Coconut Milk

The Initial Udon

Ally

Spicy Lemongrass Chicken Udon Soup

spicy-lemongrass-chicken-udon

Spring may have already sprung but the weather is still cold enough to warrant Spicy Lemongrass Chicken Udon. Warm and comforting, this soup is good all year long but is best served on chilly nights when you can fully appreciate it.

My dad and I often order udon noodles at Japanese restaurants but never make them at home.

Lemongrass is a flavor my family loves but never has at home.

I like enoki mushrooms in ramen at restaurants but never have them at home.

What better way to embrace these ingredients than to meld them together in flavorful soup?

Happily, these ingredients were inexpensive.

Four stalks of lemongrass = $0.30

One pack of large enoki mushrooms = $1.99

One pack of dried udon noodles = $1.50

Thank you 99 Ranch. You may have just opened but I’m officially adding you to my usual rotation of Asian grocery stores. (Don’t worry Asian Food Market and H-Mart, I still love you both!)

lemongrass-chicken-udon-noodles Read more →

Chickpeas, Spice Ease and Five C’s

Ally

Chicken Chickpea Curry with Cashew Butter and Coconut Milk

 
cashew-chicken-chickpea-curry
Curry is one of my favorite takeout meals, especially Thai Red Curry and Panang Curry, but it’s something I rarely make from scratch. However my mother had some leftover cashew butter that she didn’t know what to do with so a five C curry it was— Chicken, Chickpea, Cashew Butter and Coconut Milk Curry!

Actually there are another two C’s if you count the cardamom and coriander seeds. I figured I would try my hand at making curry paste this time so I picked up some whole spices at the Asian grocery.

It was fun, although it would have been far easier if I had a mortal and pestle to grind the toasted spices. I suppose I managed well enough with a plastic ziplock bag and a glass.
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Some Super Bowl Sunday Spice

Ally

Vegan Thai Tofu Enchiladas

 
Thai-Tofu-Enchiladas
Happy Super Bowl Sunday, everyone!

Are you excited for the game?
The half-time show?
The commercials?
The food?

Chicken wings, nachos, pizza and the like are all good options but I whipped up something special this year, Thai Tofu Enchiladas.

Super Bowl LI is in Houston so Tex-Mex fare seemed appropriate and because I’m an overachiever (or maybe just plain crazy), I figured why not throw in a little more fusion.

Y’know, go for the whole enchilada.
Sorry, I know that was corny.
Get it?
…Because corn tortillas…like the corn tortillas that you use to make enchiladas…are you laughing yet?

Okay, now that I’ve sufficiently filled my daily food pun quota, I’ll stop.

So onto Thai Tofu Enchiladas and what makes them different from traditional enchiladas.
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A Summer of Strawberry Cake (June)

Ally

Strawberry Mango Shortcake with Coconut Whipped Cream

Strawberry Mango Shortcake

Welcome to month #2 in my Summer of Strawberry Cake series. Since summer had just begun, last month I shared my recipe for Maple Balsamic Roasted Strawberry Cake but because the weather is heating up, I figured I’d give you a little taste of the tropics for June. Strawberry Mango Shortcake anyone?

Strawberry shortcake is one of my all-time favorite cakes. The crumbly shortcake, the juicy strawberries, the fluffy whipped cream, indescribably good. And I don’t even usually like whipped cream!

Like I mentioned last month, my family only eats strawberry shortcake every few years for my father’s birthday or Father’s Day because he doesn’t like chocolate. Occasionally we’d have fake strawberry shortcake at fundraisers or restaurants— otherwise known strawberries and canned whipped cream on angel food cake or any other kind of vanilla cake.

Strawberries and whipped cream on cake does not a strawberry shortcake make. A proper shortcake is made with a shortened dough resulting in a crumbly, biscuit-like cake. Calling a plain vanilla cake with strawberries a strawberry shortcake is like calling a waffle cone full of ice cream a Belgian waffle à la mode.

But never fear, when I say shortcake, I mean shortcake. And this shortcake happens to be made with puréed mangos for a tropical spin on a classic dessert.

Strawberry Mango Shortcake with Coconut Whipped Cream

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Taking Time to Smell the Roses…and Cake

Ally

VEGAN GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE W/ SALTED CARAMEL PECAN RIBBON

vegan-german-chocolate-cake
 
Do you know what today is?

It’s National German Chocolate Cake Day! And Rose Day at Colonial Park in Franklin, NJ.

(Bet you didn’t guess either of those, did you?)

colonel-park-rose-garden

If you can’t make it out to see the roses, don’t fret— you can still celebrate by baking yourself this twist on a classic German Chocolate Cake.

Running through this lightly sweetened vegan chocolate cake is a ribbon of homemade salted pecan caramel. Sandwiched between the three layers is a gloriously sticky coconut milk frosting along with more caramel, pecans and toasted coconut.

vegan-german-chocolate-cake

And if that isn’t enough flavor for you, throw in some chocolate chips between the layers and top the cake shards of pecan brittle.

I repeat, glorious.

german-chocolate-cake-pecan-brittle

A word to the wise, don’t line your circle pans with wax paper. It works for carrot cake but not so much for this cake— unless you enjoy scraping wax paper with a variety of sharp implements. Use very well greased parchment paper instead.

vegan-german-chocolate-cake

 
Onto the million dollar question…

Did German Chocolate Cake originate in Germany?
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Accidental Discoveries When Hitting Pot Bottom

Ally

CREAMY COCONUT RICE WITH DRIED FRUIT

A Delicious Bed of Coconut Rice

I love this coconut brown rice. Actually I love just about any coconut rice but the addition of dried apricots and raisins gives this one an extra hint of sweetness and some nice texture.

I first made this dish back in 2014 while throwing a picnic to celebrate the end of the school year.

Regular people serve food along the lines of fried chicken, potato salad and sandwiches at a picnic.

Apparently I am not a regular person. Read more →