I’m a bit disappointed that I had to put the word ‘salad’ in there because the ‘C’ alliteration was going so nicely…

That said, this is a delicious salad! Well, perhaps I should qualify that. It’s not for everyone. H and I made this fascinating twist on the typical chicken salad. It’s got all of the crunch and creaminess usually found in a chicken salad, but the creaminess is from plain yogurt and the very yellow colour is all curry powder. Yum!

The fact that this was a cold salad didn’t appeal to H; and the sister is rather picky about her curries- this one didn’t appeal. I really enjoyed it quite a bit- I love the textures, the crunch, the flavour combinations. I quite enjoyed it cold, but I love cold, crunchy, creamy chicken and tuna salads, so perhaps this will only appeal to those who share that joy.

Crunchy Curried Chicken Salad

Adapted from Curried Chicken Salad from Green Black Red

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (organic, hormone-free, all-natural, grass-fed), cleaned from fat
• 1 medium Red Delicious (or other red) crunchy apple, diced into large 1-inch chunks (skin on, rinsed thoroughly)
• 1/2 cup green grapes, halved
• 1/4 cup black grapes, halved
• 1/4 cup red grapes, halved
• 1 large celery stalk, diced coarsely
• 2 tablespoons mango chutney
• 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
• 1/2 heaping cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat. Brush the chicken with the olive oil on one side, and season with salt and pepper. Then flip on the other side and repeat. Place chicken on the silpat and set to bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked thoroughly and crisp on the outside.
3. Place the chicken aside to cool as you chop the grapes, apple, and celery. Place all vegetables in a large mixing bowl.
4. Add chicken, yogurt, chutney, curry powder, and remaining salt to veggie/fruit mixture. Toss thoroughly; serve immediately with hot, fresh naan (yum).

I brought he leftovers for lunch to work the next day and it keeps very nicely overnight in the fridge- in fact, the yellow and curry taste intensified. It may be a bit more watery at that point- the grapes and apples will sweat out some moisture- but the deliciousness remains. Please do note that people who don’t like cold curry salads won’t care for this one- but those who do should greatly enjoy it :).

I really, really like mango. Not only does it have a fantastic taste, but the texture is so thick that it can be used for a great many things. That thickness is the reason it’s so adept at smoothie-ing… and at making marinades, dips, and other thick sauce-like items. As per usual, the boyfriend was hungry, I was in the mood to experiment, and thus decided to try out a few things I had been meaning to look into for some time: a curry-marinade and the odd marriage of strawberry cucumber. I had long heard of this myth but was wary- cucumber is such a strong flavour in my opinion, and it’s hard to say what it will happily make off with… and strawberry was not a prime suspect on my list. But you never know until you try, right?

The result was quite nice, on both ends. The marinade was thick and flavourful (long live yellow curry powder and garam masala!) and the salad was fresh fresh fresh! That’s really the only word I can use to describe it. I’ll post the recipes in two pieces here below:

Mango Curry Marinade Grilled Pork Loin

Ingredients (for two people):

• 1/2 lemon’s juice
• 1/8 tsp lemon zest
• 2 mangoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 tsp of paprika, garam masala, and coriander
• 1 tsp yellow mild curry powder
• 1 tsp orange juice, no pulp
• 1.5 tbl low fat sour cream
• 4 pork loin cutlets
• 1 tsp organic canola oil
• pinch sea salt, freshly-ground black pepper

Process:

1. Place lemon juice, lemon zest, paprika, coriander, garam masala, curry powder, orange juice, sour cream, salt, and pepper in a bowl; mix together
2. Puree mango in blender or food processor until creamy and smooth. Add to rest of mariande and mix thoroughly.
3. Place pork in bowl and make sure it is fully covered by the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and cool for 30 minutes- preferably longer (overnight will be the most flavourful).
4. Once the marinade has cooled thoroughly, heat grill pan with canola oil drizzled over the pan.
5. Place pork (try to keep as much coating on as possible) in grill pan and grill on all sides, flipping over every 5-6 minutes until grill marks have a golden colour and prok is firm to the touch.
6. Season with freshly-chopped chives or parsley on top for garnish

Fresh Spinach, Cucumber, and Strawberry Salad

Ingredients (salad for two):

• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves (can leave stems on)
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced very thinly (paper-thin)
• 10 dried apricots, quartered
• 2 tbl raspberry dressing or 1.5 tbl balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Process:

1. Clean spinach, drain, and place in large mixing bowl
2. Slice strawberries rather thinly (about 1/4-inch thick) and add to bowl
3. Add thinly-sliced cucumber to bowl along with quartered apricots
4. Drizzle on raspberry dressing or balsamic vinegar and olive oil
5. Toss thoroughly to mix!

It’s a bit of a fusion dish, these two things together, but it’s quite delicious, and very fresh. The heat, though mild, from the curry marinade is offset by the freshness of the salad. Pair these together for an irresistable summer dinner!

I fear the titles for these may be becoming increasingly long, but this happened to be a rather complicated cake, so I’ll consider it apt. :) For Office Birthday Cake #2, I had wanted to make something incredibly different for the non-chocolate folk as well as for those who didn’t want so rich a cake (my brownie cakes tend to be incredibly rich and fudgy, which I will admit is not for everyone) and thus thought that a vanilla-based cake would be a smart bet. However, leaving it at that would be boring, and I had been wanting to experiment with pineapple… thus this came about. It was absolutely a hit, and devoured as proudly as the other cake in the office. The boyfriend really enjoyed this one and has requested an encore performance, so I’ll make it again some time, perhaps with some slight variations (as I seem to be incapable of making exactly the same thing twice).

Tropical Pineapple-Vanilla Cake with Fresh Coconut, Mango Glaze, and Mango Whipped Cream

So, again, I shan’t give the exact recipe, but I will tell its contents. The vanilla cake has pineapple tidbits (very small pieces) and chunks (larger pieces). Any moisture used in the cake batter was substituted in favour of pineapple juice. I added 1 cup of fresh shredded coconut to the batter as well. I placed four pineapple rounds in the bottom of a springform pan, upside-down-cake-style, with some brown sugar for browning, then poured in the batter. Once baked, I flipped over the cake and allowed it to cool on a rack while I prepared the glaze. The mango glaze is simply blended mango pulp (Ataulfo) and 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar. Mango is a very thick fruit, so it barely needs any help. You could add a bit of ptoato starch if your mango glaze seems runny. I spread this over fairly thinly onto the cake, then stuck the coconut on while it was still very sticky. The cake was then chilled overnight to ensure the mango would fuse into the cake. The mango whipped cream follows the same process as the blackberry whipped cream, but with mango in the berry’s stead. I piped this (shell-shape) onto the top in circles, but you could decorate in whatever fashion you wish!

Here’s a simplified version of the ingredients:

• 1 box vanilla cake mix (choose one with no trans fats! or take the long route and take a traditional vanilla sponge cake recipe)
• 1 can pineapple chunks in juice
• 1 can pineapple tidbits in juice
• 1 can pineapple rounds in juice
• 2 cups flaked coconut
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 heaping cup organic canola oil
• 1/2 carton small organic heavy whipping cream
• 2 tsp powdered sugar
• 3 large Ataulfo mangoes, chopped into large cubes

Process:

• Mix vanilla cake batter as directed, but do NOT add water or any other liquid other than oil- substitute all water called for in recipe (or milk) for pineapple juice
• Mix pineapple tidbits and chunks into cake mix along with 1 cup of the shredded coconut
• Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan
• Cover the bottom of the pan with a light layer of brown sugar, then place pineapple rounds on top with another small sprinkling of sugar
• Pour batter on top and bake as directed for a normal vanilla sponge cake
• Remove from oven, flip over, and cool on a cooling rack
• Place 2 mangoes’ worth of cubes in a blender or food processor with powdered sugar; blend until smooth glaze consistency
• Spoon and spread glaze over cake until even; then arrange remaining coconut on top as desired (I did sides and outside of top)
• Blend remaining mango chunks until a smooth glaze forms
• Beat heavy whipping cream by itself or with a sprinkly of granulated (not powdered) sugar as directed in blackberry whipped cream recipe
• Fold in mango puree to whipped cream, then pour into a pastry bag or tube
• Pipe mango whipped cream onto cake in desired fashion; then chill cake thoroughly

It was delicious, incredibly moist, and very good. I’m usually against pineapple, but I liked the cake and was not bothered by the pineapple texture (my usual qualm). It fell apart as you ate it, and the coconut added a very nice sweetness that went splendidly with the vanilla, giving the cake a decidedly island attitude.

Mmh, mango lassi. It’s so thick, so tangy, with this light syrup-y-ness that just makes it a divine treat. Thicker than your average smoothie but not thick enough to be a custard, a lassi (or at least those I have had) can sometimes even be too thick for a straw! But this does not deter their delicious nature.

As I had a few over-ripe ataulfo (best. mangoes. ever) mangoes in the fridge waiting to be eaten and some hungry people waiting on my slow cooking skills for dinner, I opted to complete the Indian theme I had going for the night with a few glasses of lassi.

A friend has recently informed me that there’s a far easier way to do this: blended mango and yogurt, and nothing more. But you know how I am, I prefer to make things complicated :) so herein was my version:

Mango Lassi

Ingredients (Makes 3 small glasses):

• 5 quite ripe mangoes (I used ataulfo- but if you’re able to use alphonso, then go for it! they’re gorgeous)- pulp only, no skin
• heaping 1/2 cup of honey (local is best)
• 3/4 cup low-fat european-style yogurt
• 3/4 cup fat free organic milk
• 1/2 cup orange-mango juice

Process:

I realize it’s a bit heavy on the honey, and more complicated than your standard lassi, but I thought it would be interesting to try making one without looking at any recipes or standard procedures, going only on taste to recreate it based on my memories, and see where it took me. It includes milk, yogurt, and mango, so the necessary base ingredients are there, and I’ve found a number of areas that make it with honey, so I wasn’t far off with getting the syrup texture and taste attributed to something. Sure, it’s just one variation of this, but I think it’s a rather yummy recipe, and an excellent summer snack!

For a while now I’ve been wanting to make a mango smoothie, and today’s warm weather brought me to decide “yes, today is the day”. A friend gave me some lovely mango pieces in a fruit salad, and their gorgeous colour- they were quite clearly Ataulfo or Indian- were rather inspiring.

Mango Smoothie

Ingredients (makes 1 small glass):

• 1/4 cup Orange-mango juice
• 1/2 cup frozen organic mango chunks
• 1/3 cup fresh mango pieces (from my friend Andrew) :)
• 1/3 cup organic vanilla low-fat yogurt
• Five drops of honey

Process:

The texture was great- thinner than my last concoction, the glass of which the boyfriend had to tap on vigorously to coax out the smoothie- and quite delicious. I had been craving mango since the sun peaked its head through my window the day before, and this certainly did the trick rather nicely! I also learned my lesson and put all the liquids at the bottom, leaving the frozen mango chunks- which, out of paranoia, I dutifully chopped- at the very top, allowing the blender to conduct its work in peace.

Continuing on my smoothie kick, I decided on Saturday evening to make a cold, sinuous smoothie as we had the heater going and I felt the need to hydrate. Being a great fan of peach and mango- two of summer’s best fruit offerings- I decided to mix them together in the following recipe:

Mango Peach Strawberries ‘n Cream Smoothie

Ingredients (makes 1 small glass):

• 1/3 cup frozen mango chunks
• 1/2 cup frozen peach slices
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 scoop strawberries & cream ice cream
• drizzle of honey

Process:

It was, due to the ice cream and frozen fruit, a tad bit too thick- really bordering on frozen yogurt- but delicious nonetheless, and nicely speckled due to the fruit. My next iteration will be simply mango, with some orange juice… yum!