Salmon Poached in Coconut Milk

with Lime Zest and Honey

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”          2 Peter 3:18

             

Food for the Palate

Ingredients:
2 8-ounce salmon fillets

1 can coconut milk, unsweetened

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp olive oil

1 lime, zested and juice
2 Tbsp honey
 

*1 tsp water

*1 tsp cornstarch (to make a slurry to thicken the sauce)

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat that is large enough to fit both salmon fillets in. Salt, pepper and onion powder to both sides of salmon. Mix honey and garlic with the coconut milk and whisk until blended.  Add the coconut mixture to your pan with the salmon. Make sure you have enough milk to cover your fillets halfway. Bring to a boil and maintain a gentle simmer as the salmon cooks. Cook for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes and turn over and cook for another 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Remove salmon from skillet and turn up your heat to medium-high. Add your slurry to thicken your sauce. Spoon sauce over your salmon fillets and top with lime zest and a squeeze of lime juice. Serve with coconut-cilantro rice! Tasty to the Palate!

Food for the Soul

It takes a lot of work to open a coconut in order to get the meat and milk out. So, I am very grateful that you can go to your local grocery store and buy them already out of their shell and ready to consume.

Just like it takes work to get to the meat of the coconut, so it takes work to grow spiritually. Our spiritual health is the most important part of our being. And it takes discipline for our spiritual life to be properly nourished.

Discipline is defined as "training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior." Spiritual disciplines can be defined as those behaviors that enable us to grow to spiritual maturity. This process of spiritual growth and development begins to take place the moment a person receives Jesus into their heart.

I have used the word “sanctification” many times to describe spiritual growth. Once we have been justified through faith in Jesus Christ, the process of growing spiritually begins. The primary principal of spiritual growth must involve the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. God uses His Word to transform us as we submit to the Holy Spirit’s will. 2 Peter 3:18 reminds us that this is a vital part in our relationship with God: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” Did  you catch that? We cooperate with God (sanctification) and He receives all of the glory!

We must exercise our prayer life as well. Our prayers are a spiritual communion with God fueled by Love and respect; Acknowledging that we have sinned against God and asking for forgiveness; Recognizing and thanking Him for the blessings in our lives; And presenting our requests to Him. The wonderful thing about prayer is that God meets us where we are. He comes alongside us to lead us into a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him, not motivated by guilt, but driven by His love. Prayer changes us!

In order to exercise spiritual discipline, we need to first have the desire. We need to want to surrender our will to His will. There needs to be a decision of the mind. There has to be a willingness to begin. There has to be a desire to act. God won’t force us to become more spiritually healthy. He wants us to want Him in our lives and He wants to be with us as we grow and exercise our faith. 

 

If you have ever tried to break open a coconut you know that it is not an easy task. It takes determination and grit and most of the time people just give up and head for the grocery store. So, it is with practicing spiritual disciplines in our daily lives. It takes determination and grit for us to stick with it. And when we do, God reveals more of Himself, and we grow closer to Him! And when we get lazy and no longer have the will power or the desire to stick with it, He will meet us right where we left off and we can start our exercises all over again-together!  Satisfying to the Soul!