Showing posts with label coconut milk. Show all posts

Day 56: Chocolate Coconut Bark

Like I said, my bark is worse then my bite...not that this bark is worse than anything, it's more on the better side of the scale than anything and quite far on the end of that scale if you know what I mean.....do you know what I mean? Sorry, I'm even confusing myself....where was I going with this? Ah yes, chocolate bark. This recipe is supper easy and supper yummy. This is great to make for the holidays or to give out around valentines day or for any holiday for that matter. This is great to give to your carnivore neighbors to get them talking and they'll no longer think of you as "that weird person that says she's vegan...whatever that is." It's so good they'll think you're cheating.

Chocolate Coconut Bark

1 bag chocolate chips melted
1/2 c shredded coconut
1 c chopped nuts
1/4 c coconut milk

In a glass bowl, pour your chocolate chips, coconut, and coconut milk. Melt in the microwave stirring every 20 seconds. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Pour the chocolate on the cookie sheet till it is a thin layer over the whole pan. Sprinkle the nuts over the top and put in the freezer till it is completely firm. Break apart ruffly.

Use your imagination. Try green sprinkles for St. Patric's day, red hearts for valentines day, or add dried fruit instead of nuts.
chocolate chips chopped nuts coconut milk
Share:

Day 54: Chocolate Macadamia Nut Truffles

I have to blame a lot of this on my dear friend Penny. She is AMAZING! I love her to pieces! I was thinking about chocolate and my hormones were screaming for some and who comes to the rescue but Penny. She literally read my mind! She even had some fantastic macadamia nut chocolates shipped in! What a pal! This recipe is dedicated to her for saving the lives of Matthew and the villagers.


Chocolate Macadamia Nut Truffles
1/2 c heavy coconut milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c sweetener
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 c cocoa powder
1/2 c macadamia nuts

In a sauce pan bring the coconut milk to a boil. Add the salt, sweetener, vanilla, and 1 c cocoa powder. Pour into a plastic bowl and freeze till firm but mold-able - about 3 hours. In your food processor add the rest of the cocoa powder and macadamia nuts till the nuts are finely chopped. Test your coconut mixture. Once it is the consistency of soft play dough scoop out and roll into balls. Roll in the chocolate-nut mixture and place on a cookie sheet. Put back in the freezer and let chill till firm. Try rolling them in other things: shredded coconut - nuts - powdered sugar - chocolate sprinkles
coco powder coconut milk macagamia nuts
Share:

Day 51: Chocolate Brownies

Great, I'm totally breaking out, I'm craving all sorts of foods that I can't get on island and now my husband asks first if it's safe for him to come in to the room. I've gone from the verge of a freak out to the verge of tears. We'll talk about this later - here.


Chocolate Brownies
1 c oil
1 c maple syrup
1/2 c "milk"
1 tb vanilla
1 c wheat pastry flour
1 c white pastry flour
1 c cocoa powder

In 2 separate bowls, mix the wet and the dry. Add the wet to the dry, pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake on 350 till the top starts to crack. Pull out and let sit till they firm up.
chocholate coconut milk extra virgin olive oil
Share:

Bonus: Poni Po Po

When I first moved to hawaii to go to school I got hooked on coconut, or Haupia ice cream. I found it got me through any trial of homesickness, bad grades, and bad break-ups. Yes, Haupia became my dearest hawaiian friend. We would go to the beach together, take walks, and cry together. It was a perfect match. When I returned to hawaii with Matthew we went to costco and found an industrial size bag of Haupia pudding mix....I was in heaven. We brought the bag home and set out to make a batch to indulge in when I read the directions. "Boil 10 gallons of water, add contents of package, simmer till thickens, cool then cut." As you can imagine, this was a bit more then 2 little haulies could eat. It took us about an hour to do the math and figure out single serving sizes.....we're still working on the same bag of pudding mix. - this recipe yields 8 - 1/2 c servings of plain pudding or works on about a dozen rolls - which, when you try them, works out to be about 2 servings.

Haupia Pudding
4 c coconut milk
1/2 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c shredded coconut
1/4 c water
1/4 c tapioca starch

Poni Po Po
a dozen white rolls (I know white flour...blah blah blah....it's dessert, live a little)

In a sauce pan heat the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and shredded coconut milk till sugar is dissolved and coconut is soft (about 5 minutes). In a separate bowl mix the water and tapioca starch. Add to the coconut milk mixture and stir till it's the consistency of yogurt. Pour over the rolls and let set till pudding is firm. Serve warm.
bread rolls coconut milk haupia pudding
Share:

Day 45: Palasami - luau- lupulu - call it what you will, I call it delish!

As a kid we had a Tongan version of this dish called Lupulu. You just mention that word at our house and people start to drool. We got the recipe from my Auntie Meleami. This is the same auntie that taught us to say "hello, how are you, go eat cockroaches" in Tongan un- beknownst to us. This recipe always helps us forgive her.
The samoan version - palasami or luau - is about the same, minus the tomato. I guess Tongans just like more veggies...or is it a fruit? Anyway - this is a great, authentic recipe that is so satisfying. We have it every sunday and if we don't I crave it the rest of the week. I don't know what we'll do when we leave samoa....I guess I'll have to make it in my coconut bra.

Lupulu
1 bunch red swiss chard
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 onion chopped
1 can coconut milk or fresh is best!
1 coconut per 2 people
cooked brown rice

Here is a quick tutorial on how to prep your coconut:



Notice that all this is done with the back of the knife with the blade towards you! BE CAREFUL! if it doesn't crack in one whack just keep hittin' it, it takes me a few hits. I guess I'm not as strong as this manly samoan. Once you've got your coconut cleaned out it should look like this


Which ones the nut? :)

Now, pour your tomatoes into a strainer and let sit for about an hour to drain. Cut the stems from the swiss chard and ruffly chop the greens. In a bowl mix the swiss chard, onion,salt,tomato and a can of coconut milk. Divide into your coconut bowls and cover with tin foil. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour to 1 hour and a half. If you want to make homemade coconut milk you can put the coconut meat through your juicer if it can handle it or check out this link.

Make your brown rice into rice balls by kneading it in your hands till in sticks together in balls the size of a tennis ball. Serve with the lupulu.

This dish really is best eaten with your hands. Take a pinch of rice between your thumb and first two fingers. Then take a pinch of the lupul with the rice and eat together. Great dish and easy clean-up!
coconut milk cooking in a coconut how to crack a coconut
Share:

Bonus: Thai Dessert Rice

I adore this recipe for two reasons:
1- I get to pull out my adorable rice cooker
2- It practically makes itself
okay, make it 3
3-it is sooo yummy!

This recipe is SO simple and SO yummy you'll be having it all the time! I have no idea how authentic it is but I had it at a thai resturant once, so that's got to count for something.

Thai Dessert Rice
1 c white rice (white works best for this...it's dessert, endulge)
3 c fruit juice (ex: apple, pinapple, peach from canned peaches)
1/2 can coconut milk
1 mango cubbed

In your FANTASTIC rice cooker, cook your rice with the fruit juice. When it is finished it should be extra sticky. Serve a scoop of rice drizzled with coconut milk and topped with fresh mango.
coconut milk dessert rice fruit juice
Share:

Day 27: Mushroom & Spinach Crepes

We had crepes a lot as kids, filled will all sorts of goodies. I remember making them at a booth for "french day" at our school. I looked so cool up there with my baray on, flipping these scrumptious delicacies. I'm sure the rest of the 8th graders thought I was cool too.

When I think of crepes, I think of thanksgiving. Every year we made crepes and stuffed them with leftovers from Thanksgiving and ate crepes till just before Christmas (the recipe will follow). This seems fitting since I am so thankful for them! But, back in those days we made the full fat crepes: cream, eggs, everything. Boy were they good.....but boy were they bad!


After searching the web I have found MANY variations, all of which had ingredients that I can't get on my little rock. Finally I discovered this one.....it even uses coconut milk.....now that I have! Like regular crepes, the technique takes a little getting used to. For these I found it best not to flip with the spatula but to loosen the crepe from the pan and show off your mad cooking skills by flipping it in the pan with a flip of the wrist. You can do it! It takes a little practice but you'll look like a pro!


As for taste I give this recipe pretty high marks. They're as good as I remember them!


Vegan Crepes
1 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c "milk"
3/4 c water
3 tb coconut milk
3 tb sugar


Filling
1 pkg mushrooms
1/2 onion chopped
vegan cheese
fresh spinach
vegetable broth

Blend everything for the batter in a food processor or whisk in a bowl. Let sit for about 30 minutes! This is key! Pour and swirl in the pan to coat the bottom several times to fill in all the bubble holes. Let cook till the edges are browning. Loosen the edges and bottom with a rubber spatula. Now flip it....flip it good.


In a pan, saute the onion and shrooms. Fill your crepe with the shrooms and a handfull of fresh spinach. In a sauce pan melt the cheese and make it creamy with the vegetable broth. Pour over the crepe and serve.
coconut milk mushroom spinach vegan crepes mushrooms
Share:

Day 26: Curry

The first time I had curry I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was made by a friend from India....he knows what he's talking about! It was sooo good! After that I always stuck with yellow curry because I thought it was the best and most authentic. I then went to a thai restaurant (ya, THAT thai restaurant) on a night I was feeling particularly adventurous. It was torturous, being a creature of habit, to try a different kind of curry. But, after one bight I found I love torture. This curry seemed even better than the first. Dr. Seuss was right yet again "try it and you may, try it and you may I say."

Massaman Curry
1 pkg or can massaman curry (maesri is a good brand. Make sure it says massaman!)
2 sweet potatoes cubed (or any kind of potato is good)
2 carrots cubed
1 can coconut milk

Throw everything together in a slow cooker or a large pot. Cook till the potatoes and carrots are tender. Serve over rice. You can add as little or as much curry paste as you like. Top with cilantro and chopped peanuts to serve.
brown rice carrot coconut milk
Share:

Special: Thai Peanut Sauce

This is one of the easiest sauces to make and because it's a little out of the ordinary people think that your a world traveler and a culinary expert. This calls for 4 ingredients -ya, that's it! And all you have to do is put them all in your trusty rice cooker and stir. You can even make this ahead and freeze it to use in other stuff. I use this for lots of things: Phad Thai, Kenyan Peanut Soup, Thai Peanut Pasta, and as a dipping sauce. There is so much you can do with this so make a bunch.

Thai Peanut Sauce
creamy peanut butter
1 can coconut milk
Tony's seasoning
garlic powder

Like I said, put everything together in your rice cooker and stir till its creamy. The end.
coconut milk creamy peanut butter dipping sauce
Share:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)