Arugula and Apples with Honey-Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Remember The Meatball Shop??  Well this past weekend I traveled downtown to have some more of that delicious Arugula and Apple salad.  This time I was sure to find out a little about the dressing that makes this salad so amazingly delicious!  The secret ingredients are apple cider vinegar and honey.  I got this recipe from Martha Stewart.

Arugula and Apple Salad with Honey-Apple Cider Vinaigrette
(makes about 1 1/2 cups of dressing)
2 containers or bags of Arugula
3 Honeycrisp Apples, sliced thinly
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 shallot, minced
the juice of 1 1/2 lemons
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Slice apples thinly and place in serving bowl.  Squeeze the juice from 1/2 of a lemon on the apple slices to prevent browning. Place the arugula on top of the apple slices and set aside. DO NOT MIX ARUGULA WITH LEMON AND APPLES, it will wilt.

In a small bowl whisk together the honey, vinegar, shallot, and the juice of 1 lemon.  Slowly add olive oil while continuing to whisk, add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour over salad directly before serving.  Enjoy!

Coconut Custard Tart

I made this tart for Thanksgiving and let me tell you I can't stop thinking about it!!  It was so delicious, light, and non-dairy!!  It's a multi-step process but it's not difficult!  You need to use a tart pan for this recipe.  I mixed up a few recipes and created a really great one, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!!

Coconut Custard Tart
(makes 1, 9-11 inch tart)
For the Tart Shell:
1 1/2 stick unsalted margarine, room temperature (I use Fleischmann's or Earth Balance Vegetable Shortening, the green box)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste OR good vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the tart pan with non-stick spray. Cream margarine and sugar in a bowl with a hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla to margarine mixture, mix until well combined.  Add flour slowly to mix, and mix just until combined.  Use hands to form dough into a ball. Use fingers to press dough into the greased tart pan making sure to have the dough along the sides of the pan as well.  Use a fork to poke holes into the dough and bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until light golden brown around the edges.  Let tart shell cool completely.  Put aside.


For the Pastry Cream:
4 Large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar, divided
2 cups vanilla soymilk  or milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted margarine/butter or vegetable shortening (Earth Balance)
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut


In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 1/4 cup of sugar, all of the cornstarch, and the milk. In a saucepan, combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, the vanilla, and the salt. Bring to a simmer. Whisking constantly, pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, gradually at first to temper it, and then more quickly. Set a strainer over the saucepan. Strain the custard mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium meat, whisking constantly. Boil for 10 seconds, whisking. (Make sure the custard boils for 10 seconds in the center of the pan, not just around the sides.) The mixture should thicken to a pudding-like consistency.

Transfer the pastry cream to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, to cool slightly. With the mixer running, beat in the butter a little at a time, until incorporated. Beat in the coconut. Transfer to a bowl, press plastic wrap directly over the cream to prevent a crust from forming, and chill until firm, about 1 to 2 hours.  Once the pastry cream is chilled pour into cooled tart shell and prepare the coconut whipped cream, recipe follows.

For the whipped cream topping:
8 oz. of non-dairy whipping cream, very cold
1 teaspoon of coconut extract
2 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar

In a large bowl whip the cream until stiff peaks are just about to form. Add sugar and coconut extract and whip until stiff peaks form. Do not over-beat.  Pour whipped cream over the custard and spread around the tart.  You can also pipe the whipped cream if you'd like.  Sprinkle the tart with toasted or untoasted coconut and chill until ready to serve.

To toast the coconut: Place shredded coconut in a dry pan and place over medium heat.  The coconut will turn light brown when it is done.  Keep a very close eye on the pan or the coconut may burn. 

Lychee Fruit Salad

This recipe came my way through a friend of my mother's.  This could be the easiest and yummiest fruit salad ever!!  It only has 3 ingredients.  It involves peeling and segmenting a few pomelos, if you don't know how to do that click here for a video.  A pomelo is a kind of citrus fruit, if you can't find them you can try using grapefruit segments.  

Lychee Fruit Salad

2-3 pomelos, peeled and segmented

2 containers of strawberries, quartered

1 can lychee, in syrup (do not discard syrup)

Mix pomelo pieces and strawberries together in a bowl and pour the can of lychee with the syrup over the fruit.  Place in the fridge to chill until serving.  Garnish with fresh mint.