Orange Coconut Mango Cheesecake

This delightful flavour combination isn't just for your breakfast juice anymore.



Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
  
• 1 + 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp. sugar
  
• pinch of salt
  
• 1 teaspoon coconut rum
  
• 1 coconut
  
• 2 lbs. cream cheese
  
• 2 Tbsp. corn starch
  
• 1 cup sour cream
  
• 2 mangoes
  
• 1 orange
  
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
  

Directions:

To make the base:

Drill coconut and drain water.
Bake coconut at 350°F for 20 minutes.
Break coconut open and remove flesh.
Peel brown skin from coconut flesh.
Finely grate coconut flesh.
Whisk 2 eggs.
Stir in 1/2 cup sugar, salt and rum.
Fold in grated coconut.
Press onto bottom of buttered springform pan.
Bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes.

To make the filling:

Peel mangoes and slice flesh into chunks.
Purée mango flesh in blender or food processor.
Zest and juice orange.
Beat the cream cheese until soft.
Add 1 cup sugar and corn starch and beat until smooth.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Beat in sour cream, mango and all but 2 tablespoons of the orange juice.
Pour filling over crust and bake at 350 F for 75 minutes (or until set).
Allow to cool completely (8 hours) before garnishing.

To garnish:

Whip cream with 2 tablespoons orange juice and 2 tablespoons sugar.
Spread cream over top of cooled cheesecake.
Garnish with orange zest.

Coconut Cream Pie

This is the real deal.

Ingredients:

• 2 coconuts
  
• 1 cup graham crumbs
  
• 1/2 cup melted butter
  
• 1 inch piece ginger root
  
• approximately 1 cup hot water
  
• 4 egg yolks
  
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
  
• 3 tablespoons coconut rum
  
• 1 cup whipping cream

Directions:

Drill through the eyes of the coconuts with a 1/4 inch drill bit.
Drain water from coconuts, sieve and reserve.
Bake coconuts at 400°F for 15 minutes.
Smash coconuts open with a hammer.
Pry flesh away from the shell.
Peel brown skin off coconut flesh.
Finely grate half of one coconut.
Peel and grate ginger root.
Mix graham crumbs, melted butter, ginger root and finely grated coconut together.
Press graham crumb mixture onto the bottom and sides of a buttered pie plate.
Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes.
Chill crust in refrigerator.
Chop flesh of one coconut into small chunks.
Pour water from coconuts into a blender with enough additional hot water to make 1.5 cups total volume.
Add coconut chunks to blender and purée.
Allow puréed coconut mixture to stand for 15 minutes.
Press coconut mixture through a fine sieve to extract milk.
Whisk egg yolks and 4 tablespoons sugar together until sugar is dissolved.
Add corn starch and 1 tablespoon coconut rum, mixing until smooth.
Bring coconut milk to a boil.
Add hot milk to corn starch mixture, stirring constantly until smooth.
Return mixture to pan and continue to heat until custard has thickened.
Pour custard layer over base and chill until set.
Whip the cream with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons rum until stiff peaks form.
Spoon cream over top of pie.
Coarsely grate remaining half coconut.
Sprinkle coarsely grated coconut over pie.
Serve chilled.

"Everything" Cookies

This is a great cookie dough for chocolate chip cookies or your favourite variation thereof. I like to mix different flavours of chips, with some shredded coconut as described in this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  
• 1 cup brown sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• semi-sweet chocolate chips
  
• peanut butter chips
  
• white chocolate chips
  
• shredded coconut

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar together.
Beat in eggs until mixture is light and fluffy.
Sift baking soda and salt into flour.
Fold flour mixture into egg mixture until well blended.
Stir in chips, coconut and/or other goodies as desired.
Drop spoonfuls of batter onto a greased (or non-stick) cookie sheet, allowing space between each spoonful for batter to spread as it cooks.
Bake for 10-12 minutes at 375°F.

These cookies are delicious hot out of the oven.
If you have any leftovers, allow them to cool at room temperature on cookie sheets or wire racks. Then store at room temperature in airtight tins.

Shrimp Curry

A wonderful succulent and savoury shrimp curry, great as a crêpe filling or served over rice.



Ingredients:

• olive oil for frying
  
• 1 garlic, peeled and diced
  
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
  
• 2 inches ginger root, peeled and diced
  
• 2 tablespoons hot curry paste*
  
• 250 g carrots, julienned
  
• 250 g snow peas, sliced on the diagonal
  
• 2 cups coconut milk
  
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
  
• fresh cilantro leaves
  
• freshly squeezed juice of one lime
  
• 500 g shrimp**

Notes/Substitutions/etc.:

* I favour Patak's Madras curry paste, but there is a wide variety of excellent prepared curry pastes available for those of us without the time to prepare our own.

** If you are preparing the curry for use in crêpes or will be serving it to people who are squeamish about handling their food with their fingers, peel the shrimp and remove their tails before adding them to the curry.

Directions:

Stir fry onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil.


Add curry paste and mix well.

Add carrots and snow peas, continuing to stir fry until carrots soften slightly.


Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.


Reduce heat and simmer.

Add mango, chopped cilantro leaves and freshly squeezed lime juice.


Continue to simmer curry until flavours are well blended and the sauce has thickened.

Add shrimp during final few minutes of cooking and heat through.

This dish is best served fresh!

Coconut Milk

Tinned coconut milk is available in most grocery stores these days, but it's best prepared fresh. (Plus, if you make your own, you can enjoy the added thrill of playing with power tools in your kitchen!)

Ingredients:

• 1 coconut
  
• water

Directions:

Pierce the eyes in the coconut. (Some people struggle with a skewer for this task, but I go straight for the power drill with a quarter inch drill bit.)
Drain and reserve water from coconut, passing it through a fine sieve to extract any bits of shell.
Bake coconut at 400°F for 15 minutes.
Break coconut open (a solid whack with a hammer works well) and pry flesh away from shell.
Peel brown skin off coconut flesh.
Purée coconut flesh in blender or food processor with reserved coconut water and enough additional water to make liquid up to 1.5 cups.
Allow puréed coconut mixture to stand for 15 minutes.
Press coconut mixture through a fine sieve to extract milk.

Coconut Mango Smoothie

This recipe makes a delicious, thick drink.

Ingredients:

• 1 coconut
  
• 1 mango
  
• 1 peach
  
• 1 inch ginger root

Directions:

Drain, filter and reserve water from coconut.
Bake coconut at 350°F for 10 minutes.
Break coconut open and pry flesh away from shell.
For best juice extraction, peel brown skin off coconut flesh.
Remove peel and pit from mango.
Remove stone from peach.
Juice coconut and ginger on high speed.
Juice mango and peach on low speed.
Add reserved coconut water.
Shake smoothie to mix well.
Enjoy fresh-squeezed or chilled same day.

Chicken Curry

This recipe is a favourite at my dinner parties as a crêpe filling. It is also excellent served over rice. I take it wilderness camping, preparing the curry ahead of time and freezing it in airtight plastic freezer bags. The curry then serves as an ice pack for the rest of my food during the first couple of days of my trip. Once it has thawed out, it is time to enjoy it. Cook the rice over an open fire, then stir curry mixture into cooked rice and heat through.



Ingredients:

• 1 coconut
  
• approximately 1 cup hot water
  
• olive oil for frying
  
• 1 garlic, peeled and diced
  
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
  
• 1 inch ginger root, peeled and diced
  
• 1 lb chicken breasts *
  
• 2 tablespoons hot curry paste **
  
• 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
  
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced
  
• 1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
  
• fresh cilantro leaves
  
• freshly squeezed juice of one lime
  

Notes:

* I often work with chicken breasts pre-cut into strips for stir frying. This makes for quick, even cooking throughout without drying the outside of the chicken, and speeds up the work of dicing the cooked chicken.

** I favour Patak's Madras curry paste, but there is a wide variety of excellent prepared curry pastes available for those of us without the time to prepare our own.

Directions:

Drain and reserve water from coconut.
Bake coconut at 400°F for 15 minutes.
Break coconut open and pry flesh away from shell.
Peel brown skin off coconut flesh.
Purée coconut flesh in blender or food processor with reserved coconut water and enough additional water to make liquid up to 1.5 cups.
Allow pureéed coconut mixture to stand for 15 minutes.
Press coconut mixture through a fine sieve to extract milk.
Stir fry onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil.
Add chicken and continue stir frying until chicken is cooked through.
Dice chicken with spatula while continuing to cook. (Once cooked, it should slice easily with a plastic or rubber spatula.)
Add curry paste and mix well.
Add peppers, continuing to stir fry.
Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer.
Add mango, chopped cilantro leaves and freshly squeezed lime juice.
Continue to simmer curry until flavours are well blended.

To fill crêpes:

Prepare crêpes.
Spoon curry mixture in a line across crêpe, 1/3 of the way in from one edge.
Fold near edge up over curry mixture and roll up crêpe to surround curry.
For best results, serve crêpe immediately.
When large quantities are required, place filled crêpes in a singler layer in a large baking pan (such as a lasagna pan) and warm in oven to heat through just before serving.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Made with whole grain flour, I could almost consider this banana bread a healthy treat -- if I didn't load it up with chocolate chips! The bananas are good for you, at any rate, and this is just about the only way I can stomach them once they cross the ripeness threshold.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  
• 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
  
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
  
• 150 g premium dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Grease and flour a 9" by 5" loaf pan.
Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, incorporating well.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg together over batter.
Blend flour mixture into batter.
Stir in mashed bananas.
Mix in coconut and chocolate chips.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 350°F until centre of cake is dry (50-60 minutes).

This bread will mostly likely crumble if you attempt to serve it fresh out of the oven -- but so what? That's when it tastes best!

Any portion not consumed immediately should be allowed to cool in the pan, then slice into single serve portions, wrap each portion in plastic wrap, and store in a cool, dry place. (NOT the refrigerator!)