January 2009: BALANCE

BALANCE

by Kirstin Boncher & Lauren Cheney

January 24, 2009

NYC

Virgin Mojitos
Serves 1
10 fresh mint leaves
1 tsp. raw sugar
2 T. fresh squeezed lime juice
1 T. Simple syrup
1/2 c. Ginger Ale
Crushed ice

In a glass muddle/crush the mint, then add sugar, lime juice and syrup. Add ice. Top with Ginger Ale. Garnish with a fresh lime wheel and sprig of mint. Enjoy.

Peanut Waffle Crackers
3 c. peanuts
4 eggs
2 TBS flour
¼ c. water
2 T. coconut oil
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cayenne
1 tsp sugar
1 lime (the juice)

Blend the peanuts in a food processor and transfer to a vitamex (you can substitute a blender for this). Add remaining ingredients and mix until mixture is smooth. *Bake in the cookie press as instructed. Top with lemon lentils and fresh cilantro.

*We used the VillaWare V3600-NS Prego Nonstick Pizzelle Baker.

Lemon Lentils

4 T. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced thin
2 (2 inch) pieces of cinnamon stick
1 pound small lentils (yellow or pink)
2 teaspoons peeled and chopped fresh ginger root
3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarians)
salt to taste
1/2 tsp of ground red pepper
1 lemon

Directions:
Heat 2 Tablespoons of the oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium-low heat.
When hot, add the sliced onions and cook, stirring, until they soften.
Add the cinnamon, lentils and ginger to the pan and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes.
Add the stock, 2 cups of water, salt and red pepper.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Squeeze the juice from the lemon. Discard the seeds. Add the lemon juice and squeezed shell and cook for about 50 minutes longer, stirring often.

Topping (optional)
1 small onion -peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove - peeled and finely chopped
1 fresh hot green chili, chopped with seeds
2 bay leaves
2 T. chopped fresh coriander leaves

Heat the remaining 2 T. oil in a small pan. Add the chopped onion, garlic, chili and bay leaves. Cook, stirring until the onion is browned. Add this mixture, including the oil, to the lentils. Remove the bay leaves. Sprinkle with chopped coriander. Serve hot.

Tom Kha Gai
Chicken, Coconut and Galangal Soup
from The Taste of Thailand

2 cops stock
2 lime leaves, chopped
2 in. piece lemon grass, chopped
1 in. piece galangal, split lengthways into several pieces
4 T. fish sauce
3 T. lemon juice
1/4 pound chicken, finely sliced
5 fl oz/150 coconut milk
2 sm. red chillies, slightly crushed
coriander leaves

In a saucepan, heat the stock and add the lime leaves, lemon grass, galangal, fish sauce and lemon juice. Stirring thoroughly, bring to a boil. Add the chicken and the coconut milk. Continue to cook over a high heat, stirring constantl, until meat is cooked through (about 2 minutes). Add the crushed chilli for the last few seconds. Pour into small bowls, garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Chicken Satay

1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 chicken breasts
2 T. wheat free soy sauce (tamari)
1 tsp salt
4 T. oil
1 T. curry powder
1 T. ground tumeric
8 T. coconut milk
3 T. sugar
*1 tsp brown sugar
*3 tsp rice vinegar

Roast the coriander and cumin seeds gently in a small frying pan without oil for a few minutes until you smell the spices and it feels kind of like you are choking, stirring and shaking to ensure they don't burn. Remove from heat. Grind to a fine powder (You can substitute ready ground seeds if more convenient).

With a sharp knife cut the chicken breasts into fine slices 3x1.5x1/4 inch. Put the slices in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, including the ground coriander and cumin. Mix thoroughly and stand overnight or for 8 hours. (you can prepare in the morning for an evening meal)

Pre-heat the grill/broiler. Using 7-8 inch satay sticks, thread 2 pieces of marinated meat on each stick-not straight, not straight but rather as if you were gathering or smocking a price of material. Grill/broil the satays until the meat is cooked through about 6-8 minutes on both sides. Serve with Peanut Sauce.

*these are optional ingredients

Peanut Sauce
(from HYPERLINK "http://www.bookofyum.com/"www.bookofyum.com)

1 sliced small onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon soy sauce or wheat free tamari
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cloves crushed garlic
3/4 cup NATURAL peanut butter or 1 cup dry roasted salted peanuts
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lime juice

Cook onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Puree in blender or Cuisinart. Add remaining ingredients. Slowly add enough boiling water until it is the consistency of slightly thinned peanut butter. Season to taste with lime juice.




Strawberry Sorbet

½ c. coconut milk
3 c. frozen strawberries
¼ c. maple syrup

Mix ingredients and puree in vitamix (if you don’t have a vitamix you can substitute a blender). Serve immediately or freeze.

*we used 1 ½ c. strawberries and 1 ½ c. cherries to add some flavor to the recipe

Green Papaya Salad

lettuce and parsley, to garnish
4 oz grated raw green papya
1 small garlic clove
1 T. roasted peanuts
1 T. dried shrimp, ground
4-5 green beans, coarsely chopped
1 medium tomato, sliced
1 T. sugar
2 T. fish sauce
2 T. lemon juice

Line a serving plate with lettuce and parsley. Pound the papaya with the garlic. With a pestle and mortar, or in a large bowl, gently mix all the ingredients together, beginning with the hardest then adding the liquids. Alternate pounding and turning with a spoon until all are thoroughly blended. Turn onto serving dish.

Thai Green Curry with Shrimp

1 pound shrimp
1/4 c. onions- sliced
2 T.+ 1 t. green curry spice or paste
1/2 cup stock or water
1&1/2 T. fish sauce
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 tsp palm sugar (or cane sugar)
3/4 tsp lime juice
1 kaffir lime leaf
1/4 cup thai basil leaves
1/4 cup cilantro
1 sliced green jalepeno or thai chili
1 lemon grass stalk (bruised with the back of a knife)
3 small green or red hgeggplant cut in 1 inch piece
sliced red bell pepper

Rub 1 pound shrimp with 1 tsp green curry spice & set aside.
Saute 1/4 cup onions. Add 2 T. green curry spice and stir cooking over heat until you are choking from from the spice. Add Add stock/water, fish sauce, coconut milk, sugar, lime juice, kaffir lime leaf, sliced green jalepeno or thai chili, lemon grass stalk (bruised with the back of a knife) and cook for 10 minutes. Add shrimp, basil leaves , cilantro at last minute. cook for 2 minutes until shrimp are shrink in size, become opaque and curl a little. Serve with a few cilantro leaves on top

Mango with Sticky Rice

1 cup thick coconut milk
2 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
10 oz sticky rice, cooked still warm
3 large ripe mangos
2 tbs coconut cream

Mix coconut milk, sugar and salt until sugar dissolves. Mix into warm rice for 30 minutes. Peel mangos (slice into 4 pieces) and top over rice.

Pad Thai
Thai Fried Noodles

4 T. oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 egg
4 oz/120 g dry flat rice noodles soaked in water for 20 minutes until soft and drained
2 T. lime juice
1&1/2 T fish sauce
1/2 t. sugar
2 T. chopped roasted peanuts
1/8 tsp dried red chilli powder (or cayenne)
1 oz. bean sprouts
2 spring onions/scallions, chopped into 1 in.
sprig of coriander leaf, coarsely chopped
1 lime cut into 4 pieces for garnish

In a wok or frying pan, heat the oil, add the garlic and fry until golden brown. Break the egg into the wok, stir quickly and cook for a couple of seconds. Add the noodles and stir well, scraping down the sides of the pan to ensure they mix with the garlic and egg. One by one, add the lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar, half the peanuts, the chili powder, 1 T. of the beansprouts, and the spring onions, stirring quickly all the time. Test the noodles for tenderness. When done, turn onto a serving plate and arrange the remaining peanuts, dried shrimp and beansprouts around the dish. Garnish with the coriander and lime wedges.

Chocolate Truffle Souffle
Served with coconut sorbet

1 3/4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
2/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup plus 1 1/2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T butter
8 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar

Place chocolate in a mixing bowl. Bring 1/3 cup of skim milk almost to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Allow to stand for 30 seconds, then stir until the chocolate has melted.

Mix the cocoa into 1/3 cup steaming milk. Mix into paste.

Stir the cocoa paste into the melted chocolate. Put in microwave and cook whisking every 30 seconds until smooth and very hot.

Place egg whites in bowl of electric mixer and begin to whip. Beat until stiff.

Cook 3/4 c. sugar with 1/4 c. water until 250 degree - pour the hot sugar down the side of the bowl, continuing to beat the whites. (Be careful not to pour the hot sugar onto the beaters because it will splatter). Continue beating the meringue until the outside of the bowl is warm, not hot.

Fold one-third of the meringue into the chocolate. Then fold the remaining meringue to the meringue-chocolate mixture.

Butter and sugar the inside of a 7 inch-diameter souffle dish. Make a collar of wax paper for the dish by folding a length of wax paper in half and in half again. Then butter it and attach it to the souffle dish using tape or a rubber band, leaving an inch or so above the edge of the dish. Spoon the souffle into the dish; cover lightly with foil and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

To serve, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Thirty minutes before baking, remove the souffle from the refrigerator and remove it. Bake the souffle 15 to 20 minutes minutes, or until a straw or cake tester inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Remove wax paper.

Meanwhile, whip cream and sweeten, if using. Serve immediately, plain or with sweetened whipped cream or ice-cream of choice.