1/28/2012 Basket - Mock Mojitos, Tostones, Mango Salsa, Fajitas with Pico de Gallo, and Candied Coconut

We had my brother and sister-in-law over for dinner last night and had a majorly bountiful basket themed meal--we were able to use a bunch of things from our basket and the tropical pack. (And sorry for the bad light in the pictures...we couldn't find our regular camera and so had to use the video camera.)

Mock Mojitos
Uses: Mint

• 4 or 5 small mint leaves
• 1 lime
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• 6 to 8 ounces club soda
  
• ice

Muddle the mint with the simple syrup in the bottom of a tall glass. Add a few ice cubes. Squeeze half of a lime into the glass and cut the other half into wedges to use as garnish (I didn't have fresh limes so I just used some lime juice...maybe a Tablespoon or so). Top with club soda. Stir. Drop in lime wedge(s).

Tostones
Uses: Plantain


Heat some olive oil or vegetable oil in a frying pan (about half an inch deep). Peel the plantain (see photo guide here: http://latinfood.about.com/od/cookingbasicstips/ss/peelplantain.htm) and slice into rounds 1/2" to 3/4" thick. Fry the slices in oil on each side until it begins to soften. Remove from oil and smash flat with the bottom of a glass or plate, then fry again until golden brown. Remove from oil and sprinkle with salt.


Mango Salsa
Uses: Mango, pineapple, green pepper, mint

• 2 mangoes, diced
  
• 1/3 cup diced pineapple
  
• 1/4-1/3 cup minced green bell pepper
• 1/3-1/2 cup minced red onion
• 1 T lime juice
• 2-4 T chopped cilantro
• 1-2 t chopped mint
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• dash of salt

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fajitas with Pico de Gallo
Uses: Green pepper, avocado, tomato, onion

Pico de Gallo:

• 2-3 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 an onion, minced
• 1/2 cup minced bell pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T lime juice
• 2-4 T chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fajitas:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1 T chili powder*
• 1/2 t salt*
• 1 T dehydrated minced onion*
• 1/2 t paprika*
• 1 t cumin*
• 2 t cornstarch*
• 1/4-1 t red pepper flakes*
• 2 T sugar
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes or thin slices
  
• 2 medium green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 medium red onion, halved and sliced

Combine all ingredients except chicken, peppers, and onions. Marinate chicken in that mixture for at least 20 minutes (I like to do it overnight so the flavors really get in there). Cook chicken, pepper slices, and onion slices in marinade until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender (the chicken will take longer to cook so get it going before adding the pepper & onions). Serve in flour tortillas with desired toppings such as pico de gallo, diced avocado, cheese, sour cream, etc.

Note: You can omit the * ingredients and instead use a packet of taco or fajita seasoning. You can also mix those * ingredients in advance and store them in an airtight container for up to 3 months so you have the seasoning mix on hand whenever.

Candied Coconut
Uses: Coconut


First you need to crack the coconut open, drain the water, split it in half, and separate the outer husk from the inner coconut meat. To crack the coconut, do this: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/crackcoc.html. Then once the coconut is split in half, place each half on a cookie sheet in the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Then the husk should separate from the meat rather easily if you stick a knife or spoon in between. You'll notice that the meat has a think brown skin on the outside. You can scrape that off easily with a potato peeler. Once you have a bunch of white coconut meat, go ahead and cut it into small pieces. Then follow this recipe: http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/nuts-4-nuts-candied-nuts-recipe.html, and they end up tasting a lot like the roasted coconuts you can get on the street in NYC.

After we ate our fill of the coconut, we put the rest in the food processor and chopped it up so now we have our own homemade, sweetened, shredded coconut. Yum!

You may also notice next to the coconut in the picture is the minty pineapple we posted previously.