Mango Chipotle Margaritas and Camp Blogaway

Camp Blogaway isn't so much a conference as it is an experience, and a wonderful experience at that. I've dilly-dallied on writing about it in part because I don't quite know how to capture the experience in a few measly paragraphs.  I don't want to give it short shrift, but nor do I want to go on ad nauseum and bore the poor folks who didn't attend.  So it's a tricky balance I am trying to strike and you will have to forgive me if I am not entirely successful.  But I didn't want to let any more time pass before I wrote a little about it and shared a recipe inspired by the friends, the food and the good times.

First, the location.  Um, wow!  Driving up the steep, curvy road into the San Bernardino mountains was an experience unto itself.  Simply stunning, and camp really is CAMP.  Rustic cabins surrounding a main lodge, and we had to bring our own sleeping bags and flashlights.  I used to be an avid camper when I lived in Arizona (how else do you escape the merciless Phoenix summer?) and it was a real treat to be up in the mountains, with the scent of sun-warmed pines on the breeze.  That alone meant I was bound to have a good time.

Second, the people.  Oh the people!  For obvious reasons, Camp Blogaway has a limited capacity and it was on a much more intimate level than any conference I've ever attended.  And although I didn't even meet everyone in the room, I felt like we were all old friends, talking and laughing and enjoying the company.  It was so nice to meet people who I've been following for a while, like Laura (Family Spice), Rachael (La Fuji Mama), Krista (BudgetGourmetMom), Diane (CreatedbyDiane), Priscilla (She's Cookin'), Dara (Cookin' Canuck) and Gerry (Foodness Gracious).  And to make so many new friends, like Shawn (I Wash...You Dry), Natalie (The Devil Wears Parsley) and Nathan (Gotham Home Table).  We congregated in the main lodge almost the whole time, talking and eating, learning and teaching.  What a group.

Thirdly, the presentations.  You honestly couldn't beat them.  I learned so much in the span of 48 hours that my mind was buzzing and I could barely keep it all straight.  I could hardly wait to get home to implement it all.  One of my greatest take-aways was the realization that I need to make my blog more user-friendly for my readers.  I know I am pretty good at what I do, and I love it, but I also know it can be much more accessible and enjoyable for the reader if I get a cleaner design with greater functionality.  So that is something I am working on (with help!) at this very moment, and I hope to roll out the results in a few months' time.

I was unaware that there would be a comedy hour on the first night.  Okay, not really, but if you ever get the chance to see renowned food stylist, Denise Vivaldo, in action, you are in for a treat.  She had the rather uncomfortable task of critiquing people's food photography, and I have never laughed so hard in my life.  I don't know how on earth she can be so blunt and so funny at the same time, but she pulls it off and no one's feelings got hurt.

Finally, the sponsors.  I don't go to a food blogging conference for the swag, but I will say that the swag at Camp Blogaway was worth the price of registration alone.  It is a DAMN good thing I brought a big duffel with me on the way out, because it was jam-packed on the way back, full of Cutco knives, Scharffen Berger chocolate, OXO and Wilton kitchen gadgets, and Paper Chef cooking parchment.  And the on-site sponsors did fantastic presentations on their various foods, along with a great panel on what PR folks look for when working with bloggers.  I thoroughly enjoyed the tastings and the discussions, including mixing up our own veggie dips with Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices.  I sadly had to miss the Kerrygold cheese presentation on Sunday morning so I could catch my flight, but that didn't stop me from eating huge slabs of their amazing grass-fed butter all weekend!

And of course, I have to once again thank my own sponsor, Safest Choice Eggs, for sending me!

And my recipe today is based on the tasting presented by The National Mango Board.  I don't think I ever would have thought to pair mango and chipotle, but they did and it went over so well.  Mango isn't really a diabetic's best friend, since it's pretty high in carbs.  But as I may have mentioned before, alcohol tends to lower my blood sugar.  This is not something I take advantage of very often, but I thought it might be nice to take that mango/chipotle pairing and make a margarita out of it, so I too could enjoy the huge shipment of mangoes they sent to all of the attendees.

So, to friends, laughter, good food and good times, Salut!

Mango Chipotle Margaritas

1 cup chopped mango, parially frozen
1 cup crushed ice
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
3 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec
1/4 tsp chipotle powder

Blend all ingredients together until smooth (unless you have a high-powered blender, I recommend using a food processor.  This is thick stuff!).

Garnish with 1 slice of lime and 1 slice of jalapeno.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundaes (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)

I’ve always found it a bit funny that some people consider Memorial Day as the unofficial start of summer.  Perhaps it’s because I’ve spent most of my life in colder climates, and Memorial Day can be incredibly chilly, even winter-like, some years.  But this year, summer does seem to have come to my neck of the woods very early.  Memorial Day is going to seem almost like mid-summer at the rate we are going in New England.  So when the good folks at FaveHealthyRecipes asked me to do a guest post in honor of Memorial Day, my mind drifted instantly to ice cream as a way to kick of the warm weather season.   I love making my own ice cream, and it’s even more important to me now that I am a diabetic.  This way, I can control the amount of carbs and still enjoy the best treat of the summer.  I’ve made a lot of varieties of low carb ice cream for my blog All Day I Dream About Food, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.  I thought I would share some low carb ice cream making tips with you, as well as a new recipe for Peanut Butter Ice Cream.

For Low Carb Ice Cream Recipe Tips, please see my guest post at FaveHealthyRecipes!

 Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup powdered erythritol (I used Swerve)
1 cup almond milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
20 drops stevia extract
1 tsp xanthan gum

In a large bowl, beat peanut butter and powdered erythritol together until smooth.  Beat in almond milk until fully combined.  Using a spoon or hand whisk, stir in heavy cream until fully combined (beaters make it too frothy!).  Stir in vanilla and stevia extracts.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Just prior to churning, sprinkle mixture with xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine.

Pour mixture into ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's directions.  When ice cream is of soft-serve consistency, transfer to an air-tight container and press plastic wrap flush to the surface.  Freeze until firm, at least one hour.

Quick Chocolate Sauce:

1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate
2 tbsp powdered erythritol (I used Swerve)
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp vanilla
10 drops stevia extract
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp vegetable oil

In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter, chocolate and erythritol together and stir until smooth.  Whisk in cocoa powder, vanilla and stevia.  Stir in water.  At this point, your sauce will thicken up considerably, so add the vegetable oil and stir until it smooths out.

Drizzle over ice cream.

Serves 8.  Each serving of ice cream has 7.3 g of carbs and 2.1 g of fiber.  Total NET CARBS for ice cream = 5.2 g.  Each serving of chocolate sauce has 1.9 g of carbs and .9 g of fiber.  Total NET CARBS for chocolate sauce = 1 g.

Other Low Carb Ice Cream Recipes:

Lemon Curd Ice Cream Recipe
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Kahlua Ice Cream Recipe
Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Recipe
Basil Ice Cream Recipe
Rum and Toasted Coconut Ice Cream Recipe

Grilled Thai Coconut Curry Chicken (Guest Post with Jeanette's Healthy Living)

Another wonderful guest post today, this one with Jeanette from Jeanette's Healthy Living.  Jeanette and I have been following each other for quite some time now, since we both try to focus on healthy eating, and because she does gluten free recipes for her son.  She lives in the New England area so I hope someday we will actually meet in person.  And you are going to love all of the delicious chicken dishes she is highlighting in her guest post today. 

Hi everyone! I'm Jeanette, the writer, recipe developer and photographer behind Jeanette's Healthy Living. I'm so excited to be a guest on Carolyn's blog. I've been following Carolyn for a while now, and always look forward to seeing all the low-carb goodies she comes up with in her kitchen. Her creative low-carb baking talents are especially noteworthy. I especially love to hear the stories about her experiments in the kitchen and how she develops her recipes.

So, let me introduce myself. As the mother of four boys (ages 9, 16, 16 (yes, I have twins!), and 19), I cook a lot and have been for years. Two other things you should know about me are that: (1) one of my deepest passions is cooking healthy foods for people with cancer, so I volunteer my time cooking for women in my community who have cancer; (2) my youngest son is allergic to wheat and has other food sensitivities, so most of my recipes are now gluten-free and often dairy-free. Although I worked in the corporate finance world for 15 years, I am now a stay at home mom hoping to apply my passion for cooking along with my desire to help people learn to cook more healthily, whether they just want to live a healthier lifestyle or have an illness/condition that requires a special diet.

Today I'm sharing a quick and easy recipe for Thai Coconut Curry Chicken along with a few other chicken dishes that my family has enjoyed, most of which are gluten-free. As you will discover about my style of cooking, I love all different ethnic cuisines, and am always up for trying something new and different. Fortunately, my family is open to all my experimenting and are enthusiastic taste testers.

Thai red curry paste and coconut milk are two of my favorite combinations of ingredients. When the weather was cooler, I made a quick and easy Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup using these two ingredients. Now that the weather is getting nice and warm, I've been mixing Thai red curry paste and coconut milk together and using it as a marinade for grilling chicken or as a sauce for topping grilled fish.

Although I love making Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce during the warmer months, there are days when I don't have time to cut up chicken into bite size pieces and skewer all the pieces. So, recently, when I was running short on time and needed a quick and easy dinner, I simply marinated some chicken drumsticks in a mixture of Thai red curry paste and panang curry paste, coconut milk and fish sauce. The only reason I used two different curry pastes was because I ran out of the red curry paste. Red curry paste is spicier than panang curry paste, which is mild in heat.

Since I was in a rush, I did score the chicken so the marinade could penetrate the chicken better and the chicken could also cook more quickly.  After cooking the drumsticks on the grill, I served a peanut sauce with these Thai Coconut Curry Chicken drumsticks for a tasty, easy dinner. Before I get to the recipe, I'd like to share a few more chicken dishes that my family has enjoyed:

Caramelized Baked Chicken with Green Olives and Prunes

 

Five Spice Braised Chicken

Stir-Fried Thai Chicken with Basil and Peppers

Persian Braised Pomegranate Chicken with Walnuts

Pioneer Woman's Pollo Asada served taco style

Thanks so much for having me Carolyn! Hope you all will stop by Jeanette's Healthy Living and take a look at my recipe index for more ideas. You can also join in on the conversation on Facebook (where I share real-time foods I?m making in my kitchen, other people's recipes, and health-related articles), Pinterest (where I save recipes from my favorite blogs - I'm up to 80 boards!), Twitter and StumbleUpon (where I bookmark even more recipes and health articles).  I was recently nominated for Top 25 Foodie Moms and would really appreciate it if you cast a vote for me (I'm currently in the #1 spot but need your support to stay there). You can vote once every 24 hours through May 29th. Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

Easy Grilled Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Thai Coconut Curry Chicken

Ingredients: 
1 can coconut milk, 1/2 cup reserved
3 tablespoons Thai curry paste (red, or any other kind)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 - 2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces, boneless or on the bone (I used drumsticks)
Peanut Sauce Ingredients: 
2 teaspoons flavorless oil
1 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup peanut butter or other nut butter
1/2 cup coconut milk (reserved from above)
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon organic sugar

To make Thai Coconut Curry Chicken: 

In a large bowl, mix together coconut milk (remember to reserve 1/2 cup for the peanut sauce), curry paste and fish sauce.

Using a sharp knife, score chicken pieces so marinade can penetrate chicken. Marinate for at least one hour if possible.

Grill until done, about 30 minutes in total for drumsticks. (I use a piece of foil sprayed with oil, and place the drumsticks on top. This keeps the chicken from sticking to the grill.) Remove to serving platter.

To make Peanut Sauce: 

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add curry paste and turmeric, and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients and stir until thickened.

Add more water as needed to reach desired consistency. As sauce sits, it will thicken, so you may need to add more water if you reheat it.

To serve, place Peanut Sauce in a small bowl. Serve with Thai Coconut Curry Chicken.

*All of the photos in this post are Jeanette's Healthy Living

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Tarts (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)

This post is sponsored by Davidson's Safest Choice Eggs and is published on their BLOG.  All opinions are 100% mine.  

This is actually a recipe I have owed my readers for quite some time, and the fact that I am only posting it now is testament to just how hard it is, as a food blogger, to come back around to a recipe you’ve already made. See, I made the original version last August, when I was up at a cottage in Ontario with my family.  Although the cottage wasn’t exactly “rustic”, the kitchen was very ill-equipped for cooking and baking, and my efforts were a little more slapdash than I would like.  I posted the pictures, and a story about my creation, including how I dropped the leftovers upside down on the floor before I could get pictures of a slice.  I also wanted to improve upon my creation before I shared the details, but I did promise that a recipe would be forthcoming soon.  And so it is…if you consider “soon” to be within a 12 month timeframe!  

In particular, I wanted to improve upon the crust of the pie or tart.  I loved the filling and the chocolate-y glaze, they were both just right.  But the crust was dry and crumbly and I like my crusts to be more than just vehicles to get the filling to my mouth.  I like them to be stand-alone good in their own right.  So I gave some thought to that crust and ended up deciding to borrow the nut, coconut and chocolate crust from my Nanaimo Bar Tart.  Now that is a stand-alone crust!   It’s also incredibly rich and filling, and it makes this whole recipe more interesting.  It does, however, take a semi-raw egg to help the crust be cohesive, so it’s another perfect recipe for Safest Choice Eggs.

You can easily make this recipe as one big tart or pie, but I went with 4 small tarts because I like the way they look.  They are incredibly rich, so even half a tart is almost too much.  I will confess, I didn’t share these with my kids at all.  They tend not to like cream-cheese based fillings, so my husband and I hoarded these all for ourselves.  They were truly delicious and I am relieved to have finally made good on my promise to share this recipe!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Tarts

Crust:

¼ cup butter

¼ cup cocoa powder

3 tbsp granulated erythritol (or sugar)

1 large Safest Choice Egg, lightly beaten

1 cup almond flour

¾ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ tsp vanilla extract

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup creamy peanut butter

½ cup whipping cream

¼ cup powdered erythritol (or powdered sugar)

½ tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Glaze:

5 tbsp butter

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 tbsp powdered erythritol (or ¼ cup powdered sugar)

¼ cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

20 drops stevia extract (omit if using sugar)

For the crust, melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in cocoa and erythritol (or sugar) and then slowly whisk in beaten egg. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat and stir in almond meal, coconut, nuts and vanilla. Press crust evenly into bottom and sides of 4 4-inch diameter tart pans with removable bottoms and refrigerate until firm (30-45 minutes).

For the filling, beat cream cheese and peanut butter together until well combined.  Beat in whipping cream, then beat in powdered erythritol (or sugar) and vanilla extract until smooth and creamy.  Divide filling between prepared crusts and use a knife or an off-set spatula to spread evenly over crusts.  Smooth the top and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour.

In a small saucepan over low, melt butter, unsweetened chocolate together and powdered erythritol  (or sugar) together.  Add cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and  stevia extracts.  Spread over filling and refrigerate tarts until chocolate is set, about half an hour.

Serves 8 (at least!  These things are very rich!).  Each serving has a total of 16.6 g of carbs and 7.1 g of fiber.  Total NET CARBS = 9.5 g.

Baking Without Sugar (Guest Post on Como Water)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Ever wondered about all the different sugar substitutes on the market and how they work in your baked goods?  Are they just as good as sugar?  Will you get the same results?  Can you substitute them cup for cup? I am certainly no expert, but Tiffany of Como Water asked me to outline my thoughts on the matter and write about my own experiences baking sugar-free.  I hope you will take the time to check out my guest post in her series "Favorite Veg on the Web:  Baking Without Sugar".  And please, feel free to share your thoughts here or on her site, and your own experiences baking with sugar substitutes!

Enjoy!

Sesame Garlic Eggplant (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)

Today I have nothing for you.  Nothing!  Well, okay, I do have a recipe and it's a tasty one.  But I have almost nothing new to tell you, no little story, no little anecdote.  I was going to write about Camp  Blogaway and tell you what a wonderful experience it was.  But since it was such a wonderful experience, I don't want to short-change it and I simply didn't have time to write all of that.  Besides, I have a recipe idea to go with the Camp Blogaway experience and I haven't had time to execute that.  So that post will have to wait and instead I am bringing you a simple eggplant dish.

Eggplant is something I eat quite a bit of these days.  I know some people are not so fond of eggplant and I wonder why, since to me it's one of those foods that doesn't really have a distinctive flavour on its own, but instead takes on the flavours of the other foods you add to it.  It's sort of a "filler" vegetable, in my mind, one that adds bulk to the dish but isn't the main flavouring.  I cook many ways, but I often use it sautes and stir-fries, along with other vegetables and lots of seasoning.  Eggplant lends itself well to seasoning and spice, as it just sort of soaks up whatever flavours you want it to take on.

In this case, I wanted to come up with a thick, garlicky sauce that coated the eggplant.  But I wanted to keep the flavours simple and clean, so that the garlic and the sesame could shine through.  Eggplant can soak up a lot of oil during cooking, so I held back the toasted sesame oil during the cooking process and instead used it as a finishing oil at the end, drizzling it on to keep the flavour fresh.  I thought this was a wonderful side dish, easy to prepare and a perfect low-carb accompaniment to chicken or fish.

Sesame Garlic Eggplant

1 medium eggplant
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp soy sauce (GF)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tbsp sesame oil 
2 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted

Cube eggplant into 1/2 inch cubes and place in large colander or sieve set over a large bowl.  Sprinkle eggplant generously with salt, mixing to combine, and let drain at least one hour.

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until melted and froth is beginning to subside.  Saute eggplant until soft, 5 to 7 minutes.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant, 30 seconds.

In a small bowl, whisk together water, soy sauce and ground ginger.  Add to skillet and stir until eggplant is well coated.  Sprinkle evenly with xanthan gum and stir quickly to combine.  Sauce should thicken very quickly.

Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 6.  Each serving has a total of 6.5 g of carbs and 1.3 g of fiber.  Total NET CARBS = 5.2 g.

Acapulco Slaw (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hellmann's. All opinions are 100% mine.

Summer is just around the corner and I am immensely happy about that fact.  This winter wasn't at all bad, in fact it was the warmest winter in the Northeast I can ever remember.  And yet winter can still be remarkably dreary in New England.  With the warm weather come thoughts of fresh summer produce, grilling and summer entertaining, none of which are mutually exclusive.  We love nothing better in the summer than to have friends over for a backyard barbecue, and since the summer season seems starting early, so are we.  We'll be hosting our first barbecue of the season next weekend and I can hardly wait.  And I will be serving this Acapulco Slaw from Hellmann's Recipes, because I love the southwestern flavours in this and I particularly love the fresh crunch of jicama in salads.   I happened to have some jicama on hand for another recipe, so I decided to try this Acapulco Slaw out and I loved it.  I declare it a winner (recipe below). 

And although I generally like to make most of my foods from scratch, I will be the first to admit that with three young kids, convenience is important to me.  I don't know too many busy mums who wouldn't say the same thing.  So consider keeping the following ingredients on hand so that you can easily whip up summertime meals and still have time to enjoy the warm weather:

Hellman's® Real Mayonnaise, rich in Omega 3 ALA.  We often have a jar on the go in our fridge for sandwiches, salads and other recipes.  There is no end to the recipes you'll find on Hellmann's Recipes.

Lipton® Gallon Tea Bags - picked from the top of the tea plant for the most flavourful cup of tea, this comes conveniently in GALLON sized tea bags specially designed for brewing iced tea.  I didn't even know about these until now, but I totally love this idea.

Ragu® Old World Style  - now made with even more tomatoes, you can always keep a jar on hand for quick pasta and pizza dishes for busy summer weeknights. 

Hellmann's

Photo Credit:  Hellman's Recipes

Acapulco Slaw

1 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Mayonnaise with Lime Juice

2 Tbsp. lime juice

2 Tbsp. sugar (I skipped this, to keep it low carb!)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 package (16 oz.) coleslaw mix

1/2 lb. jicama, julienned (1/8 x 1/8 x 3-inch strips)

1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp. cumin seed, toasted

1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese (optional - I couldn't find this so I topped ours with shredded cheddar)

In a large bowl, whisk together Hellmann's® Mayonnaise, lime juice, sugar (if using), salt and pepper.

Add remaining ingredients except cheese and toss well to coat.  Chill in refrigerator for at least one hour to allow flavours to meld together. 

Sprinkle with cheese and serve. 

Find more great recipes at Hellmann's Recipes.