Curried Mussels with Lemongrass *Award-Winning*

The lemongrass we planted in our garden grew very well. It is almost as tall as Amy! As it starts to get cooler out, we are trying hard to use up all the herbs and vegetables that are still growing abundantly in our front yard. So, we wondered...what would lemongrass be fabulous in? Then we spotted a 2-pound bag of Prince Edward Island mussels at our market for $4.99, and we had our answer.

When you are cooking with lemongrass, you are really only using the bottom part of the stalk. First you chop off the long grassy part and then peel away the outer layers of the bottom stalk, kind of like you do with fresh corn. Underneath should be a pale yellow fleshy stalk that is soft and fragrant. Cut off and discard the bulbous end, then slice thinly about 2/3 of the way up. The green and woody upper part can be used for infusing flavor into a broth, but is not very edible, so should be removed before serving.

This dish uses some random ingredients besides the lemongrass, that is true. But these are things we buy when we see them, often at Asian markets, and tend to keep around our pantry when we are looking to make something unusual or slightly exotic. For New Englanders anyway.

So this dish includes red curry paste and fish sauce which we can find in our normal grocery store, as well as dried galangal, which we bought in Boston's Chinatown, but can be replaced with some grated fresh ginger. Even lemongrass is hard to get around here (although if you need some, we have plenty!!!). If you can't find it, substituting some grated lemon zest would do the trick.

While the broth, with all these exciting ingredients, was smooth, sweet, spicy and citrusy, it turned out slightly thin and didn't seep into the mussel shells as well as we wanted it to. We just ate all the mussels then sopped that tasty broth up with some fresh crusty bread. To solve that problem in the future, we might leave the hot water out of the recipe. 

Curried Mussels with Lemongrass

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste

1 cup hot water

1 stalk lemongrass, chopped

2 pieces dried galangal

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon liquid sugar (simple syrup)

1 can light coconut milk

2 pounds fresh PEI mussels

In a large pot, heat the olive oil. Add the curry paste and stir to fry for about a minute. Stir in the water, then add the lemongrass, galangal, fish sauce, sugar and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the mussels, stir to coat, and put a lid on the pot. Cook, covered, over low heat until the mussels open, about five minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

Our Macaroons Featured on Simple Recipes

Need a recipe for a delicious (and so easy!) spring cookie? Try our recipe for "Mad Easy Macaroons," currently being featured on Simple Recipes!

Countdown to Christmas: Mad-Easy Macaroons

Amy writes: Some women won't admit what I'm about to admit, but I think I can do it. Let me take a deep breath. Okay, ready?

I have a lot in common with my mother. There. I said it. Well.

One of the many things we have in common is our love of coconut, and that is probably why she recently emailed me a recipe for coconut macaroons.



As many daughters might, I had my suspicions that she wasn't sending it to me merely out of the goodness of her heart. I thought perhaps it may be a subtle hint that she would like to see these on our Christmas Eve dessert table. Chris thought so too. And since they fall into the quick-and-easy theme we seem to have going this year, we decided to make them. (Just for you, Mom!)

Mix ingredients in a bowl

Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet

and bake 8-10 minutes

Cool on parchment-lined wire racks

She found this particular recipe at the website Just A Pinch, but when I browsed around the Internet, I found several very similar recipes. What I particularly love about this one is that there are only four ingredients. That, and the preparation only takes about two minutes. Oh, and they only need to be baked for 8-10 minutes. Which is to say, they are "mad-easy," which is why I've dubbed them "Mad-Easy Macaroons." And they are also really tasty - moist, chewy, and full of coconut and almond flavor. So next time either I or my mother have a craving for coconut, we know that craving can be satisified in about a half hour. How great is that?

Mad-Easy Macaroons

recipe from Just A Pinch

Ingredients:

2 (7-ounce) packages sweetened flake coconut
(aka "angel flake")

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1  1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine condensed milk and extracts. Mix well. Add coconut. Mix well. Drop by round teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from baking sheets and place on parchment-covered cooling racks. Store loosely covered at room temp.

Holy Smoke(r)!

We are known for celebrating things late. We once enjoyed a rockin' "Seis de Mayo" with tequila and hot wings at Hooters (no comment...) with one of Chris's friends. It was the best Cinco de Mayo I never had. This year, we're having a Fifth of July cookout with our neighbors D and J. It started with good intentions...a new smoker, some marinated chicken, you know, normal plans...until we realized (around 4 p.m. on the 4th of July) the smoker needed to be cured before we could cook with it. Which takes 3 hours on top of the 4 hours needed for smoking the actual dinner. Which meant dinner would be around midnight, and D and J have jobs that, unfortunately, make them not free all summer long (unlike us).

And so today, being a brand new day, brought similar plans (and the wonderful scent!) of applewood smoked jerk chicken along with a couple of intriguing side dishes, in our one-day-late-celebration of our nation's Independence Day.

First, the chicken. We marinated several chicken pieces in a store-bought jerk seasoning. We set up the smoker with applewood chips and allowed the chicken to smoke for four hours. Without even lifting the lid (which was a huge temptation to resist, btw!)!!!

Second, the rice. We almost always make our rice (except our risotto) in a rice cooker because it comes out perfectly cooked and fluffy, the way rice should be. Tonight, we used basmati rice, but instead of plain old water, we substituted coconut water for a little bit of cool tropical flavor.

Finally, to round out the meal, Chris chopped up a whole pineapple and tossed it with fresh lavender and some vanilla sugar for a tasty side dish.

So,tonight's meal is: Applewood-Smoked Jerk Chicken with Coconut Rice and Pineapple-Lavender Salad. It may not be as patriotic as burgers and dogs, but it works for us.

Now, we don't really have any "recipes," for this meal, but to recap: we used Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning to marinate the chicken, substituted coconut water for water to cook our rice, and tossed chopped pineapple with some lavender and sugar infused with vanilla bean. D did a fabulous job grilling up corn on the cob too. If you have specific questions, don't hesitate to email us! And Happy 5th of July!!!

Sweet Chili and Coconut Corn Soup *Award-Winning"

It's a Sunday afternoon and rain is falling lightly over our street. The smell of ozone and freshly moved grass is wafting through the screen windows. It's a damp and humid day, and we feel like curling up on the couch to watch a movie. Not very summer like, is it? Yet it is summer - we have proof:  there are a couple of ears of fresh corn on the counter and soapy-smelling cilantro growing in the garden. Sounds like we're making soup today. Warm, velvety, sweet yet spicy. "Soup is good food," anytime of the year.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 13.5-ounce can light coconut milk

3 ears corn

juice of one lime

salt to taste

3 tablespoons sweet chili sauce

cilantro for garnish

Remove the corn kernels from the cobs and set aside, keeping the cobs. Place oil, onions, garlic and coriander in a large pot and heat to medium. Saute until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant. Stir in the broth and coconut milk. Add the corn kernels and cobs and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes, then remove cobs and discard. Add the lime juice, salt, and sweet chili sauce. Blend to thicken slightly using an immersion blender. Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro.

Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

Did we not get enough roasted poultry last week? Apparently not, because Tuesday night came and we found ourselves picking up a rotisserie chicken at our local supermarket. It was a "Superbird" which meant plenty of leftovers, and since we already did the pot pie thing with the turkey, it was time for something new and different. A recent purchase of the never-before-seen College Inn Culinary Broth Thai Coconut Curry was inspiration, and basis, for this colorful and delicious soup. The warm spiciness of the curry makes it the perfect soup for a cold winter's night, and an excellent use of leftover chicken!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 carrots, cut into thin one-inch pieces

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tablespoon red curry paste

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 32-ounce container College Inn Culinary Broth Thai Coconut Curry

2 cups chicken broth

1 15-ounce can coconut milk

1/2 tablespoon salt

4 ounces thin rice noodles, broken in half

1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast meat

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 cup chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, curry paste and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring, 2-3 minutes. Stir in the broth and coconut milk, season with salt, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and add the noodles and chicken. Simmer over low heat 5-6 minutes until chicken is warmed through and noodles are tender. Turn off heat, then add the lime juice and cilantro.

Caribbean Coconut Shrimp

Sure, Thanksgiving is only two one day away, but it feels like spring, with temperatures in the low 60s. That means it's a good night for something summery, something exotic, something with coconut. Thus it was the weather, and a single stalk of lemongrass given to us by Chef Lise at a recent cooking class, that inspired our newest shrimp creation we're calling "Caribbean Coconut Shrimp."

Sweating the onion, garlic and lemongrass

Tomato sauce is mixed in.

Add in the coconut milk and allow the lemongrass some time to infuse the sauce.

Ingredients:

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

2-3 stalks lemongrass, quartered

1 medium onion, chopped

3 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups coconut milk

4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Place the shrimp in one layer inside a baking dish and place aside in refrigerator. Take the bottom end of one of the stalks of lemongrass and peel it to get to the inside core; mince the core finely to equal about a teaspoon or so. Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a skillet and add the chopped onion, minced garlic and minced lemongrass. Saute for five minutes, stirring often, until onions are translucent. Add the tomato sauce and cook another three to five minutes. Stir in coconut milk, cilantro and lemongrass stalks, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off heat and allow the lemongrass to infuse the sauce, about a half hour. When ready to serve, pour sauce over shrimp. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove aluminum foil and continue to bake uncovered for 10 more minutes, until shrimp are pink. Delicious with saffron or jasmine rice!