Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Hello there! If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might be surprised to be hearing from me today. You've probably noticed I post recipes twice a week, and almost never on the weekend. But here I am, posting a recipe on the weekend. 

Most of you are probably reading this long after I hit "publish" of course, and it could be any day of the week. Hello to you as well! 👋

Have a summery salad that needs some lift? This dressing. Found yourself with a burrito bowl in need of a bit more sauce? This dressing. About to eat an avocado with a spoon? You guessed it, a drizzle of this over top will take it over the edge. 

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Published June 24, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Best friends with avocados, burrito bowls, and roasted corn.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• 1/16 teaspoon each salt & pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for 1 minute, until emulsified. Pour over a salad or store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy!

Coconut Macaroon & Lime Curd Pie

By the time you guys read this I will most likely be on a plane headed to Expo West! Expo West is the largest organic and natural products fair and I am suuuper excited to get to witness it first hand! I'll have my eyes peeled for new Paleo and grain-free products! If you want to follow along, head over to my Instagram! Now... on to this pie! 😍

I remember 3 things from the Florida Keys: Cats, chickens, and key lime pie.

It was a long drive-- down, down, down the coast, until there was no coast anymore. And then we kept driving, from one Key to the next, across the longest bridges I had ever seen. It was just my mom and I, in a rental car. To be honest, I think that was my only real road trip, ever. 

Most of it is a blur. There was more ocean than I could ever imagine; ocean on all sides. The air tasted like ocean, the breeze smelled like salt. 

At Hemingway's house, there were a lot of people, and among them there were cats. Cats everywhere. As a cat lover, I paid more attention to the cats than anything else there. 

Outside of Hemingway's retaining wall, there were chickens. There were as many chickens as there were people. Yet, all of those chickens, and the cats that had escaped from Hemingway's house got along perfectly, as if they were best friends. At least that's how I remember it. 

And then there was the pie. Bright. Bold. Sweet and tangy. Along the road there would be stands selling just pie, nothing else. And it wasn't just any pie, it was key lime pie. 

To this day a bite of key lime pie takes me there: the sunshine, the warmth, the ever-summer coast of the Florida Keys. 

Coconut Macaroon & Lime Curd Pie

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

Yields: 1 8-inch pie   |    Total Active Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the crust:
• 2-1/2 cup dried shredded coconut
• 2 egg whites
• Salt
• 2/3 cup coconut cream
• 2 tablespoon honey
For the filling:
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• Zest of 2 limes
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup honey
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/8 teaspoon gelatin
• 1/3 cup coconut cream, for topping
• 1 lime, sliced thin, for garnish
• 1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes, for garnish

Directions:

1. Fit a regular 8-inch pie pan with parchment paper, and pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the coconut, coconut cream, salt and honey for the crust. Stir until blended. Then, in a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixers until soft peaks form. Fold the coconut mixture gently into the white whites, until folly combined. Do not over stir.
3. Now, spread the mixture in an even layer in the pie pan. Use a spatula to ensure there are no holes in the crust, and to shape the edges. Crust should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Place pan in oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until coconut is golden brown on the edges and crust is set. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.
4. To make the filling, melt the coconut oil in a thick-bottomed sauce pan on the stove. Once melted, add the salt and honey. Stir to combine (If your honey is thick, heat this mixture over the stove, stirring constantly, to get the honey to dissolve better. It make not dissolve entirely, which is fine). Remove from heat and allow to cool 5-10 minutes. While you wait, prepare bowl by placing a fine mesh sieve over top of it on the counter.
5. Now, add lime zest, lime juice, egg yolks, and gelatin to pan. Return to stove, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Curd should coat the back of a spoon, and an instant-read thermometer should read 165°F (if you have one). Remove from heat, and pour mixture through the prepared sieve and into the bowl. Use a spatula to help pass the mixture through the sieve, but stop any solid chunks from going through.
6. Finally, pour the curd into the prepared pie crust. Use a spatula to distribute the curd, and then shake the pie back and forth gently to release air bubbles and smooth the surface. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
7. To serve: top pie with a layer of coconut cream, and the sprinkle with toasted coconut and thinly sliced lime.