Coconut Milk Rice Pudding

there's something about warm, creamy rice pudding that just so.....sigh....delicious. it's immediate comfort in a bowl. in a cup. in a jar. ummmm....off a spoon right out of the pan (not that i would ever do that, of course). it's the perfect dessert, the perfect breakfast, the perfect afternoon snack. if you have left over cooked rice you have the perfect reason to put this together. it requires few ingredients and only about an hour of somewhat watchful time.

 

here's what you need:

3 cups cooked rice (my favorite is short grain brown but you could use whatever you have on hand)

1 can coconut cream (14 oz)

1 can coconut milk (14 oz) full fat or light

1/4 cup to 1/2 cup raw sugar (regular sugar can be used. probably brown also though i haven't tried it)

1/8 - 1/4 tsp sea salt (to taste)

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 vanilla bean, split

1/4 tsp cinnamon

if you don't have left over rice, just cook your rice of choice per instructions. this is usually one part rice to two parts water brown rice takes longer to cook than white but i prefer it; fuller bodied, nuttier, and better for you. this is the time to add the salt listed in the recipe. if you're using left over rice you can add the salt when adding the spices. you could also leave the salt out completely but it does enhance the flavor if you use it. start with the smallest amount - you can always add more.

to the cooked rice add the coconut cream, coconut milk, sugar, vanilla bean and spices. bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. you want to let everything cook until the liquid is almost completely absorbed by the rice. this will take about 45 minutes. be sure to give it a stir every now and then.

it's done when it looks like this. your kitchen will smell amazing and holiday-ish. the rice pudding will be crazy creamy and you'll be ready for a bowl. eat it as is or add rasins, dried apricots or dried cherries. toasted, slivered almonds give a nice crunch.  and....not only is this the perfect dessert for those in your home who may be lactose intolerant, you'll also get the added benefits of coconut. yeah you!

enjoy!

Fall Pear Cordial

i wish i could say that fall has hit the west coast. occasionally we get a chilly, cloud filled day - my favorite -  and i break out my knitting, a giant cup of milky earl gray (heavily sugared, naturally) and make sure there's something cozy for dinner. but then the next day dawns clear and hot and i find myself putting away my favorite sweater and dreaming of things like deep dish casseroles, creamy soups, hot fruit crisps and warm bread dripping in butter. temps in the 80's aren't conducive to homey comfort food though so i recently found myself  looking for something cool to drink that tasted like fall. what better than a pear cordial?

this past summer, our favorite cold drink was a bombay saphire and tonic with lots and lots of limes. i make a good one. strong but easy to drink. ummm...maybe that's not so good. anyway, now that it's fall i was wanting something different and a bit unusual. i love pears and i love vanilla and i found a recipe on pinterest (note: what do you think about a pinterest bucket list? cool, right?), went out and bought the ingredients and gave it a go.

here's what i used:

1 vanilla bean, split length-wise
1 strip lemon peel
vodka
4 bosc pears
sugar
water

once again, i'm a walking advertisement for traders. what can i say? i went there for the vanilla beans and the vodka. you can buy the good stuff if you want but it really isn't necessary; with the flavor and sweetness of the cordial, i doubt anyone would notice. i bought the least expensive bottle which was $5.99.

bosc pears. yum. i love their sanding sugar texture and deep flavor. so perfect for this. wash them well, peel and core them and slice them up.

get into your mason jar stash. fill a clean jar with a vanilla bean, a fat slice of lemon peel and enough pears to reach the top. fill with vodka (you could also use brandy), screw on the lid and give it a good shake. store in a dark place for 1 week to 3 months, shaking periodically.  i lasted two weeks . if you make this near halloween, like me, buy some gorgeous pumpkins (got mine from traders. where else?) and use them as photo props for the caterpillar that your child brings home from school while you're waiting for your cordial to develop.

  

when you can't wait any longer, make a simple syrup from 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. add a sliced pear to the mixture. it will add even more pear flavor to your cordial. let it cool. 

pour the vodka mixture into a large bowl and use a potato masher to smash up the pears. remove the lemon peel and vanilla bean and strain the mixture into a clean container. i used a nut milk bag to strain but you could use cheesecloth or a coffee filter. 

add as much or as little of the simple syrup as you like. mix well and pour into a pretty little bottle or back into mason jars.

this is really delicious and a perfect fall aperitif served over ice on a warm evening. or neat on a chilly night. tastes even more delicious served in sweet little glasses or go rustic and serve it out of small mason jars. a sprig of fresh rosemary or sage with a curl of lemon peel would be a great garnish. aaaannnnndddd...i'm envisioning a pear tiramisu with the lady fingers soaked in this liquid gold.

right?!?




 

The Change Up ~ Baked Quinoa Patties

Do you ever have a day where you just sit with your computer and bounce around from blog to blog? Of course you do. I know...it's ok. I do it all the time more often than I should but I get kinda excited when i find something really cool that I want to try.

Today, it's been all about food and, actually, there was a purpose behind my trolling because last night I was told that one of my boys would benefit from some changes to his diet (as would my whole family, I dare say) so I was specifically looking for recipes to change up some of the things I normally make and that contain more whole grains, less sugar, more protein, less processed foods, etc, and I kept coming back to a blog I've loved for some time... 101 Cookbooks, authored by Heidi Swanson.

Do you know of it? Great stuff and even if you're not vegetarian, you're bound to find something to tempt your appetite there. The first thing I made was her Roasted Lemon Chutney. Oh my goodness! Tart, tangy, slightly sweet with just the tiniest bit of heat. A perfect condiment to keep on hand.

BUT ~ the pièce de résistance today has been Heidi's baked quinoa patties. Let me tell you, these little beauties are delicious, satisfying and healthy. They kind of remind me of falafel and are great to eat right out of the oven or at room temperature. They'll travel well for lunches too and can be eaten by themselves or as a burger. They'd be great topped with a poached egg or, like you see here, with some of the chutney and slices of avocado. Oooo....or some roasted red peppers or tzatziki.





Baked Quinoa and Black Bean Patties (adapted from Heidi Swanson's recipe)

note: if you look at Heidi's recipe first, you'll notice that mine is pretty different. clearly, i didn't have all the ingredients but, necessity being the mother of invention and all, and given that i really wanted to try these, i went with what i had on hand and my version didn't disappoint. also, i pretty much halved her recipe given that i only had 1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa in the pantry. one does what one must. and still made 9 patties.

1 1/4 cups cooked quinoa (about 1/2 cup uncooked) at room temperature
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (I used himalayan pink salt from traders)

1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
1 quater yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup whole grain bread crumbs, plus more if needed

1/3 cup grated pecorino and romano parmesan blend (also from traders)

1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well. You should have a mixture that holds together well and that you can easily form into 1-inch thick patties. Err on the moist side because it makes for a not-overly-dry patty, but you can add more bread crumbs, a bit at a time, to firm up the mixture, if necessary. Conversely, a bit more beaten egg or water can be used to moisten the mixture. If you're still having trouble getting the mixture to hold - mix in flour, a couple tablespoons at a time.

Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment and brush it with the olive oil. Arrange the patties with a bit of space between each. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown. Carefully flip them over and bake for another 5 minutes.

Enjoy hot, or allow to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.

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Chocolate Cinnamon Icey Yum!

I have some really good 'foodie' friends who I love to sit and gab and eat and cook with and I had a chance to visit with one of them for a bit over the weekend. As soon as I sat down at her table she plopped a Food Network magazine in front of me that I immediately started skimming through. Perfect for Valentine's Day, it was the chocolate issue filled with various and sundry recipes containing ~ of course ~ chocolate; an exciting mix of sweet and savory (soooo want to try making mole some day) to choose from and all relatively easy.

Towards the back there was a quick little receipt for chocolate ice cubes which sounded yummy and I thought I'd give them a try. Can I just tell you? They're soooooooooo good! Not just for a backwards chocolate milk either. They'd be perfect in an iced coffee, smashed up and topped with slightly sweet whipped cream or just eaten alone like a little mini fudgesicle. Flavor them with orange, almond, raspberry, mint or....rose water. Hello!

Here's my version of the recipe found in the magazine:

1 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp (heaping) cocoa powder
3 tbsp cinnamon sugar
1 vanilla bean, split
3/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Heat first five ingredients and whisk until there are no lumps



Turn off heat and remove vanilla bean. Add chocolate chips, stirring until completely melted. You'll have approximately 2 cups of liquid.



Pour into ice cube tray and gently tap out any bubbles.



Don't throw out the extra chocolate you may have left over! Add it to your morning coffee ~ yum!



Once the cubes are frozen, put them into a pretty glass and add milk.






Don't be shy now. Drink it down and savor each swallow!



If you don't do dairy, I'm sure that coconut milk, fresh nut milk or soy milk would sub out just fine (especially the coconut...smacking lips over here). Also, try changing the water for rose flower or orange blossom water or a strongly brewed chai tea. Or throw them in a martini glass with a splash of good vodka! See what I mean? Perfect for Valentine's Day. Get crazy and let me know what you try...

I'm excited to tell my friend about how these turned out. In addition to sending me home with a little bag of chocolate chips for this recipe, I also left with a paper sack of meyer lemons from her miniature tree and a half dozen freshly laid eggs courtesy of Gru, Miranda and Gertrude. Thank you ladies!


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Red Velvet Snowballs

There's one kind of Christmas cookie that I MUST have every year. One of those, "....it's not Christmas unless..." kind of cookies. You know what I mean. For me it's the snowball also known as Mexican Wedding Cookies and Russian Tea Cakes. My mom used to have this little hard plastic box filled with Betty Crocker Recipe cards. Anyone remember those? I can still see the card for the colored sugar coated Russian Tea Cakes...green, purple and red. Magical to my 8-year-old eyes. I'm not sure when my mom started making them covered in powdered sugar but that's what she's done for years and it's how I make them and they are my favorite and my best.

The recipe is pretty basic and you can find it all over the web and as a rule I prefer the original taste of the crumbly, buttery shortbread gems but this year, what with all the hullabaloo over all things red velvet, I decided to glam mine up a bit.



Here's what I used:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar plus extra for rolling
1 tsp almond extract
2 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp red food coloring
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment. Cream together the butter and powdered sugar. Mix in the almond extract, food coloring and cocoa powder. Once incorporated, add the flour and pecans.



Roll into generous 1-inch balls and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool for a couple of minutes and then, while still warm, roll into powdered sugar.






Personally, I like to roll mine twice because the first sugaring kind of melts around the warm cookie and the powdery look is lost. Watch out for little hands sneaking cookies when you're not looking (or when you're busy taking pictures for your blog).



And expect sprinkles of white all over your clothes - it's one of the perks! They also make it impossible for others not to know what you've been up to in the kitchen .






Aren't they pretty though? Love the dark red against the white and just a hint of chocolate in each gorgeous bite. They're perfect to give to your neighbors this Christmas.

Pup Love

Ahhhh....puppy love; it's the sweetest kind. And if you have a little four legged black-nosed baby at your house like we do then you know the feeling and, on occasion, you may find yourself wanting to spoil said puppy. Why not do it with homemade treats?

I like making my own because then I know what's in them and can control amounts and ingredients. There's nothing in these treats that you couldn't eat yourself though I'd trade one for a chocolate chip cookie any day of the week. Lucy seems to like them though and will run through her repertoire of tricks to get some.

Peanut Butter Bacon Treats

1/4 cup bacon drippings
3 tablespoons ground flax seed
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup beef or chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in a mixer or by hand, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball.


Roll to 1/4" thick and either slice into small shapes with a pizza wheel or cut out with a small cookie cutter. I used a 1" heart shape.


And it always helps to have an assistant...


This one recipe made a lot of treats. 87 to be exact which is a lot more than you'd get at your local pet store and a lot less expensive. And I pretty much used up every last bit of dough.


Bake for 25 minutes rotating cookie sheets half way through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool and store in a mason jar or whatever you have on hand.


They were a big hit with our Lu Lu Bird and she gobbled down three in short order.


Be sure to save those pan drippings the next time you fry up some bacon and if you're not a bacon eater, I'm sure you could substitute with extra virgin olive or coconut oil. These treats freeze beautifully and are the perfect gift for the dog lovers on your holiday list. Woof!

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Blackberry Cardamom Pavlova

Ahhh....Pavlova. A crispy, creamy, fruity marvel of sweetness; elegant and beautiful as the famous ballerina it was named after and surprisingly simple to make. Just a couple of hours (needed for the meringues to bake) and a few simple ingredients and everyone who tastes it will bow down before you in gratitude. Plus, it would be gorgeous for Easter.

Meringues
2 large egg whites at room temp
8 tbsp sugar, divided
3/4 tsp corn starch
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp rose flower water

Preheat oven to 275 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form and, with mixer running, slowly add 6 tbsp sugar. Whisk together remaining 2 tbsp sugar, cornstarch and cardamom. Slowly add this mixture to the egg whites and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Beat in rose flower water. Spoon mixture onto parchment lined sheet in small rounds and use the back of a spoon to make indentations in the center of the mounds.


Bake for about 20 minutes, meringues should be dry to the touch. Turn off the oven and prop door open slightly with the handle of a wooden spoon. Let the meringues cool in the oven for an hour.


They smell heavenly at this point...like flowery, spicy, marshmallows. While the meringues are baking you can make the Sabayon which is delicious and has a definite champagne taste. Even if you don't make the meringues make this sauce and serve it over fresh berries. OMG....soooo good!

Lemon-Champagne Sabayon
6 large egg yolks
5 tbsp sugar
2 tsps lemon zest
pinch of salt
3/4 cup Prosecco


Rub the lemon zest into the sugar to really release the oils and make the sugar fragrant. In a metal or glass bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, lemon sugar and salt until well blended.



Gradually whisk in Presecco and place bowl over gently boiling water making sure to not let the bowl touch the water (think double boiler).



Constantly whisk until thickened which takes about 4 minutes (instant read thermometer will register 170F).


Place bowl into larger bowl of ice water and whisk until cool (about 5 minutes).

Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp rose flower water

With a mixer beat cream, sugar, vanilla and rose flower water until soft peaks form (save some of this for your coffee. it's delish!)

To assemble the Pavlova, put a small dollop of whipped cream on the center of your plate. Place a meringue on top of the cream and gently press it into the cream to anchor it. Spoon more whipped cream into the center of the meringue and top with fresh blackberries (a heaping 1/4 cup). Spoon a generous amount of Sabayon over the berries and letting it pool around the base of the Pavlova.


Eat with eyes closed in rapturous delight.