My motivation for this "Ginger Scented Evening" was two fold.  Dispensing Happiness was hosting a Veggie-Friendly Blog Party and our wonderful friends and neighbors K & R were coming over for dinner. 

To participate in the Blog Party I need to make an appetizer and cocktail based on this months theme of Veggie-Friendly.  The rules are simple, I need to make a "Bite and a Sip", a minimum of one appetizer and one cocktail.  Appetizers are my all time favorite style of food and I often serve an assortment of appetizers instead of a single entree when entertaining.  As far as cocktails go, I LOVE them and had no problem coming up with an original cocktail to go with the theme of the evening.

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Carrot Ginger Mint Martini

Once I decided which appetizers to prepare I immediately knew I wanted to make a cocktail with fresh ginger.  I have a few different recipes for ginger martini's but I wanted to come up with a fresh idea.  This concept of a carrot ginger mint martini came to me while I was prepping the filling for my steamed gyoza.  One of the gyoza fillings I came up with was based on a recipe for gingered baby carrots.  Carrots, ginger, mint and a little lemon and honey, sounded like a great idea for a cocktail!

Ginger Carrot Martini

3 oz vodka
3 oz carrot juice
2 tsp honey
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ginger, grated
5 mint leaves plus 1 for garnish.

Muddle honey, lemon, ginger and mint leaves in a cocktail shaker.  Add the vodka, carrot juice and ice.  Shake well and pour into a chilled martini glass.  Garnish with a mint leave.

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Galloping Horses

Galloping Horses is a Thai appetizer of ground pork served on top of fresh pineapple and oranges.  I "veganized" this dish by substituting shiitake mushrooms in place of the pork and opted to serve it in lettuce cups, garnished with fresh fruit.  The result is a beautiful presented appetizer that is very convenient for guests to pick up and eat. 

This appetizer is a delectable combination of textures, tastes, and temperatures.  The warm shiitake peanut mixture nestled inside the cool lettuce cups, topped with diced mango, mandarin and pineapple and sprinkled with slivers of dried chili pepper and fresh mint is absolutely perfectly delicious!

Galloping Horses

peanut oil

1 ½ T. garlic, minced

6-7 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

2 T. soy sauce

1 ½ T. sugar

½ tsp coarse ground black pepper

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

½ cup peanuts, chopped

Garnish

endive or butter leaf lettuce

pineapple, diced

mandarin orange, diced

mango, diced

dried red chili pepper, thinly slivered

mint leaves

Heat a saute pan to low, add a little peanut oil and saute the garlic for a minute. Add the mushrooms in a single layer. Don't stir them, let them sizzle on low heat until they have caramelized on the bottom, about 2 minutes (if you toss them too soon, they will release their liquid and begin to steam). When the bottoms are caramelized, toss them once. Continue to cook without stirring for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, sugar and pepper in a small bowl.

Add the soy sauce mixture, peanuts and cilantro to the mushrooms and saute just until combined and heated through. The mixture should be fairly dry. Remove from heat and keep covered until ready to serve.

Place warm mixture in endive leaves and/or butter leaf lettuce. Top with a few pieces of diced fruit, a few sliver of dried chili pepper and a little fresh mint.

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Peanut Sauce Flatbread

Keeping with my Asian inspired theme I made a fun peanut sauce flatbread to serve for our second course.  I made my favorite whole wheat flatbread dough, and spread on a layer of homemade ginger peanut sauce and topped the flatbread with spinach, bell pepper, carrot, pineapple, green onion and coconut. 

Click here for more flatbread ideas.

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Steamed Dumplings

These healthy little bundles are a lot of fun to make.  Each shape contains a different filling.  My favorite was inspired by a recipe for ginger glazed carrots and is filled with carrots, ginger, honey, lemon and mint.  The other combinations I came up with are:

Carrot, green bean, cabbage, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil

Bean thread noodles, cabbage, green beans, carrot, green onions, bamboo shoots, ginger, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce.

Tofu, broccoli, red bell pepper, green onion, chili pepper, chili sauce and sweet and sour sauce.

Bean thread noodles, cabbage, cilantro, green onion, chili sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil.

I opted to steam them instead of pan fry them to save a few calories - and then served them with calorie laden homemade peanut sauce!  In addition to the peanut sauce, I also served a more traditional soy based gyoza sauce for dipping (pictured).

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Coconut Tofu Rice Cakes

Our fourth course was Asian inspired rice and tofu cakes.  These are very refreshing when served with fresh mango salsa or if you prefer a savory flavor try drizzling them with peanut sauce.  My preference was a little of both, I love the fresh fruity mango mixed with the spicy peanut sauce.

Coconut Tofu Rice Cakes

1 cup Jasmine rice

1 cup lite coconut milk

1 cup water

1 cup firm tofu, pressed & crumbled

¼ cup coconut

1 T. brown sugar

½ cup cilantro, chopped

½ cup green onions, minced

2 T. ginger, minced

zest of 1 lime

1 T. lime juice

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Cook the rice in the coconut milk and water. Set aside until cool.

Press the tofu for just a few minutes to remove some of the liquid, you can also squeeze the liquid out with your hands over a mesh strainer.

Put 2 cups of cooked rice in a large bowl.  Crumble the pressed tofu into the bowl with the rice and mix together. Add the remaining ingredients and combine well.

Use a 1/4 measure to form the mixture into individual portions. Keep in the refrigerator covered in plastic wrap until ready to cook.

I cook these on my George Foreman grill with the baking pan on the bottom and the temperature set to HIGH.  Spray a little olive oil on the grill and place 5-6 of the rice cakes on the grill at a time.  Lower the lid, letting the weight of the grill push them into shape. Grill on HIGH for 6 minutes.

Squeeze fresh lime over the patties and serve with mango salsa or peanut sauce.

Makes 10 cakes that are about 100 calories each.

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Cheers!