Author Archives: The Cooking spoon

Koh Samui Noodles

This is similar to a Pad Thai. When I was in Thailand I had Pad Thai for Breakfast everyday. It was so good, but I can tell you one thing, boy was the food hot! I have turned it down a notch in this recipe but feel free to add as much Chili as you can handle.

When you want something on the table fast, this recipe is a pretty good option. I love using rice noodles because you don’t actually have to boil them, just soak them in boiling hot water for a few minutes and get on with the recipe. You can put any kind of Vegetable in here you may have lying around, like Zucchini, Cucumber, Bean Sprouts, Spinach, Mushrooms. Use whatever you have.

I made this last night and I think it took me about 10 to 15 minutes. If you are not really in the mood to be chopping and cutting you can get one of those Asian vegetable packages and just whip up the sauce. Then you’ll probably have dinner in 5! It just gets better and better.

Ingredients;

8 oz. Flat (brown) Rice Noodles
2 tbsp. Coconut oil
1/3 C. Peanuts
1 Leek, washed thoroughly and cut into 2″ pieces and then into strips
1/2 C. Carrot Sticks
1 Red Bell Pepper, washed and cut into strips
1 Onion, peeled and cut into half rings
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled grated
a thumb sized piece of fresh Ginger, peeled and grated
1 Chili, stem and seeds removed (or not=hotter) and cut into small rings
A large handful Koriander, roughly chopped
a small handful Basil leafs, torn into pieces

Sauce Ingredients;

2 tbsp. Soy sauce
1 tbsp. Fish sauce (there are vegan options available or use more soy sauce)
1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 tbsp. Coconut Sugar
1 tbsp. Honey (substitute for more sugar for vegans)
juice of 1/2 Lemon
2 tbsp. Dry white wine or water
2 tsp. Sambal Oelek

To serve;

More lemon or lime wedges, Fish sauce & Peanuts

Instructions;

Soak the Rice Noodle in boiling hot water for 2-4 minutes. Follow package instructions.

Remove from hot water and rinse under cold water, set aside.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in bowl and set aside.

In a dry Wok or large frying pan, toast the peanuts for a minute or two until golden. Remove and set aside.

Add 1 tbsp. of the Coconut oil to the pan and add the onion, garlic, chili and ginger. Fry over medium heat a few minutes until golden, turn up the heat and then add the remaining vegetables. Stir frying over high heat.

After a few minutes, when the vegetables are beginning to color add the rice noodles. Fry for about two minutes, now add the sauce. Keep on frying until almost all the sauce has been absorbed by the noodles. Sprinkle over the Basil, Coriander and Peanuts, and toss a few more times. Reserve some of the herbs and peanuts for decorating.

Serve immediatly in bowls, sprinkle over the remaining Basil, Coriander and Peanuts.

Serve with lime wedges and Fish sauce and more Peanuts.

Note: I served it with my marinated grilled Tempeh, but you can add Shrimp or Chicken to the Noodles if you want a more substantial dish.

Enjoy

Myra Xo

Cajun Shrimp Tacos with Corn, Peach and Coriander Salsa, Roasted Pepper Aïoli

10 Replies

If there is something I go nuts about it’s Shrimp. Big plump juicy Shrimp. Very fresh, from the market.

Saturdays is usually the day we eat fish or seafood since it is market day. Fish from the supermarket just doesn’t appeal to me, all packaged up in plastic.

I like to fry the Shrimp on high heat so they stay nice and juicy. When you over cook your Shrimp they will become tough and dry.

You can prepare the salsa and Aïoli in advance or even the night before.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Jumbo Shrimp, peeled and cleaned
4 Whole unpeeled very Large Shrimp, to serve alongside
8 or more Taco Shells
1 C. Corn Kernels, fresh or from a can
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt
a small bunch of Coriander
2 tbsp. Cajun Seasoning (store bought or make your own, see below.)
Shredded Lettuce and/or shredded red Cabbage to serve
Lemon wedges to serve

Note: if you use store bought Cajun Seasoning don’t use extra salt.

Cajun Seasoning Blend:

2 tbsp. Onion powder
2 tbsp. Garlic powder
2 tbsp. Oregano
2 tbsp. dried Basil
1 tbsp. Dried Thyme
2 tbsp. Ground Black pepper
1-3 tsps Cayenne Pepper
5 tbsp. smoked Paprika

Peach Salsa:

2 Peaches, peeled and diced
2 tbsp. Coriander, chopped
1 red Chili, deseeded and chopped fine
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, diced small
Juice of half a Lemon
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 small Onion, peeled and diced very small
Salt and Pepper

Roasted Red Pepper Aïoli;

1 1/2 C. Mayonaise
2 Garlic cloves peeled and grated
1 Roasted Pepper from a jar, patted dry on kitchen paper
Salt and Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Start by making the Aïoli so the flavor can develop. You can make this the night before too. Drain de Pepper well and pat dry. Put all the remaining ingredients in a food processor and blitz a few times until smooth. Put in a bowl and place in the ridge until ready to use.

The for the Peach Salsa, place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix gently until combined. Put in a bowl and place in the fridge until ready to use.

Pre heat the oven for the tacos according to package instructions.

For the Shrimp, Rinse the seafood under cold water and pat dry thoroughly on kitchen paper. In a bowl combine the peeled Shrimp with the Olive Oil and Cajun seasoning and season with salt if necessary. Mix well. Drain the Corn if it is canned.

Heat a griddle pan and spray lightly with some oil. Grill the large Shrimps for about three minutes on each side until cooked. Season with some salt.

Heat another large frying pan. When hot add the the Shrimp with all the oil. Fry on high for about 4 minutes. Do not overcook or they’ll become tough. After 4 minutes add the corn and fry for one or two more minutes just enough to heat up. Serve immediatly with shredded Lettuce, Peach salsa and Aïoli.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Oat bars with Coconut and Chocolate

6 Replies

Makes 16 Bars

Ok, so let me explain to you what happens when you bite in to one of these…

First there is crunchy from the top crumble, sweet from the Blueberry with a slight juicy burst, sticky and gooey from the layer of Condensed Coconut milk, depth and Glory from the Dark Chocolate shreds, and then a firm Oat Cookie-like base with a crunch from the Kasha and nuts to keep the whole thing together. Are you with me?

I hope so, these are so worth the 30 minutes in the kitchen.

NOTE: I am eating one as I write and I am telling you, it’s very hard to stop…

Ingredients;

2 C. Gluten free Oats
1/2 C. Kasha
1/2 C. mixed unsalted nuts, chopped roughly
3/4 C. Coconut oil, soft
1/2 C. Shredded dried Coconut
1/4 C. Cracked Flax seeds
1/2 C. Vanilla Protein powder
1/2 C. Coconut Blossom Sugar
1/2 C. Agave Syrup
1 1/2 C. Frozen Blueberries or a Berry mix
1/3 C. Condensed Coconut milk
1/4 C. Chocolate shreds*
+ 2 tbsp. Shredded dried Coconut for decorating the top

Method;

Pre heat the oven to 350 ° F

Line a 8″x 8″ baking tray with baking parchment

Mix the first nine ingredients in a bowl. Divide in 2/3 (bottom) and 1/3 (top).

Place 2/3 of the base mix in the baking pan and press really firm to make a good base.

Top with the frozen Blueberries.

Drizzle over the Condensed milk, add half the Chocolate shreds and cover with irregular “blobs” of the remaining 1/3 base mix. You want to be able to see the Blueberries after baking and the irregular top looks very appealing.

Now sprinkle over the two tablespoons of coconut shreds and the rest of the Chocolate shreds, place in the middle of the oven. Bake for about 23 to 25 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.

Best is to make it in the evening and let it firm up in the refrigerator overnight. Then carefully cut into squares.

*I cut the Chocolate with a very sharp knife diagonally into very thin slivers.

Enjoy

Myra Xo

Looking for more great recipes to try? Be sure to check out these Blueberry Muffins with Streusel topping

Skewered Chicken Ras el Hanout on home made Flatbread with Sun dried Tomato Hummus and Garlic Dill Yoghurt dip.

4 Replies

Serves 4.

Well that’s a mouth full. I just had to make sure you realized how good this dish is, straight away with just reading the title.

This meal has a few steps. Either make or buy in addition to the Chicken skewers;

-Ras el Hanout

-Flatbread

-Tomato Hummus

-Garlic Dill Yoghurt dip

-Salad greens.

You start of by making Ras el Hanout so you can marinate the chicken first. You can use store bought off course, but home made is so much more fun. And it gives you such a great kick making your own spice blends. Store blends tend to be too salty and you can also adjust the taste to your liking when you make your own.

Then there is the Flatbread, I was going to make it from scratch when I realized I still had Focaccia dough in the freezer. And I thought I’d give it that a try, why not.

Well it worked perfectly, I just roll it out thin, fried it in a dry pan for 3 to 4 minutes on each side and Voilà….Flatbread. How great is that!

I served it with some delicious Sun dried Tomato Hummus to spread all over the Flatbread before filling.

Ingredients;

4 Chicken breasts cut into medium chunks

2 garlic cloves, peeled and grated

Salt and pepper

1/4 C. olive oil or sunflower oil

juice of half a large lemon

1 tbsp. Ras el Hanout (about half the spice recipe)

4 Flat breads, store bought or home made. See Potato Focaccia

Sun dried Tomato Hummus

Garlic and Dill Yoghurt Dip

Fresh soft cheese like Feta or Goat cheese

Lettuce, Tomatoes, red Cabbage, white Cabbage, Cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, Avocado, red bell Pepper etc…. for serving

For the Ras el Hanout (enough for 2 times)

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. coriander

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

a dash of Cayenne pepper

Sun dried Tomato Hummus

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup tahini

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup sundried tomatoes*, chopped roughly

1 clove garlic, peeled and grated

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon Himalayan salt

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

* Use the ones in oil, they are juicier.

Method

Put all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Add a little water if it is too thick .

Pour into a serving bowl and drizzle with additional olive oil and top with more sun dried tomatoes.

Keeps in an airtight container for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Garlic Dill Yoghurt Dip

1.5 C. thick Greek Yoghurt

2 tbsp. fresh chopped Dill

a squeeze of lemon juice

1 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, peeled and grated

a good pinch Himalayan salt

Method

Put all the ingredients in a little bowl and mix.

Chicken Skewers

For the Skewers, first get a bowl and put the chicken chunks in there, add the 2 garlic cloves, 1/4 C. olive oil, the juice of half a large lemon, 1 tbsp. of Ras el Hanout and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix well.

Leave to marinate for an hour at least, but preferably for 4 to 5 hours.

When ready to grill, remove Chicken from the fridge about 30 minutes before grilling. Skewer the chicken. Oil a griddle pan lightly and grill the chicken on medium high heat for about 4 to 5 minutes on each side.

To serve spread hummus over the flatbread, top with vegetables of choice put one or two skewers on top and serve with Garlic Dill dip. Sprinkle over some pieces of fresh soft cheese.

Enjoy