Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Fig and Honeydew Pops

We have quite a bit of pop season left here in Florida but this recipe is coming in just under the wire for some of you. Enjoy a few icy treats while you still can. I'll waste no time with paragraphs - let's chill.

Gather:
1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
3 cups diced honeydew melon* 
6 figs, sliced
3 tbsp honey
juice of one lime
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

*I used an orange flesh honeydew - it's like regular honeydew with a hint of citrus!

  • Process melon and yogurt until smooth. 
  • Add honey and lime juice. Pulse a few times to combine. 
  • Stir in coconut flakes. 
  • Distribute fig slices amongst popsicle molds and top with honeydew mixture.
  • Freeze until solid - if you can stand it, just let them freeze over night. (If necessary, straighten pop sticks after one hour or use tin foil caps with slits to hold sticks in place.)

Makes 8 sm/md pops.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Fig Pizza

I have a tendency to obsess over things. Right now, one of those things is le fig. I want to put them on and in everything. Mostly because they are pretty. Tasting delicious is a bonus. Let's get fancy...

Gather:
small red onion, sliced thin
5 tsp EVOO

salt
whole wheat pizza crust
ricotta, asiago and goat cheeses (amount to taste)
6 figs, sliced (I used a mixture of Brown Turkey and Black Mission figs.)
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

  • Saute onion slices over low heat with 4 tsp EVOO and a dash of salt until caramelized, about 20 minutes.
  • Top pizza crust with a thin layer of ricotta. Grate a layer of asiago over the ricotta and finish with goat cheese crumbles. 
  • Layer fig and onion slices on top. 
  • Drizzle with 1 tsp EVOO and honey. Sprinkle with rosemary. 
  • Bake for 10 minutes. 

Monday, September 2, 2013

Baked Grouper with Strawberry Salsa


Fish is a staple of the Mediterranean "diet" - shoot for fish dinners twice a week. Being a seafood lover living on the Gulf Coast (fresh!), I am happy to dine on creatures of the sea. And bay. And river. And lake and pond. I've never met a fish that I did not like (to chew on). I often hear people say that they do not enjoy fish because it's too...fishy. If you fall in that camp, try kicking it up a notch with fruit salsas. Let's bake!

Baked Grouper
2 large or 4 small grouper fillets
2 lemons, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried cilantro
salt
black pepper
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and coat bottom of baking dish with EVOO. 
  • Place a layer of lemon slices on bottom of dish.
  • Top lemon slices with grouper. Salt and pepper lightly. 
  • Evenly sprinkle fillets with garlic powder, basil, and cilantro and top with remainder of lemon slices.
  • Bake until fish flakes when you scrape it lightly with a fork, about 15 minutes.

Strawberry Salsa

1 cup diced strawberries
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp chopped chives
2 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tsp honey

Mix all together and serve on top of baked grouper.