Pina Colada Muffins

So last year this time, Nathan and I were sitting on the beach in Bali sipping Pina Colada's, eating fresh fish and bronzing in the sun. Now,  a year later, we are living in beautiful Vancouver... but not on vacation. We have had a fortunate winter with tons of snow at Whistler and the opportunity to snowboard on some unbelievable powder days. But... nothing beats vacation in Bali. So I decided to make some muffins that brought us back to those memories.

   

I had fresh pineapple in the house and I always seem to have coconut on hand. I found this recipe for Pineapple Coconut Muffins online and decided to adjust it a bit and give it a try. They turned out better than I thought they would! We even took a few the next day on our hike to the top of Mt Seymour in North Vancouver as a snack after reaching the peak! Later that afternoon we went to Jericho Beach by our house to do some reading and relaxing and gobbled down a few more of these treats.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons shredded coconut
3 egg whites
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup sour cream (I used low fat Greek Vanilla Yogurt)
1 cup pineapple, diced into small pieces
2 teaspoons dark rum (I used white rum - but i'm sure Malibu Rum would be good too!)
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, and 1/4 cup of the coconut. 3. In another bowl, whisk the sour cream, butter, egg whites, run and vanilla together until smooth. Stir in the diced pineapple. 4. Stir the dry ingredients into the sour cream mixture and stir with a spoon until just combined, do not overmix.5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup to about 3/4 of the way full. 6. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of the coconut and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar. Sprinkle over the muffin batter.7. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Pork & Pineapple Red Curry in a Pineapple Bowl!

We have been really into making curry lately and I have been learning a lot about how to make a good curry. I have been informed that Yellow Curry is best for fish, Green Curry is best for Chicken and Red Curry is best for Pork or Beef. Is this correct? We decided to make this Pork and Pineapple Curry and use the Pineapple as a bowl! It worked out quite nicely and looks pretty too. Hope you enjoy!

Curry Ingredients:

2 tablespoons red curry paste

2 green chillies

1 tablespoon palm sugar

1 can of light coconut cream

1 teaspoon fish sauce

500 g of pork

1 red pepper

1 cup of green beans

1 fresh pineapple

2 carrots

Garnish:

Coriander

Coconut

1. Cut the pineapple so that there is a good space for the curry to be served in (set aside the cut up pineapple for use in the curry)

2. Heat wok or frying pan to med heat. Add the curry paste and an equal amount of the cream from the top of the coconut milk can and fry for 5 mins or until fragrant

3. Add pork and chopped chilies and cook through

4. Add coconut milk for desired amount of sauce, fish sauce, palm sugar and vegetables

5. Cook until veggies and pork are cooked through