Monthly Meal: April 2008

I owe full credit for this month’s meal to my mother-in-law, Emily. She made it for us a few nights ago, and it was insanely delicious. This recipe serves four, but it’s easy to update the quantities. As a general rule, buy 1/2 a pound per person. This may be a little too much, but it will compensate for any big eaters, and this fish makes great leftovers (serve on top of a salad with macadamia nut oil and orange salad dressing).

MAIN DISH

Macadamia Nut-Encrusted Mahi Mahi

INGREDIENTS
-2 lbs. mahi mahi
-1/2 cup macadamia nut oil
-2 cups crushed macadamia nuts
-1 Tbsp. fresh orange zest
-a little flour
-sea salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a large cast iron or sauté pan, heat the macadamia nut oil over medium heat. In a large bowl, mix crushed macadamia nuts, orange zest, flour, and salt. Place each piece of mahi mahi in the bowl, skin side up, and make sure it’s thoroughly coated.

When oil is hot, place fish skin side down in the pan. After 15 minutes, check for doneness. If any of the flesh inside is still translucent, it need more time; but don’t let it become too dry, either. When fish is done, remove it from the pan, and serve immediately.

SIDE DISH

Steamed Asparagus

Snap the ends off of one or two bunches of asparagus, depending on how many people you’re serving, and place them in a pot. Add a small amount of water, bring to a light boil. Cover and lower heat to medium. Check the base of the stem for doneness; asparagus cooks quickly, so don’t let the stalks get too mushy. They should feel slightly crisp, but easily penetrable with a fork.

SIDE DISH

Sweet Rolls

My mother-in-law served this meal with sweet rolls, which was a perfect complement. We found delicious rolls from a local bakery that weren’t too sweet, which can ruin the bread. If you don’t like sweet bread at all, you can always serve the meal with a nice baguette and butter.

DESSERT

Raw Coconut Ice Cream

This recipe was given to me by my father-in-law, who got it from Ananda of Akasha Organics in Sun Valley, Idaho, who got it form a cookbook called Raw Food, Real World by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. This recipe keeps getting passed along simply because everyone who tries it falls in love with it, and simply must have the recipe. When the weather starts to warm up like it has this month where we live, I usually crave more raw foods than I do in winter, so I thought this dessert would be perfect for April.

I was introduced to this recipe as a substitute for ice cream, and it was served with sliced strawberries fresh from the garden. It’s amazing, and it’s definitely worth the extra effort involved in cracking open a coconut. Yup, that’s right: the various parts of the coconut used in this recipe (except for the coconut butter, which I get from Artisana) come from a whole coconut. Here’s a decent description (with photos) of how to crack open a coconut after extracting the water, and you can search Google for numerous other ways to do it. I crack mine open with the blunt edge of a heavy knife, though it takes practice to do this well enough to crack the coconut into two halves. It’s just as effective to use the method described in the link above, though please be sure to use a super-clean nail.

INGREDIENTS
-1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours (3 or 4 hours preferable)
-1 cup fresh coconut meat
-2/3 cup raw agave nectar
-1/4 to 1/2 cup water of fresh coconut
-6 Tbsp. coconut butter
-1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. almond extract
-seeds of 1 vanilla bean
-pinch of sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Puree all the ingredients in a blender or a food processor until completely smooth. You can chill the mix in one of two ways:

1. If you want a consistency like ice cream, you can put the mix into your ice cream maker and chill according to the manufacturer’s directions.

2. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, chill the mixture in your fridge, stirring occasionally. Once cold, you can serve it as a cold custard, or you can freeze it for later use.

MUSIC

Album: Belle & Sebastian, Push Barman to Open Old Wounds

I’ve loved Belle & Sebastian since college, thanks to one Jen [Goon] Bellenger, who used to listen to them when she shared an apartment with my friend Lisa. (Hi ladies!) They’re a Scottish band, so they have lovely accents, and their most recent album is fantastic. But Push Barman is a compilation of songs from their earlier years, and it has a different feel to it. I chose it because many of the songs are so happy, even when B&S are singing about less-than-happy topics. When it’s sunny outside and I’m feeling spring-y, I play this album loudly in our kitchen, and everything is right with the world.