US recipes

Recipes 
Carrot Curry Soup
Spicy Avocado Soup
Healthy Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
No-Bake Cheesecake
Cookie Crumb Crust 
Homemade Peanut Butter



Carrot Curry Soup for 2

Ingredients
6-8 carrots
4 cloves garlic
1/3 c unsweetened shredded coconut
4 c vegetable broth
2 tablespoons yellow curry
1 tablespoon ginger
½ onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions
Peel and thinly slice carrots.
Sautee garlic, onion, carrots 10 min.  Add to vegetable broth.  Add spices and coconut.  Bring to boil and simmer 10 min.  Blend in the blender.  Serve with optional garnish of thinly sliced scallions. 

*notes*  If I had access to almond milk I would want to add some- but only because I love the flavor.  This soup doesn’t lack for creaminess; the carrot to broth ratio makes this recipe thick and creamy even though there isn’t any milk or cream in it. OK OK, I know coconut has a lot of saturated fat in it, too, but it comes from a tree!


Chilled Spicy Avocado Soup
This recipe is one I can make without having to go into town for extra ingredients.  Its healthy, simple to prepare, and cool and refreshing. 

 Ingredients:
1 avocado (I toss in 2 if they are in season)
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1/4 onion
1 red pepper
1 - 2 c vegetable broth
1c milk
1 tsp sugar
tbsp hot sauce
tbsp lemon juice
black pepper to taste

preparation
mash the avocado and mince all the other veggies.  Mix everything together in a large bowl, stir well.  Add water if you want to water it down some.  Chill in the refrigerator at least an hourServe cold.  Goes well with black bean and red pepper quesadillas.  (alt preparation involves blending half of the veggies, but if you don't have a blender the chunky version is fine as is)       


Chocolate Banana Ice Cream

I got this recipe idea from chocolatecoveredkatie.com.  It is so simple, vegan, and healthy!


ingredients
1 frozen banana
1 spoonful of coco powder

directions:
Put the frozen banana and the coco powder in the blender.  Mix for a few seconds.  And you have healthy chocolate banana ice cream.  It will come out the consistency of soft serve.  You have to eat it quickly because there is no fat in it, so it melts pretty quickly  



No Bake Cheesecake
This is the easiest most delicious desert of all time.  Cheesecake is hard to come by in my neck of the woods and because most Costa Rican ovens are sketchy and untrustworthy, no-bake deserts are always a win.  It isn´t quite as thick as a baked cheesecake, but regardless, it gives you a cheesecake fix.  The simplicity of this recipe also makes it a hit for PCVs and Costa Ricans alike.  I could eat an entire cheesecake in one afternoon if no one was watching.

ingredients

prebaked grahm cracker pie crust
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 package of cream cheese
the juice of 2-3 lemons

directions
mix the milk, cheese, and lemon juice in a bowl
put in the pie crust
let chill 4 hours, and BAM, cheesecake.

notes: The variations on the cheesecake are many.  Here are a couple of my suggestions:

nutella cheesecake: add a layer of nutella on top of the crust before adding the cheesecake mix, once chilled add a sprinkle of chopped roasted hazelnuts around the circumfrance of the pie

strawberry cheesecake: once chilled, add a layer of strawberry preserves on top, garnish with fresh cut strawberries, drizzle with a chocolate sauce

Cookie Crumb Pie Crust

ingredients
1-2 cups cookie crumbs = 1 roll of of maria cookies crushed
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup honey
cinnamon
nutmeg

directions
mix it all together, press into a pie pan, bake it for about ten minutes

Peanut Butter

Ingredients 
Peanuts (salted)
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp vegetable oil (optional)

directions:
Put all ingredients in your blender. blend. The absence of preservatives means that this PB has a shorter shelf life than a store bought variety.  But it stays well in the fridge for a few weeks (I've never tested it for longer, but I'm sure it could go a month or so)

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