Mango, snap peas and grilled chicken rice salad

Now that spring is making an appearance, I find myself craving healthy, lighter meals. This mango, snap peas and grilled chicken salad is just that.

This is a perfect moderately low-carb meal, with tons of vitamins from the mango and fresh peas, protein from the lean chicken and tang from the lime, cilantro-infused oil and Sriracha hot sauce.
Fresh and crisp tasting, I make it even healthier with brown rice.

Try it and tell me what you think!


INGREDIENTS (for 4 people):
- 4 cups of leftover cooked brown rice, at room temperature
- 1 chicken breast, sliced very fine
- fresh snap peas
- 1 ripe mango
- 1 lime
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- garlic, ginger and cilantro-infused oil (to taste, click here for the recipe)
- Sriracha hot sauce
- fresh cilantro for decorating (not pictured)


RECIPE:
- blanch the snap peas in boiling salted water for about 3 minutes and stop the cooking by transferring into a bowl of iced water

Note: I like them with a nice crunch, so I only blanch them but by all means, feel free to cook them longer if you like them softer
- in a skillet, brown the chicken in a splash of cilantro oil until cooked through and golden

- deglaze the juices from the skillet with the soy sauce and reserve the liquid

Note: this is an important step. There is SO much flavor packed in these little golden nuggets you mustn't throw this out!
- dice the mango

- combine all the ingredients in a serving bowl

- add the lime juice, flavored soy sauce, cilantro oil and a few splashes of hot sauce

- enjoy!

Garlic, ginger and cilantro oil

This delicious flavored oil is amazing on top of salads (to die for on an Asian-inspired cabbage slaw), to marinate chicken or pork as well as a finishing oil over grilled shrimp and scallops.

Try it, you'll love it!

INGREDIENTS:
- a bunch of fresh cilantro
- 1 inch of fresh ginger
- a few cloves of garlic
- extra virgin olive oil


RECIPE:
- peel, slice and bruise the ginger and garlic and chop the cilantro

- put all the ingredients in a glass bottle and cover with olive oil until everything is submerged



- store in the fridge and marinate for 1 week before using
Note: this oil will keep for 3-4 weeks in the fridge

Lemon-raspberry funfetti cupcakes

Those cupcakes are so cute and delicious!

The perfect fruity combination of tangy lemon and fresh raspberries, topped with a light cream cheese frosting and fun multicolored sprinkles make for the ultimate party cupcakes.

Making these cupcakes will make you and anyone who eats them a happy happy bunny!


INGREDIENTS (24 cupcakes)
for the cream cheese frosting
- 2 lbs confectioner sugar
- 2 x 8 oz packages of cream cheese
- 2 tbsp vanilla extract
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 stick of butter, softened at room temperature

for the cupcakes
- 2 1/4 cups of AP flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- zest of two lemons
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- multicolored sprinkles


RECIPE:
start with the cupcake batter
- preheat your oven at 375F
- in the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment add the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar

- mix in the butter, sour cream, water and lemon juice

- add the two eggs one at a time until smooth, add the lemon zest and vanilla then gently fold in the fresh raspberries

- line a cupcake tray with paper liners and fill 2/3 up with batter

- bake at 375F for 20 minutes until soft and lightly springy to the touch

- let cool completely before frosting
prepare the frosting
- while the cupcakes are cooling down, cream the room temperature cream cheese with the butter, lemon juice and vanilla until blended

- add the confectioner sugar 1/4 cup at a time, until all mixed in and smooth

- fill a piping bag with the frosting (or a freezer bag of which you cut a corner), and gently frost each cupcake in the pattern you like

Note: to help with filling the frosting in the piping bag neatly, place the bag in a tall glass and spoon the frosting in
- top your frosted cupcakes with multicolored sprinkles and enjoy!!

Curried parsnip and scallops soup

I saw this sentence on my Facebook feed this morning: "What a nice winter we're having this spring".

How very, very true.

If you're also stuck in a frigid climate this week, you might want to give this soup a try. Extremely simple, you only need a few ingredients to make it. It is very healthy with lotsof good seafood proteins and fats, vitamins and fibers from the parsnips and just enough of a kick from the curry. If you ask me, it is a perfect combination of flavors.

Here's how you can make it!


INGREDIENTS (for 4 people as a starter, 2 people for a light dinner):
- 4 cups chicken stock (can be replaced with vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
- 1 bag of parsnips, peeled and diced
- 1 shallot, peeled and sliced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp curry powder, reserve 1/2 tsp out of this
- 1 cup frozen scallops, thawed (you can also use fresh, of course!)



RECIPE:
- add the 1/2 tsp curry powder to the scallops, mix to coat well and let marinate at room temperature while you make the soup

- in a pot, melt the butter and saute the sliced shallot over medium-high heat until soft, then add the curry powder and cook for a minute over medium heat

- add the parsnips and broth and bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 20 minutes or until the parsnips are soft and cooked all the way through

- after 20 minutes, puree until smooth with a stick blender then add the thawed scallops and poach over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the scallops are just cooked

Note: if using large scallops, you may want to slice them thinly before you poach them in the soup
- serve hot, sprinkled with a pinch of curry powder
- Enjoy!