Coconut Curry Shrimp

 I love love love coconut! It adds a creamy dreamy pizzazz to all my Thai inspired dishes.  There can never be enough coconut in my world! For the rice be sure to use coconut milk instead of water.  It really takes it up a notch!  Starting to see the coconut obsession yet??

These are the kind of recipes I get really excited about--simple, but not boring!

Seafood and coconut are a match made in heaven. I recently posted a similar thai coconut salmon, that received a lot of comments about the interesting combination of coconut and fish.  Really, it's that good! 

Unlike my salmon recipe, with this recipe I added fresh chopped ginger.  Don't skimp. Want to add more ginger? Go for it! There's no such thing as too much in my book. 

Coconut Curry Shrimp

Recipe created by Epicurean Mom

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 lbs shrimp, peeled and devined 

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 small shallot, minced 

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced 

2 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced finely

1 1/2 can *lite* coconut milk

2 teaspoons red curry paste

1 medium lime, juiced 

2 teaspoons honey

Salt and pepper to taste 

1 teaspoon parsley, plus more for garnish

1/4 cup green onion, chopped for garnish

Prepared jasmine rice, cooked with coconut milk

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the minced shallot and cook until translucent, about 2-3 minutes.  Add the ginger and garlic to the skillet, cooking until fragrant, 1 minute.  

Pour in the coconut milk and red curry paste, stirring well.  Lower heat to medium-low and bring to a slow boil. Turn heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, around 7-10 minutes.  Add the lime, honey and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper. Take off heat. 

In a separate skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.  Add the shrimp cooking until pink and firm, about 2 minutes per side. 

Scoop rice onto serving plates, spoon shrimp over rice.  Garnish with parsley and green onions. Serve!

Mango-Raspberry Sangria

I'm extremely thrilled to be posting for Good Life {Eats} today! I'm sharing one of my favorite cocktails that highlights how tasty summer really is!  There's nothing better then sipping on a nice cold cocktail on a hot summer day.

When hosting a party, it's easy to overextend yourself and make the foods fresh the day of.  I'm one of those people.  Detailing the party until the time the guests arrive, which leaves me still in my p.j's and scrambling to get myself decent.  That's the beauty of Sangria.  No bartender needed, no shaking of the cocktail shakers; just toss and mix the ingredients the night before.

To see the full post and the recipe head on over to Katie's blog, Good Life {Eats}!

Blogher Food Conference and a Tree Top Orchard Tour

(Roni from Green Lite Bites, yours truly :) and Heather from The Diet P.I.)

Whew! 

What a busy, wonderful and tiring week! I hope all my loyal readers haven't felt too neglected.  Last Thursday I hopped on a flight and headed for the Blogher Food '12 in Seattle, Washington.  It was amazing!  I met wonderful people, put faces to my blogging buddies and made amazing relationships!  This was my first foodie conference, since being a mommy of two young kiddos keeps me pretty busy. 

The conference was full of inspirational speakers, lots of vendors, yummy food and wonderful company!  In between sessions we spent the days as a tourist and visited all the sites of Seattle.  Pike place was our first stop then off to The Pink Door. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take any photos of the conference (due to technical difficulties) but was able to grab a few from some foodie friends.  Mostly from Roni, thanks Roni! :)  

Lunching at The Pink Door with Kath from Kath Eats Real Food, Heather from The Diet P.I., and Roni from Green Lite Bites...

And dinner at Japonessa Sushi Bar with Danguole from 10th Kitchen, Roni and Annelies...

And caught a glimpse of the Seattle Needle...

After the conference Tree Top Inc. invited Epicurean Mom and 10 other wonderful bloggers to their beautiful orchard for an orchard to table dinner and a nights-stay at the Campbell's Resort.  

Campbell's Resort was absolutely spectacular.  Sparkly waters, beautiful landscaping and our own little beach...

 We learned about the amazing production of tree top's apples and orchards under the beautiful Chelan sky.  Luckily I figured out my camera's technical issues to shoot this sensational day!

Baby golden delicious apples and Tree Top's gorgeous gala orchards...

We met with Tree Top's CEO (Tom Stokes) who spoke about the operations of Tree Top, including it takes 20 apples to produce a bottle of apple juice and sustainability is extremely important; even their pallets are sustainable.  As well as all plastics used are BPA-free! 

(Tree Top CEO Tom Stokes)

After the orchard tour we explored the beautiful Benson Vineyards and enjoyed wine, cheese and other decadent hors d'oeuvres, and ended with a fancy orchard to table dinner.  I was one happy gal by the end of this trip! 

Meet the bloggers...

(Picky Palate (Jenny), Kevin and Amanda (Amanda), Reluctant Entertainer (Sandy), Food for my Family (Shaina), Kim Sunee, The Healthy Apple (Amie), The Novice Chef (Jessica), The Kitchen Magpie (Karlynn), Mom Start (Louise), Mommie Cooks (Julie))

Grilled Turkey Burgers with Greek Yogurt-Based Sauce

Barbecuing is one of our family's favorite summertime activities. Just imagine...listening to burgers sizzle while sitting by the pool with the kids splishing and splashing, while you sip on a cold cocktail. It doesn't get much better, does it?











Burgers, hot dogs, ribs and steaks are the usual grilling suspects, but often pack a bunch of unnecessary calories. One option to lighten your burgers is to substitute ground turkey for ground beef.





I would recommend using white turkey meat instead of dark meat. Those dark turkey morsels have more fat and calories. However, the dark meat is higher in iron and will make a juicier burger, so if you are craving that, go for it...but maybe cut back on the sauce and non-vegetable garnishes.








When deciding what toppings to choose, you might consider mayonnaise. But have you heard of substituting Greek yogurt instead? I think Greek yogurt is...dare I say it...a better contender to sauce that burger! It's full of protein, comes in a non-fat version, is just as delicious as mayo (if not more), and is so easy to adapt to your family's favorite flavors.










I've created lots of yummy sauces based on Greek yogurt: smoky, chipotle-based dressing for a Southwestern quinoa wrap; cucumber-herb tzatziki sauce; and a garlicky sauce I made for chicken shawarma. Any of them would be great on this burger—or try your own combinations. Mayo fans, you will not miss your favorite condiment when you try this delicious substitute!

Grilled Turkey Burger

Recipe adapted by Epicurean Mom

Yields 4-6 burger patties 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1.5 lbs lean ground white turkey
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper



Garnishes:
4 Burger buns
White cheddar cheese
Butter lettuce
Tomato, sliced
Red onion, sliced
Avocado, sliced
Any of the sauce recipes mentioned above



Preparation:
Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium/medium-low heat and add the sliced onions, cook until soft and translucent, about five to seven minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring continuously, until fragrant, about one minute.  Set aside to cool completely.



Preheat grill on medium heat.  Combine cooled onion mixture, ground turkey, basil, Worcester, bread crumbs, salt and pepper, and stir until well combined. Form four patties and set aside until ready to use.



Turn grill to high heat, and clean and oil grill. Place patties on hottest part of grill, and sear on both sides for about two minutes. Move patties to coolest part of grill (turn heat down if needed) and cook an additional 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.



Assemble the turkey burgers with garnishes and slather sauce over the buns. Serve!



This post is part of the BlogHer Light & Fresh Summer Grilling series, which includes 100 percent editorial content presented by a participating sponsor. Our advertisers do not produce editorial content. This post is made possible by Michelob ULTRA Light Cider and BlogHer.

Kahlua Oreo Milkshake {Adult Milkshake}

Milkshakes, lovely milkshakes!  Do you love them as much as I do??  I thought this sweet dream up while having a mommy playdate/happy hour.  It was a 'grueling' 80 degrees (yes, we are pansies here in Santa Barbara!) and we were sipping on cold white wine.  White wine is my favorite summer drink but it didn't seem to quench my summer thirst.

I needed something colder, something more satisfying....

And something more chocolaty!  

I made this milkshake a little less heavy by using almond non-dairy ice cream and reduced fat oreo cookies.  Hubby said this was one of the most decadent drinks he's had... I would have to agree!  It was delicious!!

It's also very easy to adapt for your little ones. Omit the alcohol and add 1/2 cup almond milk.  They will love it! 

Kahlua Oreo Milkshake

Recipe created by Epicurean Mom

Yields 4-servings 

Ingredients:

4 cups almond non-dairy ice cream 

5 reduced fat oreos

1/2 large banana

1/3 cup kahlua 

1/4 cup bailey's irish cream

1/4 cup crushed oreos, for garnish

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth.  Pour into a freezer safe container, cover and chill until slightly stiff, about 1 hour.  Serve and garnish with crushed oreos.