2 1/2 tablespoons sauce)

Ingredients:

Sauce:
1  teaspoon  canola oil
2/3  cup  finely chopped onion
1/2  teaspoon  grated peeled fresh ginger
1  garlic clove, minced
1  (12-ounce) can mango nectar
1/4  Scotch bonnet pepper, unseeded (Habanero makes a perfect substitute.)
1 1/2  tablespoons  fresh lime juice
1/8  teaspoon  salt
   
Shrimp:
28  jumbo shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1/2  cup  flaked sweetened coconut
1/2  cup  panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/3  cup  cornstarch
3  large egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2  teaspoon  salt
8  teaspoons  canola oil, divided
Cooking spray

Preparation:
To prepare sauce, heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add nectar and pepper; bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until reduced to 3/4 cup. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Place mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Stir in juice and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cool.

Peel and devein shrimp, leaving tails intact; discard shells.

Place coconut in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until finely chopped. Add panko; pulse to combine. Place coconut mixture in a shallow dish. Place cornstarch in a shallow dish. Place egg whites in a shallow dish. Sprinkle shrimp evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Working with 1 shrimp at a time, dredge shrimp in cornstarch, shaking off excess. Dip in egg whites; dredge in coconut mixture.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add 7 shrimp to pan; coat tops of shrimp with cooking spray. Cook shrimp 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure 3 times with remaining oil and shrimp.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 367, Fat: 13.5g (sat 2.4g,mono 6.5g,poly 3.7g), Protein: 31g, Carbohydrate: 29.5g, Fiber: 1g, Cholesterol: 252mg, Iron: 5.6mg, Sodium: 731mg, Calcium: 76mg.

Cilantro-Coconut Rice
Cooking Light, April 2008
Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:
1  cup  water
3/4  cup  basmati rice
3/4  cup  light coconut milk
1/2  teaspoon  salt, divided
3  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation:
Combine 1 cup water, rice, coconut milk, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro.

 *This recipe was part of another recipe by Cooking Light, so I do not have specific nutritional info for the rice. But there's no bacon in it, so must not be too bad.

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Old-Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake

Sometimes I think everything is just better in its old-fashioned form. Old-fashioned phones didn't cause car accidents or stunt teenagers' vocabulary to three-letter words. Old-fashioned clothes actually clothed people. (Ever been to Miami Beach?) And old-fashioned recipes weren't made of chemicals. They were made of food. Tasty, nutritious, real food.

So what exactly makes this recipe old-fashioned? The made-from-scratch buttermilk biscuits that thankfully replace those sticky, preservative-packed, nuclear war-surviving Twinkie-like “shortcakes” you’ll find disgracing the mere existence of strawberries these days.

No prepackaged shortcuts here. For this dessert, you'll actually have to get your hands in some dough. Knead it. Form biscuits. Slice and smash strawberries... But in the end, every buttery, flaky, sweet berry-cream bite will be well worth the trouble.

You start by making the sauce, a perfect mingling of strawberries and sugar, fancied up with the flavors of orange juice and vanilla. A definite win with the taste buds.

While the strawberry mixture is chilling, you can make the old-fashioned biscuits. If those words paint horrid images of lard, shortening and three-pound bags of sugar, have no fear. This is a Cooking Light-inspired blog, after all, so this treat will give you old-fashioned flavor without an old-fashioned gut. 

Low fat buttermilk and just a tidbit of butter do the trick and make biscuits truly worthy of strawberries. (And sausage gravy if you make a double batch.)

Once the biscuits are baked, cooled and sliced, you can start assembling your homemade creation. You can get all fancy with artistic saucy drizzles and perfectly balanced berries, or just throw it all in a bowl, pass it to your husband's happy hands and call it a day.

A tip: if that middle biscuit layer (the crown) is too rounded to stack, just slice off the edge and you'll have a flat surface to keep building. And hey, a snack!

The end result? Fantastic. I actually had initial doubts about replacing angel food or pound cake with a biscuit. (I prefer my biscuits layered with egg, sausage and cheese.) But these had a wonderful crumbly crunch on the outside and a soft fluffiness on the inside. A perfect compliment to the sweet, flavorful sauce.

Now if only I'd made my own old-fashioned whipped cream instead of using Cool Whip’s whipped oil. (Did you know that? Ridiculous.) But that’s for another day and another post.

Overall, it was the perfect summer treat. And let me tell you, we definitely ate it the old-fashioned way…

...we didn't waste a crumb.

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake
Cooking Light, June 1998
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
3 1/2  cups  halved strawberries, divided
1/3  cup  sugar
1/3  cup  orange juice
2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
1  teaspoon  lemon juice
1 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour
3  tablespoons  sugar
1  teaspoon  baking powder
1/4  teaspoon  baking soda
1/8  teaspoon  salt
3  tablespoons  chilled stick margarine or butter, cut into small pieces
1/2  cup  low-fat buttermilk
Cooking spray
6  tablespoons  frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
Whole strawberries (optional)

Preparation:
Combine 1 cup strawberry halves, 1/3 cup sugar, orange juice, vanilla, and lemon juice in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Stir in 2 1/2 cups strawberry halves. Cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Pat dough into a 6 x 4-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 6 squares. Place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Split shortcakes in half horizontally using a serrated knife; place each bottom half on a dessert plate. Spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each bottom half. Top with shortcake tops; spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each top. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon whipped topping; garnish with whole strawberries, if desired.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 270 (24% from fat), Fat: 7.2g (sat 1.9g,mono 2.7g,poly 2.1g), Protein: 4.3g, Carbohydrate: 47.3g, Fiber: 3g, Cholesterol: 0.0mg, Iron: 1.7mg, Sodium: 183mg, Calcium: 93mg.

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Rosemary Chicken Salad

While some kids grew up fearing dusty, cobweb-laden attics filled with looming shadows and stinky mothballs, the attic that I remember paints quite a different image. Aside from being keeper of the infamous toy trunk, it was a haven for my mother's beautiful, sweet smelling flowers and herbs, delicately hung from the ceiling to dry and preserve.

Thyme, lavender, statice, sweet Annie, sunflowers, rosemary...

All hovering high above our heads, filling that small space with the most wonderful smells. Who wouldn't love spending time in a place like that? (Although, I'm sure the three-dozen Barbies are truly what made me a regular.)

But even now, 14 years after moving out of my childhood home, I’m instantly taken back to my days in LaPorte, Indiana with the simple act of chopping fresh rosemary for this delicious chicken salad.

And what an awesome chicken salad it makes! Flavor-packed smoked almonds, chopped green onion, Dijon mustard and fragrant rosemary compliment each other perfectly, creating a delicate, earthy taste in quite possibly...no, most assuredly...the best sandwich I've ever made.*

*Unless you count that one sandwich with bacon, cheese and uh, fried chicken.

To start, I roasted the skinless, boneless chicken breasts by brushing them with olive oil, sprinkling with S&P, and baking at 350-degrees until done. (30-45 minutes - the perfect amount of time to chop the rest of the ingredients, and heck, even take a nap if so inclined.)

Then everything comes together beautifully with a little light mayo and fat free yogurt. Yogurt? Yep, surprised me, too, but wonderfully so. A little lettuce and fresh rosemary sourdough bakery bread and I was in business.

What a great sandwich. So thick and creamy, and bursting with flavor. I'm sure you could add all kinds of things to suit your taste buds, too. Next time I may try sliced grapes or small chunks of peeled apple.

The husband agreed with the awesomeness of this meal. He said it tasted like something you'd find at some fancy bakery. (Or, thankfully, in your very own kitchen.)

And so with every bite, every creamy, rosemary-infused bite, I was brought back to a simpler place and time. A place full of cascading flowers and herbs. And a time where the only thing on the agenda was making sure Barbie's golden hair was braided just right before Ken picked her up for the ball.

Rosemary Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Brandy Long, Cooking Light, April 2005
Yield: 5 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

Ingredients:
3  cups  chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 3/4 pound)
1/3  cup  chopped green onions
1/4  cup  chopped smoked almonds
1/4  cup  plain fat-free yogurt
1/4  cup  light mayonnaise
1  teaspoon  chopped fresh rosemary
1  teaspoon  Dijon mustard
1/8  teaspoon  salt
1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
10  slices whole-grain bread

Preparation:
Combine first 9 ingredients, stirring well. Spread about 2/3 cup of chicken mixture over each of 5 bread slices, and top with remaining bread slices. Cut sandwiches diagonally in half.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 360 (29% from fat), Fat: 11.6g (sat 2.1g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.8g), Protein: 33.6g, Carbohydrate: 29.9g, Fiber: 4.4g, Cholesterol: 76mg, Iron: 2.9mg, Sodium: 529mg, Calcium: 104mg.

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Crunchy-Chewy Sesame Cookies

If I were allergic to peanuts...

(And just let me take this time to thank God that I am in fact not allergic, because a life without Reese's peanut butter cups, chocolate-peanut butter ice cream and Thai peanut curry sauce is no life at all.)

...I would at least find comfort in the fact that peanut butter cookies, those sugar-coated, fork-pressed crave-able confections that are inhaled instead of eaten, could in fact still find their way to my mouth. How, you ask? With these little guys.

It's tahini to the rescue! The same miracle ingredient that makes hummus possible is now bringing peanut butter-like cookies to the allergy-inflicted masses! Along with a little dark sesame oil, brown sugar and the usual baking suspects, you too can have peanut-free, yet equally tasty cookie dough balls ready to be rolled into a bath of sweet sugar crystals. Just try to resist popping them in your mouth. They make great cookies, but lousy truffles.

Lightly smash them with a cup, skip the forking all together and throw them into the oven. I rescued mine a bit early as I usually do, and they came out perfectly crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and absolutely delicious all over.

The sesame flavor is a bit odd in a cookie, I'll admit, but in a good way I assure you. Very tasty. Alongside a cold glass of milk, these little wonders really do taste similar to their peanut butter counterparts. In fact, I think I could have fooled my husband had I not been singing the praises of tahini all morning. (It makes hummus and cookies!!)

So go make these. Your peanut allergy suffering friends and children will thank you. As for me, it's about time I go hunt down a spoonful of peanut butter. All this talk about tahini has surely made him jealous.

Crunchy Sesame Cookies

Cooking Light, December 2007

Yield: 3 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)

Cookbook Note: Roasted sesame-seed paste and dark sesame oil deliver a deep, nutty flavor. A touch of corn syrup and cornstarch ensure crispness.

Ingredients:
1 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1 1/2  tablespoons  cornstarch
1  teaspoon  baking powder
1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
1/4  teaspoon  salt
1  cup  packed brown sugar
1/3  cup  tahini (roasted sesame-seed paste)
2  tablespoons  dark sesame oil
1  tablespoon  light-colored corn syrup
2  teaspoons  vanilla extract
1  large egg
Cooking spray
2  tablespoons  granulated sugar

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk; set mixture aside.

Place brown sugar, tahini, and oil in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add syrup, vanilla, and egg; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating at low speed just until combined.

Lightly coat hands with cooking spray. Shape dough into 36 balls (about 1 inch each). Place granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten balls slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on a wire rack.

Nutritional Information: Calories:71 (27% from fat), Fat: 2.1g (sat 0.3g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.9g), Protein: 1.1g, Carbohydrate: 11.9g, Fiber: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 6mg, Iron: 0.5mg, Sodium: 53mg, Calcium: 17mg.

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