Key Lime Pie, Deconstructed

This is a perfect summer dessert, and it's easy enough for a kid to make. It's so easy I almost don't want to post it and give away my secret! OK, it's not the traditional recipe. But it has very little fat and cholesterol, so it's my kind of dessert. In winter I'd make a graham-cracker/gingersnap crust, but on a horribly hot and humid day, why bother? This serves 4-6.

• zest of 2 limes
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice. I've used key limes, but it took 16 of them and my wrists were killing me by the time I finished squeezing 32 half-limes. This took 3 good juicy ones at room temperature.
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (use low-fat if you can find it, and you can cut the calories & sat. fat)
• 2 ginger snaps per serving

Zest the limes before cutting in half and juicing. In a non-reactive bowl whisk the lime juice, zest and milk. Pour into small serving dishes or espresso/cappuccino cups. Stack or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or freeze at least 2 hours.

When getting ready to serve, break up ginger snaps and sprinkle on top. If you want to be fancy, reduce them to crumbs and spread on top so the little cups look like cappuccino.

Summer Grilling: Cedar Plank Flounder and Shrimp

This dish went over really well. I had two pieces (0.6 lb total) of flounder and 0.5 lb of shrimp for the two of us.

• Soak the cedar plank for 2 hours in water
• Start the coals.
• Make a quick marinade of olive oil, add a ton of garlic put through a press, some lemon, pepper and some crab boil (very salty, so don't add more salt).
• Cut a zucchini lengthwise and brush with the oil.
• Skewer the shrimp and brush them and the flounder filets all over with the oil.
• When the coals are ready, put the cedar plank on the grill for 2 minutes, flip it and put the fish on the hot side. Cover the grill and cook for a few minutes.
• Add the shrimp, flip the zucchini, and cover again.

Serve with a large mound of salsa: a mix of chopped mango, red onion, tomato, poblano pepper, lime juice, black beans, and cooked corn cut from the cob.

Yum. The cedar flavor really came through the mild fish.

Salsa, tortillas, and lunch

J asked me to blog about this because she worked from home today and thought lunch was fantastic. It was another simple faux-Mexican dish, and it took only a few minutes to make on our wonderful stovetop griddle. Of course, that was because I made the salsa this morning (warning: don't handle hot peppers before inserting contact lenses, even with hand-washings and a shower in between).

Quesadillas

Heat griddle to 350°F and coat lightly with oil. Heat 4 white corn tortillas until golden, turn and add a sprinkling of cheeses: I used ricotta salada and Monterey Jack. When the cheese is hot, add a tablespoon of black beans (if it's out of the can, rinse first) and 2 T salsa. Fold and eat!

Mango-Black Bean Salsa

1 small mango, diced 1/4"

1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed well

juice of 1 lime

1 small tomato, chopped

1 small poblano pepper, chopped very fine

1/4 c chopped red bell pepper,

1/2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

cilantro, added prior to serving

Mix everything in a non-reactive bowl and let sit for a few hours

Ice Tea

4 c water

1 x-large plain black tea bag

handful of fresh mint

Steep the tea bag for 5 minutes. Chop and add fresh mint leaves, or bruise with the back a knife if you don't want to strain it. Let cool off and pour into a pitcher. Chill.

I don't know why J insisted that I include the tea. I figure everyone knows how to do this. Right?

The trickiest part of this whole meal is finding good, fresh corn tortillas. At supermarkets that carry them (not our local ones) they are made in NY and are full of preservatives (and they do last forever). Last week I bought a bag of blue corn tortillas at Whole Foods, only to find they were moldy when I got them home -- well before the expiration date! Luckily I was at the Reading Terminal the other day and got a bag from 12th Street Cantina: fresh, local, preservative free. They're slightly heavier than the yellow corn variety and they taste great.