You put the lime in the coconut

So I spent all yesterday and a good portion of today thinking about what I wanted to post tonight. I thought about homemade fried rice (coming soon to a blog near you) or these bizarrely awesome vegan banana bites (the key is lots of dark chocolate). But in the end I settled on this recipe I happened upon in the dusty depths of my computer for coconut lime chicken. It sounded easy and pretty tasty and I thought it might photograph well.

Not to brag, but I outdid myself a little bit. This shit makes PF Chang's look like PF Chumps. Actually I don't really like that place to begin with, but I can't begin to tell you how delicious this chicken is.

Made correctly, and it's nearly impossible to screw up, it's these crispy golden brown tenderloins smothered in a spicy curry sauce with just a hint of sweetness and a lot of lime juice.

It's kind of like a high-class Thai prostitute of a dish. Because it's hot and easy.

It was also the perfect dinner for tonight for a few reasons.

The first is that it's spicy, and it cleared my beshitted sinuses up in a minute.

The second is that it tastes like tropical comfort food, and I had a sort of ass day.

And I don't really have a third but as I was walking into the store this woman was in labor in one of the lanes of cars. Poor kid, imagine taking your first breaths in the parking lot of a Prince George's county Giant supermarket. Certainly a cut above Shoppers, but still. Not exactly a great start.


The great thing about this is that you can double or triple it for a crowd and it will be just as easy. Also, if you don't have cumin (and I don't really expect many of you to) you can just add a little more curry powder. The flavor won't be quite as nuanced but it'll still be good. Serve this with some brown rice and snow peas.

Lime-Coconut Chicken
Serves two

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins
1/2 c. coconut milk
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/3 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. curry powder
Zest of 1 lime
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tbsp. oil
1/4 tsp. crushed red peppers (or to taste, depending on how spicy you like it)
1/4 c. parsley, roughly chopped
Lime wedges for serving.

1. Trim the fat from the breasts or tenderloins and pat dry.


2. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients but the oil and parsley and whisk well to combine.








3. Marinate the chicken, covered, for up to two hours in the fridge.

4. Pour the marinade into a small heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a rolling boil, stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn. Boil for two minutes.

5. While the marinade is boiling, heat the oil in a saucepan. Place the chicken in the pan (don't overcrowd it) and cook, without turning, for several minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until both sides are golden brown.









6. Drain the chicken briefly on a paper towel and serve sprinkled with the parsley and the sauce and lime wedges on the side.

Hello again to all my friends

So you should probably yell at me.

Go on.

I can take it.

I've been basically the world's worst blogger. Like ever. Of all time. I suck, a little bit, at this blogging thing.

And I don't even have that great of an excuse besides school and working at the lovely and perfect and wonderful Make It Better magazine this summer. I just got lazy. And I deserve to be yelled at for that. Laziness is unacceptable.

So to make up for that, I promise to be a far more faithful blogger and I now bestow upon you a recipe for homemade pumpkin spice lattes.

I had my first one of the season today and I promised myself I wouldn't Instagram or tweet it but I didn't say shit about blogging. Therefore, I will now share my most precious secret with you. This recipe will blow your mind not only with its ease but also because it tastes exactly the same as the Starbucks version. But it's way cheaper. And you can control the pumpkinness and cinnamon quotients and also you can pile on the whipped cream because sometimes they're chintzy and it's a Monday and you NEED a lot of whipped cream on your flavored latte when it's a Monday.

Or really any other day of the week for that matter. It's whipped cream. It's the shit.

You can also make extra of this and keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge for a day or two and heat it up as needed. Any longer than two days and it might start tasting funky.


Anyway, please accept this recipe as my formal apology for being such a bad blogger. I promise to do better in future. I've been collecting a lot of great recipes that are almost ready to go up on here so if you haven't given up on me yet, don't. And thanks. You guys are the best.

Also: note the Alicante mug, damn I miss that place.

Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Serves two (or one extremely large mug, which is preferable)

2 c. of milk
1/2-3/4 c. strong brewed coffee
2 tbs. canned pumpkin
1 tbs. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice OR 1/4 tsp. cinnamon + 1/4 tsp. nutmeg plus a little more for garnish
Whipped cream to taste

1. Combine all ingredients except the whipped cream in a small saucepan over medium heat.

2. Whisk well, until the pumpkin is incorporated throughout and the mixture is frothy.

3. Pour into a mug (or two) and garnish with whipped cream and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon.