Good morning, dear readers. Today's recipes are decidedly green: Recipes using fresh kale, Swiss chard and mustard greens; healthful dinners that are toddler-approved and easy to make. And this one's brown and flecked with, well, cranberries: oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries.
Suzannah Gardener has a practiced green thumb and, in preparing for bumper crops of kale, Swiss chard and mustard greens, she wants to be recipe-ready. And that's where you come in. Got recipes? She would especially like a recipe for raw kale salad, having tasted the excellent one at Community Pie.
A mother of three toddlers launched the request for healthy dinners among Facebook friends, and now it expands to you. Finally, E.G.E. wants to make oatmeal cookies full of dried cranberries.
An anonymous reader saved this recipe for shrimp from March 2008. In addition, the article suggested sauces, and those recipes follow. We have had a lot of saucy conversation lately on these pages, especially with an Asian twist, so such sauces add to the conversation.
Coconut Shrimp
1 1/2 pounds unpeeled, large raw shrimp
Vegetable cooking spray
2 egg whites
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon Caribbean jerk seasoning
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon paprika
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel shrimp, leaving tails on. Devein, if desired.
Place a wire rack coated with cooking spray in a 15- by 10-inch jelly roll pan. Whisk egg whites just until foamy. Stir together cornstarch and jerk seasoning in a shallow dish. Stir together coconut, Japanese bread crumbs and paprika in another shallow dish.
Dredge shrimp, one at a time, in cornstarch mixture; dip in egg whites and dredge in coconut mixture, pressing gently with fingers. Lightly coat shrimp on each side with cooking spray; arrange shrimp on wire rack.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink, turning once after 8 minutes.
Serve if desired with the following sauces:
Honey Mustard Sauce
This sauce may also be paired with chicken tenders.
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup coarse-grained mustard
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons horseradish
Stir together all ingredients. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 3 days.
Remoulade Sauce
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
3 green onions, minced
2 tablespoons Creole mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
Stir together all ingredients until blended. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 3 days.
Tartar Sauce
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
3 green onions, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
Stir together all ingredients until blended. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 3 days.
And speaking of Asian foods, we are headed to a far country this week, and someone we love there asked for ingredients for a celebratory meal. Could we tuck a few stalks of lemongrass in a suitcase? And how about some galanagal or blue ginger? Oh, and what about a sheaf of kaffir lime leaves? We started calling and, before long, we found the Asian Market across from the Bi-Lo on Hixson Pike. Their response? Yes to all questions, with one cooking tip. "Lime leaves won't be in till next week, but you can throw the zest of a lime in your soup and that will work."
And when I went to the store I discovered a breadth of all things needed in varied and popular Asian cuisines ... plus some advice on how to cook with the base, the middle and tops of the lemongrass. You may reach them by phone at 423-870-1067.
Barbara has a solution to a chocolate pie dilemma. She wrote, "I've used this recipe since 2003 from Taste of Home. It is very simple to make and has a firm texture."
Old Fashioned Chocolate Pie
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9-inch) pastry shell, baked
Pinch salt
In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, flour and salt; gradually add water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Pour into pastry shell. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours before slicing. Makes 6-8 servings.
Meringue
This meringue can be put on top of any pie. It's from a 2005 issue of Taste of the South and is from the owner of Simply Delicious in Decatur, Ala. I've used it several times and never had it fail.
8 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water
3 egg whites
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
In a small saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons sugar with cornstarch; add water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and clear. Beat egg whites with salt and vanilla until soft mounds form. Add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, beating well. Add hot mixture and continue beating until meringue stands in stiff peaks. Make sure meringue touches the pie shell on all sides. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Spring recipe-cleaning is in full swing in many homes; we want fresh and light, it seems, with occasional decadence. Send on the best you have found in either category, please, and the rest of us will get to copying and cooking.