Tag Archives: lime

Mango Lime Pancakes with Ginger & Coconut. Sugar- & Oil-free

Mango Lime Pancakes in a StackI love tinkering with pancake (and waffle) recipes – and that’s because Sunday morning breakfast is hands down my favorite meal of the week. Over the past year or so of blogging I’ve made the following pancakes:

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip
Banana Bread
Pumpkin-Carrot Cake Ginger
Whole Grain with Dried Blueberries, Ginger & Sunflower Seeds
Whole Wheat Nectarine with Easy Coconut Maple Syrup
Banana Bread with Cacao and Pecan & Walnut Butter
Mocha Spice with Simple Syrup

but I’ve created my favorite right here. These are absolutely delicious with nothing on them – and for someone who loves to load her ‘cakes with nut butter, slices of banana and hemp seeds – that’s saying a lot.  This recipe has been shared on Healthy Vegan Friday!

Mango Lime Pancakes with Ginger & Coconut
Makes 16

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
2 tbsp. wheat germ
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cardamom
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2+ cups “buttermilk” (nut milk + 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar)
juice of 1 lime
zest of 1 lime
1/4 tsp. pure lime extract (optional)
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 tbsp. crystallized ginger (omit to make recipe completely sugar-free), chopped
2 mangoes, divided

Pop your breakfast plates in the oven and crank it to 200F. Heat a large griddle or skillet.

In a food processor, grind the macadamia nuts – this “meal” doesn’t have to be fine, just break down the nuts into small pieces. Set aside. Cut and peel the mangoes and chop one of the halves into small dice. Set aside. Place the other halves into the food processor along with the lime juice and process until very smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, coconut flour, coconut flakes, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Stir in the macadamia nut meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, lime zest, and lime extract and then stir in the mango/lime mixture. Whisk this into the dry ingredients, breaking down any big clumps and then stir in the diced mango, the fresh ginger, and the crystallized ginger, if using. Let the batter sit for 10-15 minutes.

When the griddle is nice and hot, spoon batter onto it – spraying the surface with oil, if desired. Flip the pancakes when the tops lose their shine and some bubbles pop to the surface. Cook for several minutes and then place the ‘cakes in the oven to keep warm.

Serve with your favorite syrup.

Stack of Mango Lime Pancakes

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hibiscus-Cherry Cooler

Hibiscus-Cherry CoolerFor months a friend of mine had been extolling the virtues of a daily cup of hibiscus tea. He told me that drinking it regularly could lower one’s blood pressure and some studies have shown that consuming the tea could help fight cancer – in particular brain and skin cancer. I finally broke under the strain of his sales pitch and asked him where I could pick up some. Not long afterwards a big box arrived in the mail. He sent me three pounds – three pounds – of hibiscus tea. I had my work cut out for me.

Kel and I have a cup of hot hibiscus tea a few times a week and I also occasionally add it to our morning smoothies. The combination of hibiscus and cherry pleases me the most. Hibiscus straight up is quite tangy – like on the lemon juice side of tangy – but the cherries, dates and bananas tame the tart. And the color is lovely.

Now for a few disclaimers. Keep in mind a couple of things: if you already have low blood pressure (as I do), you may want to limit your intake of hibiscus tea. Also, this tea can lower estrogen levels – if you’re on hormone replacement therapy or are on birth control pills, this tea is not for you. If you are undergoing chemotherapy – check with your physician before making this tea a regular part of your day. Finally, some folks experience an extra special little buzz after consuming hibiscus tea. If you find yourself having an unusually deep and meaningful conversation with your houseplants, you might want to gift the remainder of the tea leaves to a friend.

There’s still plenty of voting days left in Ethical Ocean’s Eat What’s Good vegan recipe challenge – and my Mango Sticky Rice Cake needs help!! Click on the image below to go to my recipe. And thank you!

Sharing this recipe on Healthy Vegan Friday!

Eat What's Good Banner

Hibiscus-Cherry Cooler
Serves 2 generously

1 1/2 cups hibiscus tea, chilled
2 oranges, peeled
1 lime, peeled
2 bananas (yes, peeled)
2-4 dates, chopped
2 cups frozen cherries (strawberries are mighty tasty, too)
1 tbsp. hemp protein powder, optional

Combine ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Serve.

Hibiscus Leaves

Hibiscus Cherry Cooler

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thai Tomato Soup

Thai Tomato SoupI make one or two soups each week.  I just love soup.  Usually you can make them solely with pantry ingredients or from what you can unearth from your vegetable bin.  Even in summer soup satisfies.  This is a super quick, full-of-flavor tomato-based soup.  I served this alongside baked, lemony tofu, fresh whole wheat pita wedges and a huge mound of guacamole.

Thai Tomato Soup
Serves 4

1-2 tbsp. vegetable broth or Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger (a microplane works wonders)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. chile garlic paste
salt, to taste
1/3 cup light coconut milk, plus more for drizzling
cilantro, chopped
lime wedges

In a medium-sized soup pot, saute the onion in vegetable broth or Bragg Liquid Aminos until tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.  Pour in the broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.  Stir in agave nectar, chile paste and salt.  Remove pot from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes.

Using a blender or immersion blender, process the soup until smooth.  Return pureed soup to the pot and add the coconut milk, warming soup for a few minutes.  Divide soup among four bowls, drizzle with coconut milk, sprinkle with chopped cilantro and pass out the lime wedges.

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Chocolate-coated Key Lime-Coconut Creme Pie

Slice of PieLast week Things My Belly Likes threw down a challenge to cook and bake with items that one would normally bypass in the grocery store.  Check out her blog and see just how crazy and creative she got with this.  I, as usual, was a little slow on the uptake and not only missed out on the week’s challenges, I only managed to come up with one challenge recipe.  Better late than never.  Incidentally, I completely rejected the idea of using lima beans (I’m not ready to go there yet, if ever).  Instead, I poked around our sporadically lame, occasionally bountiful Walmart produce section and chose a cute little bag of key limes.  I know, I know – how challenging is that?  Well, I’ll have you know that I’d never created nor ever eaten anything with key limes so I’m saying they fall squarely in the “challenge” category.  Yes, I could’ve grabbed some jicama, but c’mon people.  I’m only human.

This pie is a combination of coconut creme and key lime so the tangy lime has been tamed somewhat – feel free to up the amount of juice (reducing the other liquids to compensate) or add more lime zest.  The hint of chocolate and the crunch of the toasted coconut and cacao nibs is a wonderful counterpart to the creaminess of the “custard.”  I’m pretty happy with the results of this challenge.  Bring on the lima beans (not)!

Key Limes in Bowl

Chocolate-coated Key Lime-Coconut Creme Pie
Serves 8

Crust:
1 cup nut meal (I used almond, left over from making milk)
1 cup walnuts
1 tbsp. hemp seeds
2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tbsp. date puree

Cut Key LimesCrust coating:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 toasted coconut flakes
2 tbsp. Choffy or cacao nibs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Filling:
1 cup full fat coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. agar flakes or powder
1 tbsp. arrowroot powder mixed with 1/4 cup cool water
12 oz. silken tofu
1 tbsp. key lime zest
1/4 cup key lime juice
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. liquid stevia

Make the crust:
Pour the walnuts into the food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.  Add the nut meal and hemp seeds and pulse a few times to combine.  Add in the remaining ingredients and process until a moist meal is formed.  Pour into deep 9″ pie dish and use wet hands to pat out the crust until evenly distributed along the bottom and sides.

Chocolate-coating:
Line a small baking pan or dish with aluminum foil.  Set aside.  In a double boiler, melt the coconut oil and chocolate.  When smooth, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, Choffy (cacao nibs) and toasted coconut.  Spread about half of the mixture along the bottom and up the sides of the prepared crust.  On the prepared baking sheet, drop melted chocolate to form small disks – you aren’t going for perfection here.  Put baking sheet and crust in the ‘frige while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
In a small saucepan, bring the coconut milk, water and agar to a boil.  Boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, combine the lime zest, silken tofu, lime juice, maple syrup, stevia liquid and arrowroot mixture in a food processor and process until very smooth.  When the coconut milk mixture is ready, pour it into the food processor and pulse a few times to incorporate it into the tofu mixture.  Pour into the prepared crust and refrigerate until firm.

Serve garnished with disks of coconut-Choffy-chocolate on top.

Corner of Pie

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

7 Days of Salad. Day 4: Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Couscous with Sweet Lime-Ginger Dressing

Sweet Potato Day FourPantry stapes combined with a few fresh ingredients…I usually have a sweet potato or two kicking around in the pantry and couscous and cans of black beans always.  Same for edamame in the freezer.  And with the last of the spinach from the greenhouse, the abundance of mint out in the perennial bed and a smidge of volunteer basil we had in the greenhouse (it had self-planted into one of the citrus pots), I created this colorful, super healthy salad.

Sweet Potato, Black Bean & Couscous Salad w/ Sweet Lime-Ginger Dressing
Serves 4

Dressing:
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. agave nectar (or to taste)
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. white miso paste
1/4-1/2 tsp. chile garlic paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
dash black pepper

Salad:
2 sweet potatoes, roasted, cooled, peeled and cut into chunks
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup edamame
2 tbsp. red onion, chopped
2/3 cup (dry) whole wheat couscous, cooked and well-drained
2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh mint, chopped
2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
4 cups fresh spinach, torn or chopped

Whisk together all dressing ingredients together and set aside.

Gently stir all of the salad ingredients – except the spinach – together, then add the dressing and stir again.  Divide the spinach between four big plates or bowls and top with the salad.

Basil, Ginger, LimesFor a quick side dish, I mixed together a splash of vegetable broth, soy sauce, white miso paste, ground black pepper and a clove of garlic (minced) and tossed in two sliced two zucchinis.  Baked it at 425F until the zukes were tender (turning now and again).  Pretty durn tasty.

Zucchini

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pineapple-Ginger Elixir

Glasses of Pineapple JuicerSometimes when it’s cold and gray out, you want something warm and comforting, and sometimes…you want something as bright and cheerful as the summer sun.  And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather drink a few of these than pound the vitamin C tablets.

Pineapple-Ginger Elixir
Makes enough for 2

4 cups fresh pineapple, cubed
2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced or microplaned
1/4 cup light coconut milk
2 1/2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tbsp. maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cardamom

Puree the pineapple cubes and 1/2 cup of water in a blender until smooth.  Strain mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl, stirring with a spoon to extract as much liquid as possible.  Discard (or compost) the pulp.  Return liquid to blender.

Add the coconut milk, lime juice, maple syrup and spices.  Process until smooth.  Serve over ice, if desired, and garnish with additional pineapple and mint sprigs.

Pineapple(This is a recipe from Vegetarian Times.  It appears here pretty much unchanged – I just reduced the amount of maple syrup.)

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Three Little Juices

Two Glasses of Beet Juice from AboveMatthew Kenney in his book, Everyday Raw writes of his Sweet Green Juice: “Green juice is simply one of the finest things you can offer your body.”  It really feels that way when you drink it – and for that matter – when you drink any other fresh fruit and vegetable juice.  They just taste healthy!  Some of them even give you a natural boost or buzz.  They’re great for starting the day or for a mid-afternoon refresher.  I’ve picked three of my favorites to share here.

Green Juice in Glass

The mint in our garden took a beating this summer, but came back with a vengeance this fall.  A couple of handfuls of it went in to making this bright-flavored green juice.  I love the peppery heat of the fresh ginger.

Sweet Green Juice
Serves 2

2 cucumbers
2 carrots
2 apples (I quarter and core first)
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup mint
2 stalks celery
1 inch piece of ginger
1 lemon, peeled

Run all of the ingredients through a juicer and serve immediately.

Green Juice Ingredients

The beet-apple-celery combo is a classic, though I’d never tried it until my sister suggested it.  I’m not a big beet fan and at first was reluctant to even try a juice that included beets, but it’s fantastic.  The vibrant purple-red color is simply beautiful.

Two Glasses of Beet JuiceBeet-Apple-Celery-Kale Juice
Serves 2

2 large beets, quartered
3 apples, quartered and cored (I used 2 Fujis and 1 Gala)
2 stalks celery
1 lime, peeled
4 stalks kale

Place all ingredients in a juicer.

Ingredients for Beet Juice

This bright flavors of this grapefruit-based juice will definitely wake you up, get you focused and clear your head – and probably your sinuses.

Two Glasses of Grapefruit Cleanser

Grapefruit Cleanse
Serves 2

3 grapefruits, peeled
2 apples (I quarter and core; use sweet apples)
2 limes, peeled
3 stalks kale

Put all ingredients through a juicer, divide between two glasses and serve.

Plate with Grapefruit Cleanser Ingredients

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,076 other followers

Powered by WordPress.com