Blueberry Coconut Oatmeal Pudding

Terrible photo, awesome recipe. Quick steel cut oats with coconut milk and blueberries. Mm mm mmm. Worth it even when blueberries are expensive (or you could use frozen). I skipped the rose water included in the original recipe, but if you can find it, might be worth a try! This actually makes quite a bit, so be ready to eat this for breakfast for a week or have for a snack/dessert frequently!


1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can unsweetened low-fat coconut milk
2 to 4 tablespoons mild honey or agave nectar (to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick-cooking steel-cut oats
(1/2 teaspoon rose water - if you want it/can find it)
1 cup blueberries

1. Combine the water, salt, coconut milk, honey or agave nectar and vanilla in a large (3-quart) saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in the oatmeal and bring back to a boil, stirring. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in half the blueberries, cover, and cook another 5 minutes, until the oats are cooked and the mixture is creamy.

2. Stir in the rose water and the remaining blueberries. Turn off the heat, return the lid and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve right away, or spoon into serving dishes and allow to cool in the refrigerator.


Original recipe (nytimes)

Raw Peppermint Patties

Well, it's been about a month and a half since my last post, and I'd like to say I have a good excuse but alas, I do not. Work has gotten busy, boyfriend is on "summer vacation" until medical school, etc, etc...and I'm just plain lazy?

Anyway, I actually made these suckers on Mother's (...Mother's or Mothers'??) Day and am finally getting the post up. I saw this recipe on Tastespotting, I believe, and my mom LOVES York peppermint patties so I thought I'd give them a try. I was surprised to see how much coconut is involved (oil and shredded) - since you definitely don't taste any coconut in a peppermint patty! I had also never seen coconut oil before - so that was an interesting sight. Picked it up at Whole Foods with my sister, and both of our reactions were basically "EW."

Anyway, these weren't actually very hard in the end, and definitely an interesting endeavor. Highly recommend these!

1/2 batch of raw chocolate
1/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp peppermint oil (OR peppermint extract)

In a food processor, grind cashews and shredded coconut together into a fine powder. Add coconut oil, peppermint oil, and honey, and pulse until combined - be careful not to over process! Place in refrigerator to set while you make the chocolate sauce, which will need to be warmed slightly inside a bowl of hot water to ensure a liquid consistency.

Once the cream has hardened, separate nine equal portions, which can then be shaped into patties with your hands (roll the cream into a ball and press it flat). Place patties in the freezer for 10 minutes or so.

When the patties are fairly cold, dip them one at a time into the chocolate sauce, which should harden immediately. I was able to dip each patty about three times before I ran out of chocolate.
 
(**NOTE: I stored mine in the freezer and they still melted on my fingertips when I took them out. This may have been because I couldn't find raw cacao powder for the raw chocolate and had to use regular cacao powder instead, but who knows. They taste pretty good cold anyway!)

Original recipe here

Red Lentil Coconut Soup

I made this recipe at least two months ago and am finally posting it...fail. I had never cooked with coconut milk, but I found it easily at Trader Joe's and it was very tasty. Unfortunately I had to get a big carton of it, and throw a lot away, but hey, what can you do. This could be a good recipe to go back to when New England actually goes back to almost-normal March weather next week...


2 cups red split lentils
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper diced
1 fresh jalapeno or serrano chili, finely chopped, including seeds
1 tablespoon fresh peeled and minced ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup tomato paste
7 cups water
1 can unsweetened light coconut milk
1 15-ounce can of chickpeas
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
fresh cilantro and lime wedges for serving


Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a dutch oven or large soup pan and add the onions, bell pepper and jalapeno and cook for 5-7 minutes until the vegetables have softened and start to take on some color. Add the garlic, ginger, spices and tomato paste and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes until the mixture is toasty and fragrant. Add the water, coconut milk, lentils and chickpeas and cook uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes adding the lime juice at the end of cooking. Taste and adjust with more salt or more lime juice if desired. Serve the soup topped with a sprinkling of fresh cilantro and some extra limes on the side.



Original recipe here

Lime Colada Cupcakes

A few weeks after getting my new STAND MIXER (see previous post), and after my final exam, I had no plans for Saturday night and decided it was time to break in the mixer. (Obviously in an ideal world, I would have used the mixer right away, but studying got in the way.) I didn't feel like going out to the grocery store so I had to find a recipe for which I already had all of the ingredients, and I found this one online (I think on Tastespotting). The only think I left out was the coconut milk, because I didn't have any, but the frosting was still delicious. I also had bought a new mini cupcake pan, which I filled first, but I still had extra batter to make 8 large cupcakes.

Lime Pound Cake Cupcakes

Makes 15 cupcakes or one loaf pan

Ingredients

• 2 sticks salted butter
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (I used all-purpose)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. salt

Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350*F.
Place the butter in a small saucepan and melt over low heat, and then whisk the warm butter so no milk solids remain. Mix the melted butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until the sugar is well-dissolved. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the lime juice. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and add to the butter mixture alternately with the milk in 3 additions. Mix until just combined, then scoop into lined cupcake tins or one 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Bake until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean, about 25 minutes for cupcakes, 45-50 minutes for a loaf pan. Allow to cool completely then frost. 

For the frosting: "Best Buttercream Ever" (substitute coconut milk for milk, and add a 1/2 cup of coconut flakes).

Original recipe here

Homemade Samoa Bars

 

What's the best type of Girl Scout Cookie? Caramel Delights, of course (previously Samoas). When I found this recipe, I knew it had my name written all over it. I actually made it during GS Cookie season with a box of caramel delights sitting in my pantry, but of course, now the homemade Samoas are gone, and the boxed cookies remain in their box!
Anyway, this recipe is great, and you don't have to hunt down any Girl Scouts to enjoy a delicious Caramel Delight (or many). I followed the recipe fully through, except I didn't toast the coconut, which seemed to be OK. The most time-consuming part is unwrapping all of the caramels, but it's not so bad if you eat a few along the way :)

Original recipe here