You add the lime and the ginger…

For week 5 of SCL, I decided to go with an Asian theme.  Mostly because I wanted to do all my grocery shopping at H-Mart which seems to be significantly cheaper.  I didn’t want to do a rice dish because I didn’t want to deal with taking rice cookers to church.  My one regret with this meal is that there wasn’t very much protein.  In the future I’d like to try blending silken tofu into a creamy soup, but didn’t want to risk trying it for such a large group my first time.  Let me know if you’ve had any experience with creaming tofu into soup!

Carrot-Ginger Soup

Serves 25

Adapted from Guy Fieri

  • 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 onions, diced
  • 1  1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • 6 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 12 cups vegetable stock (3 32oz containers, or 6 veggie bullion cubes + water)
  • 1 Tbsp ground ginger (dried)

Heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add onion and salt, cook for 10 minutes.  Add garlic and ginger, saute for an additional 2 minutes.  Add carrots, potato, and stock, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer 15-20 minutes, until carrots and potatoes are very tender.  Puree soup with an immersion blender until very smooth (or in batches with a blender).  Adjust seasoning as needed.

This soup was very popular!  It’s an excellent low-calorie option that’s still full of flavor.

Asian Cabbage Salad with Ginger-Lime- Soy Sauce Dressing

Serves 15-20

Adapted from the Pioneer Woman

  • 1/3 package dried Soba noodles (Soba is Japanese buckwheat noodles.  They usually come with 3 bunches in one package),  cooked, rinsed, and cooled
  • 1/2 head napa cabbage, sliced
  • 1/2 head purple cabbage, sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 orange bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
  • 1 bag bean sprouts (a.k.a. mung bean sprouts)
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1 cucumber, quartered and chopped
  • 1 bunch chopped cilantro
  • 1 bag frozen edamame, thawed (These are soy beans.  Make sure you get the kind out of the pods…that’s a lot of work you don’t need)
  • 1 can cashews, lightly toasted and chopped
While the noodles are cooking, chop vegetables.  Combine vegetables in a large bowl just before serving (ingredients will last longer if not combined until ready to serve).
Ginger-Lime-Soy Sauce Dressing
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2-3 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar (or honey)
  • 3 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (or grated)
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
Whisk all ingredients together until well mixed.
Mmmmm I want more of this salad already.
Since I had some leftover Key Lime juice from a different event, I decided on Key Lime Bars for dessert.  These were delicious.  I was nervous that there was going to be too much crust, but I thought the proportion of crust to topping were just right.
Key Lime Bars
Makes 24 bars
  • 10 oz graham crackers (18 crackers.  I used low-fat and couldn’t tell the difference.)
  • 6 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
  • 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature (1/2 package)
  • 2 Tbsp lime zest (I used regular limes)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 (14oz) cans sweetened condensed milk (I used fat-free and couldn’t tell the difference)
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 cup key lime juice (I used the bottled kind)
Preheat oven to 325°F.  Line a 9″x13″  pan with aluminum foil with enough hanging over to use to lift the bars out when done.  Spray the foil with cooking spray.
In the food processor, pulse the graham crackers until they’re fine crumbs.  Add brown sugar and salt, pulse again, then drizzle butter in and pulse until well mixed.  Dump the mixture into your pan and press crumbs evenly to form crust.  Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on wire rack while you make the topping.
In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, zest, and salt until well combined.  Add the sweetened condensed milk and whisk together until well-combined removing all cream cheese clumps.  Whisk in the egg yolks, then whisk in the key lime juice until well blended.
Pour the mixture on top of the crust, spreading into the corners and smoothing the top.  Bake until the center is set and the edges start to pull away from the foil, about 20 minutes.  Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for 1 1/2 to 2 hours then cover pan with foil and refrigerate at least 2 hours.  When ready to serve, lift the bars out of the foil using the aluminum foil lining, and cut into squares.  Store bars in the refrigerator.
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

10 thoughts on “You add the lime and the ginger…

  1. In my experience it’s pretty safe to add Otofu to about any dish. It’s such a mild-mannered protein, it allows about any flavor to take it over while it just patiently adds protein to the dish. Love, grammy

Leave a Comment