crunchy coconut chicken fingers with peach honey mustard

tender chicken pieces with tasty coconut coating.
adapted from howseeteats.com

ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken tenders
1 can coconut milk
2 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs*
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
1 ripe peach, peeled and chopped

directions:
1. Shake or blend coconut milk until smooth and creamy. Place chicken tenders in a baking dish, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and cover with coconut milk. Refrigerate 1-2 hours or more.
2. Preheat oven to 450º. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a wire rack on top. Spray the rack with nonstick spray.
3. In a large bowl, combine coconut, flour, panko, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir well. Dredge chicken pieces in the mixture, pressing gently to coat well. Place chicken on rack.
4. Spray all chicken tenders with coconut oil spray or other nonstick spray. Bake for 15 minutes, then gently flip and spray the other side. Bake for 10-15 minutes more, until golden and crispy.
5. While the chicken is baking, add peach chunks to blender or food processor and puree. In a bowl, whisk together honey, dijon, and peach puree.

* These could hardly be easier to make: cut a few slices of whole wheat or multigrain bread into pieces. Pulse in blender until you have coarse crumbs. Lay on baking sheet in single layer and toast in oven at 350º for about 10-15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until crispy but not browned. Voila!

cedar planked salmon with maple glaze

A delicious way to treat yourself or guests at your next BBQ. The cedar plank gives a subtle smokey flavor. These are available at grocery or hardware stores (or if you know someone in the woodwork/cabinet making industry have them give you one (: ). If you can't get one this recipe is still delicious cooking the salmon on tin foil.

Ingredients:
salmon fillet with skin (size depends on how many people you want to feed. I used a whole fillet)
honey mustard marinade (optional. I used the Bolthouse dressing)
untreated cedar plank (soaked for several hours)
greens from one bunch scallions (green onion) or chives

sauce:
1 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp finely grated peeled fresh ginger
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. liquid amenos or soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1. If you want extra flavor, marinate salmon in honey mustard for a least 2 hours. Discard marinade and remove excess from fish.
2. In a small saucepan simmer maple syrup, ginger, lemon juice, soy sauce, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste until reduced to about 1 cup (about 30 minutes) and let cool. Can be made up to 2 days ahead.
3. Preheat grill to low. If using cedar plank, oil lightly then arrange scallions on top and place salmon, skin side town on the scallions. Brush with glaze (reserve some for serving). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill 15-30 minutes until beginning to flake (when the center has only a touch of dark pink left). Watch that the wood doesn't catch on fire. You can use the top rack or you can place the plank on top of a cinder block to keep it farther from the flames.
4. Drizzle with remaining sauce.