healthy coconut shrimp recipe

Feeling overstuffed after the holidays and tired of winter already, I am consumed by two urges:
1- to start eating healthy again
2- to go on a tropical vacation
But who am I kidding? The vacation isn't happening, but we can pretend. Coconut shrimp should do the trick! I always order this if I see in on a restaurant menu, so I've had it prepared by many chefs, but it is always deep-fried. I've experimented at home and have had trouble with the deep frying method. The coconut tends to fall off and it just feels oily. I like more crunch and I don't like to see those paper towels saturated with oil. I invented a healthier version that is baked, very crunchy, and totally satisfying. I've tested this on my family and it just gets scarfed up in no time.

crunchy baked coconut shrimp

by Rebecca Harkin

1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled (tails on or off, whatever you prefer)
3/4 cup panko crumbs
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs, beaten

Start by oven-toasting the coconut & panko crumbs separately, spread evenly on 2 cookie sheets at 350° for 5 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Stirring part way through might be necessary if browning is uneven. Mix toasted crumbs and coconut in a medium bowl with red pepper flakes. In another bowl, beat 2 eggs. In a third bowl, mix flour, salt, & pepper. Dredge the shrimp in flour mixture first, dip in the egg until coated, then roll in the coconut/breadcrumb mixture. Really cake it on. Place the shrimp on a cooling rack coated with cooking spray on top of a cookie sheet. Bake this way at 350° for 15 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. Serve with mango chutney or cocktail sauce for dipping. Great at an entree with Caribbean rice & beans.

serves 2-4 as an entree, more as an appetizer

The shrimp don't need very long to cook, so pre-toasting the breading essential, otherwise the shrimp will look undercooked.

Toast them separately, though, and keep a close eye on it. It's easy to burn them.

The breading step is pretty standard.

Baking the shrimp on a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet allows the heat to get around all sides for even cooking.

Turn on the reggae and serve as an appetizer with mango chuntey (and/or cocktail sauce) or make it an entree with Caribbean beans & rice and a salad.

photo by Dana Harkin

Have a lovely vacation!

what to do with peaches

It's peach (and mango) season! The orchard up the road has beautiful juicy peaches right now. I don't bother with the mealy ones you can get at the supermarket. I could eat them for dessert every day.

I've already made cobbler and pie about a dozen times, so I thought I'd consult the cookbook a friend gave me, Mary Angela's Best of Everything, for something different. It's written by her talented-in-the-kitchen mother-in-law, Mary Angela Morgan.

She self-published the book which is very impressive because it looks like it's off the shelves of Barnes and Noble. Even has section tabs like my trusty Betty Crocker cookbook. I've actually been looking into what it takes to have a book published through traditional channels and basically, you have to be at least semi-famous already to get a book deal, especially for a cookbook.

Here's the recipe I made:

Mangoes & Peaches in Port Wine Syrup 

by Mary Angela Morgan 

3/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup Port wine
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped
4 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced

The combination of the lemon zest and the Port wine make this recipe. The flavor is bright and sophisticated at the same time. Port wine has not been on my radar since I caught my grandmother taking a surreptitious swig of it in the pantry once. She loved her Port... perhaps a bit too much. I've started sneaking it into my cobbler now too (just a Tablespoon) for that extra little "je ne sais quois".

In a medium sauce pan stir sugar, water, and Port wine over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Add lemon zest (don't use that dry stuff!); bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer uncovered 8 t0 10 minutes or until reduced to a medium thick syrup.

Add peach and mango slices. Mangoes can be tricky to cut up because of the big seed inside. There is a video of how to do it here.

Mangoes can be tricky to cut up because of the big seed inside. There is a video of how to do it here.

Simmer 1 minute. Transfer to a serving bowl to cool. Cover and chill for several hours. Serve in clear dessert bowls.

I served this to my own mother-in-law and got the thumbs-up. Enjoy!

lavender lemonade (small batch) recipe

Ever since the PA Lavender Festival, I've had lavender lemonade in the back of my mind. Today I noticed we had a few lemons lying around, so why not try making some? My boy loves to use the manual juicer, so I let him go to town.

Here is my small batch recipe- which makes only 2 or 3 glasses- adapted from the larger batch recipes out there:
1 cup hot water
2 TBS culinary lavender
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (from 3 or 4 lemons)
1 cup cold water
ice (duh)

I bought a few bags of culinary lavender on our trip to Willow Pond Farm.

The first step is to steep the lavender in the hot water until it cools. Strain out the buds, then dissolve the sugar in the lavender water. Mix in the lemon juice and cold water and serve over lots of ice.

This drink may be my new favorite, putting the Arnold Palmer in the #2 slot. Oh, it is so good!

grandma's peanut brittle recipe

My grandmother was here on the east coast for Thanksgiving for the first time ever this year. She was quite the cook in her day. She ran the cafeteria where her kids went to school back when the food at school was homemade and tasty. Large quantities were no big deal to her. Besides cooking at school, she made meals at home from scratch for a family of nine seven days a week without skimping on the sweets.

During the holidays, she'd pull out all the stops and make trays and trays of turtles, fudge, and peanut brittle. The whole extended family would receive a large goody box for Christmas. The boxes stopped coming a few years ago when my grandmother's eyesight began to fail along with my grandfather's health, and the two of them retired to an assisted living place with not much of a kitchen.

While she was here, I persuaded her to walk me through her peanut brittle recipe.

Grandma's Peanut Brittle
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
2 cups raw peanuts, shells removed (with the brown skins still on)
1tsp vanilla (omit if using vanilla flavored corn syrup)
3 TBS butter
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Combine sugar, corn syrup, hot water, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil & add peanuts.

It will be a scary rolling boil, but don't turn it down. Our first batch was a failed batch because we didn't get the temperature high enough. A little drip of the hot syrup into a cold cup of water should yield a crunchy thread, not a chewy glob. For the second batch, we used a candy thermometer and cooked the mixture until it reached 300° F. As tempting as it may be, DON'T lick the spoon. Any higher & it will burn, so remove from heat right away, add the butter, vanilla ,and baking soda. Stir quickly.

The baking soda makes the syrup foam up, adding air into it making the brittle pleasantly crunchy rather than rock-like. Immediately spread the mixture onto a large buttered cookie sheet to cool.

To release from the pan, twist the pan as you would an ice cube tray.

In a tin or boxed up nicely, this candy makes a great little gift. I'm thinking this year I'll take a break from my usual granola and give peanut brittle.

camping at trap pond

This past weekend we remembered the life of my grandfather, who died earlier this month at the ripe old age of 95, with a camping trip with the kids.

My grandfather was born into poverty in a farming community in Idaho and had a rough childhood before marrying, becoming a farmer and father to seven kids. He wasn't the warmest man on the exterior, and life on the farm was all about work, but once a year he would load up the family in the truck for camping in the Rockies. My mother and her siblings have fond memories of these trips where Grandpa was his happiest. The camping continued on after grandchildren came along and my family would spend summers out West visiting cousins and camping in large fun groups.

The kids have been begging to go camping since we got a larger tent for Daddy for Fathers Day. We got one that claims to sleep six, knowing it would actually sleep four. Never trust the capacity claims at the sporting goods store unless you want to be sardines and have no room for your gear.

We discovered while planning this trip that you have to go to the state park websites to reserve a campsite early. Our original plan was to go to Rickett's Glen State Park in Pennsylvania because of its awesome waterfalls and woodsy campground surrounding a lake, but it was booked up. Then we decided to scale back the plans, stay closer to home, and make it for just one night. Trap Pond State Park in southern Delaware fit the bill. It's not a large park, like the ones in the Rockies, but the campground was nicely wooded and we were able to get a secluded walk-in site in loop E.

Trap Pond's claim to fame is it's stand of baldcypress trees, the largest this far north. At the far end of the pond, where it becomes swampy, the trees grow straight out of the water from their swollen bases. They have canoes and rowboats you can rent as well as a pontoon boat tour so you can see them up close. You think to yourself, is this really Delaware? It feels prehistoric.

 

The kids managed to find some wildlife within the first 15 minutes. We think it was a smooth green snake.

Never saw these weird hairy-capped acorns before. They belong to the bur oaks on the edge of the forest.

One of the things I remember most about the Rockies trips, besides the stunning scenery, was how everything revolved around the meals. The aunties were always scurrying around organizing, preparing, and cleaning up afterward. It's a wonder we got any hiking done. In similar fashion, I found myself spending the whole day before making a list and grocery shopping at 3 different stores to prep for the trip. In my old age, I don't have the patience for mediocre food anymore, and I was hoping to rustle up something gourmet for dinner. I came up with a fish and vegetable concoction that cooks in tinfoil packets that I had a vague recollection reading about in a magazine somewhere. Although my grandfather would scoff that I'm using supermarket fish, not fresh-caught on the trip, here's my recipe:

Campfire Fish and Vegetables
(serves two) 
1 carrot julienned
3 scallions coarsely chopped, mostly white parts
mushrooms- 2 handfulls, sliced
snowpeas- 2 dozen or so
2 frozen mahi mahi fish filets or other firm fish, frozen 
salt & pepper to taste
1 lemon, sliced 
fresh herbs- thyme, parsley, chives, whatever you like 
1/2 cup white wine, divided


Roll out 2 pieces of tin foil, twice as long as wide. Assemble the vegetable in the middle of the foil, lay frozen fish on top. Season with salt & pepper. Top with lemon slices and herbs. Drench in white wine & seal packets well. Fold the seams over several times and store inside a plastic grocery bag (in case of leaks) on ice in a cooler.

I put these together in the AM before we left the house. By dinner time, the fish was thawed and ready to for the fire. We got the fire going to a point where the flames were below the grate and hot coals were in the bottom. They needed very little cooking time- about 5 minutes. Careful opening them due to the hot steam that will escape.

Bring along some crusty bakery bread to sop up the juices!

By the next day all our ice was melted, causing me to wonder how we could manage a two-night or more trip. I guess we could buy ice somewhere... what a pain. I see why serious campers eventually buy an RV. Two couples in the campground had these darling little T@B campers.

It turns out they are (or were) made by Airstream, which explains why I was attracted to them. They are very compact, but well-made and appeallingly designed. They have a small kitchen and u-shaped banquette around a table which folds into a 2-person bed at night. It sure would be convenient to have running water, refrigeration, and a place to have all your gear ready to go on a moments notice, but for now we'll rough it as car campers.

We got rained on before we got very far on the hike that goes around the lake. We were hoping to see the more of the baldcypresses. Oh well! That gives us a reason to come back for another quickie camping trip.

strawberry rhubarb pie fail

I hinted earlier that there might be some good things in store for our bumper crop of strawberries, possibly involving rhubarb.

Oh, how I love rhubarb. I came to like it later in life because I was turned off as a child by the way my grandmother served it: stewed and runny, on it's own in a bowl like an unappetizing soup.

A pie was in order and quick- before the strawberry and rhubarb seasons were over. Well, I'm sorry to report that I squandered the last of our strawberries and rhubarb on an unsuccessful pie. Do not use this recipe! I stand by the Martha Stewart crust I always use, but this pie was a sludgy mess. I think where it goes wrong is the flour-based thickener and the fact that it said to sprinkle the dry stuff on top of the filling rather than mix it with the fruit prior to filling the pie plate. Some of the other recipes out there call for tapioca or corn starch for thickening, so next time I will go that route. Alas, there is no more rhubarb to be had and the strawberries are being trucked in from God-knows-where.

The pie project wasn't a total waste, though. My girl finds it great fun to weave the lattice top.

We spent a pleasant mother-daughter afternoon putting the pie together.

It wasn't a bad looking pie, even if a little overdone. We did still serve it to our guests with Woodside Farm Creamery vanilla ice cream *swoon* on the side. Everyone was polite about it, but I consider it a fail. Once the first piece was cut, the whole filling just oozed back together into a milky, sludgy soup.

Hopefully next year I will have better luck! I am open to suggestions...

our year for strawberries

Oh what a difference a week makes!

This is going to be our year for strawberries! We got nothing last year. The plants were new and what little they produced, the squirrels got first. They would nibble at them and leave the remains out on the grass as if to taunt us. (Same thing with the tomatoes).

This was a week ago. The raised bed was overflowing with healthy plants laden with tiny green fruits and one ripe one! I guess they liked the generous helping of compost they got. We never implemented the elaborate squirrel barrier we were scheming over in early spring, though. Looks like there will be plenty for all of us.

My great grandmother in Idaho was quite the strawberry farmer. She had a little business selling strawberries and eggs to the local grocery store. That was how they did it back then. None of this shipping fruit in from California. All the produce was local because it made sense. They canned the excess to eat during the winter and didn't try to make strawberry shortcake in December.  

Mom and her sisters remember going to grandma's twice a week in the summer at the crack of dawn to pick berries before it got hot. That's the secret- pick them in the afternoon and they smoosh when you handle them. In the morning they are firm, but sever them at the stem so the top doesn't come off, just to be safe. They worked until 11:00 am or so, then called it a day for $1, a hot dog, and some pop.

I've got plans upon plans for these berries. I'm going to make strawberry shortcake (Martha's recipe) and a strawberry-rhubarb pie with local rhubarb from Highland Orchards (I'll share my own recipe when I do). But right now, I just have to have them, rinsed, hulled, cut in half, sprinkled with a teensy bit of sugar, and swimming in cream...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

mexican hot chocolate

Here we are, newly dug out from the second blizzard this week with news of another storm on the way for the beginning of next week. School has been canceled the entire week and sledding is no longer a novelty. This is highly unusual for Delaware! Some years we get an inch or two for the season.

So what are you supposed to do while stuck  home with stir-crazy kids? DRINK of course! But at least be seasonal about it. This hot chocolate recipe was a hit with my superintendant-of-schools-cursing gal pals and goes really well with any kind of cookie...

Mexican Hot Chocolate
adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray
4 cups whole milk
1 cup water
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (2/3 of a package)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon chile powder (trust me)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
Kahlua to taste- anything from a tablespoon per cup, on up

Mix all the ingredients together except for the Kahlua in a large saucepan. Whisk constantly over medium heat until hot, but not boiling. Will fill 4 large mugs or 8 small. Add Kahlua to individual mugs as desired! You can even use cinnamon sticks as stirrers if you want to get fancy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

christmas granola

Have you ever noticed that supermarket spaghetti sauce comes in really nice mason jars? The Classico jars even say "MASON" on them, no reference to spaghetti. Salsa jars are nice and plain too. Seems a shame to send them straight to recycling, so I saved some, soaked the labels off with warm water, and am using them for filling with Christmas granola.

 

Christmas Granola Recipe
adapted from a recipe by Bridgette Healey

6 cups old fashioned oats 
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped 
3/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/3 cup flax seed meal
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup dried cranberries


Using two rimmed, ungreased cookie sheets, toast oats for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring at least once.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the cranberries. Dump the toasted oats into the bowl and mix until coated. Spray cookie sheets with non stick spray and return coated oats to the pans.

Return to 350 degree oven and toast for another 20 mintues, stirring every 5 minutes. My ovens aren't so great- they heat unevenly- so the stirring every 5 minutes is important. Otherwise, the oats on the edges burn.


Cool slightly and mix in dried cranberries. Transfer to mason jars after completely cool.


1 recipe fills 3 mason jars.

Before filling the jars, I like to spray paint the lids so all reminders of their previous lives are gone. Red would have been nice, but I happened to have apple green on hand. No matter, I am covering the lid with some fabric anyway.

To make the jars gift-worthy, all you need is an 8" square of fabric (I pinked the edge), a rubber band, some twine or ribbon, and a tag. I've used burlap with a frayed edge and a ribbon before which looks homespun and pretty. Really, you could do anything you want.

I've tried tying on the ribbon or string directly over the fabric square, but it is very awkward. The rubber band is easier and allows to to readjust the fabric until it is how you want it. Then the string or ribbon covers it.

A jar of homemade granola makes a sweet hostess gift that is actually somewhat healthy. I'm talking omega 3's with the flax seed and nuts, B vitamins with the wheat germ, and cholesterol-fighting fiber with the oats. I have certain friends who expect their jar of granola every year, or I get comments like, "Where's my friggin' granola already?". It's that good.


 

corn syrup-free pecan pie

If you need a pie to bring to Aunt Mildred's for Thanksgiving, this is the one. Unlike most pecan pie recipes, this one does not call for corn syrup. We are avoiding anything with high fructose or regular corn syrup around here for health reasons, not that this pie is particularly healthy. It's basically candy in a pie shell, but isn't as cloyingly sweet as the corn syrup version.

corn syrup-free pecan pie adapted from a recipe by Elaine Helms

1 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon maple extract

1 cup chopped pecans

Prepare crust using Martha Stewart's pate brisee recipe (same as for my apple pie recipe here). You will only need half of the dough for this recipe, but you can freeze leftovers for later (or make two pies). Roll out dough and press into a 9" pie plate. For extra credit, roll out any leftover dough and use mini leaf cookie-cutters to make decorations to place on top.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy and stir in melted butter. Mix in the sugars and the flour. Add milk, vanilla, and nuts until well combined.

Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Protect edges of pie with tin foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 40 minutes, or until set in the center.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

apple pie heaven

Today was one of those crisp fall days that cries out for apple pie. Maybe it was the shift in barometric pressure, or just the sun finally coming out again that gave me that extra oomph to get baking.

 honeycrisp apples from Highland Orchard in Wilmington

This time of year in the northeast, there is no excuse for buying trucked-in supermarket apples. The local orchards have any kind of apple you could want. Here in Delaware we have Fifer Orchards in Wyoming, Highland Orchards right here in Wilmington, and just over the line in Elkton, Maryland is Milburn Orchards.  We stopped in at Highland today because they are so close and I love their honeycrisp apples (yes, they are crisp and taste like honey). 

inside the Highland Orchards store

The family-owned orchard and farm is hemmed in by residential developments and it amazes me that they've resisted selling out. I hope they stay forever, so I like to support them and get eggs and produce there. They have goats, chickens, pigs, rabbits, ducks, and peacocks for the kids to observe. It's a nice little outing.

My pie recipe is nothing exotic. I use Martha Stewart's pate brisee recipe for the crust which only sounds fancy. It uses butter instead of shortening, that's about it. I don't use a food processor as Martha recommends since I don't own a full-size one. A pastry cutter works fine and little helper-hands love to use it. The part about using very cold butter and chilling the crust dough is important. The goal is for the little nuggets of butter in the dough to retain some separation, so when they melt in baking, it makes the crust flaky.

For the filling I use my trust Betty Crocker 10" pie recipe but with half the sugar and little lemon juice added:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (fresh, if you can)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
8 cups peeled and sliced apples (chunky!)
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in apples. Dump into your pastry-lined plate. Dot with butter and sprinkle with lemon juice. Cover with top crust, seal edge with a fork, and cut slits in it. Cover edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust, 50 minutes or so.

I got this nutmeg grinder for Christmas a few years ago and use it a lot this time of year. You can get them at Williams-Sonoma. I never knew what a whole nutmeg looked like until I got this.

I likes it chunky!

Nothing like a fresh pie cooling on the windowsill. Heaven! The weekend is coming- you'll have time...