Baked coconut rice pudding with mango

I liked the idea of rice pudding made with coconut milk instead of normal milk, and eaten with fresh mango. Right??? I approximately followed this recipe.

I also used coconut sugar, and tonka bean instead of vanilla. I bought the tonka bean a while ago but don't really know what to do with it. I was super curious about it because I first tried to buy it when we lived in the USA but couldn't, as it is illegal there! So when I saw it in the supermarket a spontaneous purchase happened... The internet suggests you grate it like nutmeg, and use it in places where you might use vanilla.

80 g coconut sugar (or normal sugar - golden caster)

800 ml coconut milk

1 strip lemon zest (optional)

about 1 tsp grated tonka bean (equivalent to seeds from 1 vanilla pod?)

160 g pudding rice

1-2 fresh mangoes, peeled and chopped or sliced, to serve

Heat oven to 150C. In large oven dish, combine sugar, coconut milk and lemon zest. Grate in tonka bean. Add pudding rice (rinsed), and mix to combine. Place in the oven and cook c. 2 hours, stirring halfway through, until rice is tender and liquid absorbed. Serve hot or warm with fresh mango.

Rice and peas

I cooked some black eyed beans the other day to make a curry with butternut squash and coconut milk. Mysteriously, it tasted like peanuts, but that's another story.

As usual, I cooked a load and then froze most of them for future use. I got to thinking about rice and peas. We ate masses of it in Belize, and my friend Liz used to make it sometimes. I guess traditionally it's with kidney beans, but somehow I thought it might be good with black-eyed beans.

Actually, I liked the black-eyed beans a lot. They cooked up really nicely from dried. I guess they are in that sweet spot, size-wise, along with chickpeas - I find bigger beans often cook unevenly. They were hard to find though - didn't seem to be stocked in any of the supermarkets.

I adapted this recipe to make a version that uses pre-cooked beans. I guess cooking the beans in the coconut milk would maintain more flavour and the whole dish would taste more beany... but I just know I will never make it if I have to soak an exact amount of beans the night before.

1 tbsp veg oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger
5 thyme sprigs (used c. 5 tsp dried instead)
5 allspice berries (did not have - used 2 tsp ground allspice instead)
1 scotch bonnet pepper (used 1 dried chilli instead)
3 cups cooked beans (black-eyed, black or kidney)
1 400 ml can coconut milk
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups long-grain rice
550 ml hot water (or bean cooking water if you kept it)


Heat the oil in a large lidded saucepan. Add the onion and fry a bit. Add the spring onions, garlic and ginger and fry a little more. Add the thyme, allspice, chilli, beans, coconut milk, salt and pepper, and bring to the boil. Stir in the rice and add the water. Cover and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed - approx. 30 min. Remove from the heat, cover and let steam for 10 min before serving. Discard thyme stems, allspice berries and chilli before serving.


This made loads! A half quantity would be fine for us... But luckily it was a big hit with both S and s, so disappeared within a couple of days!

Coconut and pumpkin dal

I went to Paris for five days for a meeting. It was sunny all the time, and I never wore a coat. I came back, and Copenhagen had decided it was Autumn. It was chilly, windy, rainy. Dal season had started. I'd hardly spent time cooking for weeks - I've been really busy with work and house stuff. I don't feel like myself when I don't cook: it takes my mind off things and helps me relax. But I hadn't time.

So in honour of dal season, and in an attempt to use up some stuff from the kitchen cupboards, I made this rich, delicious, warming dal. I cooked red lentils and kabocha squash in coconut milk with turmeric, ginger and other spices to maximise warmth in colour and taste. Finished off with a generous amount of fresh coriander, it is warming and decadent and autumnal. And I feel a bit more like myself.

2 tbsp coconut oil
2 in piece ginger, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1-2 tsp cumin seeds
seeds from 2-3 whole cardamom pods
2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 tin coconut milk
water
1 small kabocha squash
4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
salt+black pepper
juice of 1/3 lime

Heat coconut oil in a large pan. Add ginger and garlic and cook until lightly coloured. Grind the cumin, coriander and cardamom then add to the pan along with the other dry spices. Cook until fragrant. Add the lentils and stir until slightly transparent. Add coconut milk and sufficient water to cook the lentils (you can add more later if it gets too thick). Simmer for about 20 min. Once you have started it simmering, deseed the pumpkin (squash) and chop it into smallish chunks. You can peel it if you like but wouldn't have to. Add it to the pan with about 15 min to go. Once the pumpkin and lentils are tender turn off the heat. Add coriander. Add salt, pepper and lime juice to taste. Eat right away with rice or flatbreads, or reheat (it keeps well).

One pot red lentil, coconut and greens dal

Making dal with coconut milk instead of water had been in the back of my mind for a while. Also adding stuff other than spices and aromatics. Someone recommended this recipe, thought I'd give it a try (with modifications).

This is a pretty good summer dal. Since it uses red lentils the cooking time is short (relative to other dal like chana), so less time spent over the stove. Coconut and greens also seem like summery additions.

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 in piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped (used ~1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes)
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 cup (approx 250 g) red lentils
1 ~400 ml tin coconut milk made up to ~800 ml with water
~ 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup spinach or other tender greens (I used a mixture of the green parts of napa cabbage and butter lettuce)
1 small bunch of coriander, chopped

In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut oil, then add onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and fry gently til lightly browned. Add the mustard seeds and heat til they pop. Add the turmeric and garam masala and fry for a minute or so before adding the lentils. Add the coconut milk-water mixture to the pan, then cover and cook gently for 15-20 min, stirring occasionally. Add the salt and taste for seasoning. Finally, add the greens and coriander and cook for a few minutes more, until they are wilted but still bright green.


I really enjoyed the rich coconuttiness of this dal (makes it a bit richer than most dal, but totally delicious). Also the greens. This is a different cooking method to my usual dal - adding everything to one pot rather than frying the onions and spices separately and adding them last. Think it is fine, and obviously saves washing up etc, although perhaps uniquely possible for small, quick-cooking dal like the red lentils.

Massaman curry (from tinned paste)

Sascha bought this little tin of curry paste when he stayed with us (and S demanded he make us dinner when we got home from work / before going to basketball). The remainder of the tin had been in the fridge ever since - I wasn't sure how long it'd last but guessed it needed using up before too much longer. Last night I got home before S and decided it was time for curry. I filled it with a pretty random selection of stuff from the corners of fridge, freezer and cupboards. Which actually worked out really well.

The paste is good, and tinning means it has no unidentifiable ingredients. In case I want to try and recreate it / find it again, it is labelled Massaman curry paste, and the ingredients list is: garlic, sugar, soybean oil, dried red chillies, tamarind juice, shallot, salt, lemongrass, spices (coriander seeds, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, lesser galanga, cloves), kaffir lime, galangal, citric acid (E330).

1/2 tin Massaman curry paste (see above)
1 tin coconut milk
1/4 butternut squash, deseeded and chopped into ~2 cm chunks
2 medium potatoes, washed and chopped into ~1 cm chunks
~1/4 cup okara (optional - chucked it in because it needed eating)
~1/2 cup frozen chickpeas
1/2 block super firm tofu
~1/2 cup frozen peas
~2 tbsp crushed toasted peanuts
~2 tbsp chopped coriander

Heat a deep frying pan with a lid. Put the curry paste and half the coconut milk in and stir-fry for ~ 3 min. Add the potato and squash. Cover and simmer for ~15-20 min, until the potato is almost cooked, adding the okara after about 5 min if using. Add the chickpeas and tofu and heat for another 5 min or so, then add the frozen peas and heat for 2-3 min, until they are cooked. Take off the heat and stir in the toasted peanuts. Serve with rice, and with coriander sprinkled on top.

Coconut and banana polenta, lemongrass tofu, peanut sauce

Our vegetable supplies are getting low - the first CSA since before Christmas is due tomorrow. This was a low-veg-supply dinner that was really rather good (and very quick!).

For the tofu:
1 block super firm tofu
~4 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp sesame oil
~2-3 tbsp chopped lemongrass
salt+pepper

For the polenta:
(pretty similar to this recipe; note I haven't completely settled on the right amount of liquid vs polenta)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup polenta
1 tsp salt
~2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 banana, peeled and diced

For the peanut sauce:
1-2 tbsp peanut butter
juice of 1 lime
~2 tbsp soy sauce

Cut the tofu into cuboids ~ 6 x 2 x 2 cm and dry. Heat the oils in a frying pan and plonk the pieces of tofu in it. Cook each side for a few minutes, flipping along the long axis using a fork. When nicely browned on all sides add the lemongrass and stir-fry for a few more minutes until the lemongrass is lightly browned and crispy. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat the coconut milk and the water in a small saucepan. Mix the polenta and salt in a bowl. When the liquid is boiling whisk in the polenta mixture a little at a time. It will probably become thick and seem cooked almost immediately. Stir in the coriander and banana, cover, cook for a minute and then turn off the heat and let it sit and steam a little.

To make the peanut sauce mix peanut butter, lime juice and soy sauce and taste to check balance. Add some chilli sauce, maple syrup or finely chopped fresh ginger if you like.

Serve the tofu over the top of the polenta, with peanut sauce over the top or on the side.


All very simple and good, making the best of the contents of fridge, freezer and storecupboard.

Aromatic coconut and udon soup

S has rediscovered udon noodles in a big way - currently, they are (almost, besides gorgonzola pasta) his favourite thing. Times have changed from when he bought a packet and they lay unused for almost a year... Last night I was heading home before him and asked for dinner suggestions. He said udon (naturally), and followed up with coconut (inspired, I think, by a soup we had at the Thai place at the end of our road the other night). I started thinking about all the lovely aromatics we had squirreled in the freezer (lemongrass, galangal, ginger...) and the tin of coconut milk I had left over from my abandoned kefir experiments, and realised it was a brilliant idea!

1 star anise
~2 tbsp chopped lemongrass
2 inch piece galangal, peeled and sliced
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
2 dried red chillies
1-2 lime leaves (optional)
good handful of fresh coriander, chopped (stalky parts and leafy parts separated)
1 tin coconut milk
~1-2 tbsp light soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
water
hot chilli sauce
2 (single serving) packets of udon
1 small onion, peeled and sliced lengthways into bitesize pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
1/2 a pack of extra firm tofu, drained and chopped into ~2 x 2 x 1 cm chunks
3 large-ish button mushrooms, trimmed and chopped into sixths lengthwise
3 smallish tomatoes, cut into sixths (or use cherry tomatoes)

Put the star anise, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, dried chillies, lime leaves (if using) and the stalky bits of coriander into a saucepan and add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and lime juice. Add ~1-2 cups of water and bring gently to a simmer. Taste for saltiness, acid, thickness/intensity of coconut milk, and add more soy sauce, lime juice or boiling water accordingly. Put in the udon, onion, carrots and tofu and bring back up to a simmer. Turn off and let sit for 10 minutes or so before checking the flavour balance again. Adjust as before, also add a few drops of hot sauce if you think it needs to be spicier. A few minutes before serving, add the mushrooms, tomatoes, and the leafy parts of the coriander. Bring back up to simmering point, check all the vegetables and the udon are cooked, turn off the heat and serve the soup. Avoid eating the star anise, the big pieces of galangal, and the dried chillies.


Really good. Quick (veg preparation the most time consuming step), and super easy / minimal washing up - just one board, one knife and one big pan (besides bowls and spoon+forks). Most of the stuff is either always in the storecupboard or basic veg and herbs. Veg could be varied (brassicas nice); as could noodles / it could be served with rice on the side instead. Lovely, warming, filling, aromatic and comforting for a cold, cold, end-of-year day.

Kefir experiment: coconut milk kefir

Introduction:
I got curious about using kefir in non-milk situations - there is such a thing as water kefir, and I read that you can use milk kefir in non dairy milk. That sour-creamy (yoghurty) taste/texture is one of the few non-vegan things I actually miss eating regularly. The discoveries that the So Delicious coconut milk drinking yoghurt (the best non-dairy yoghurt I've found) was originally marketed as kefir, and that A makes kefir using what he calls 'santan' (which seems to be pretty much coconut milk) when he is home in Borneo sealed the deal: experiments are starting now!

Method / Results:
All experiments done in parallel at room temperature, which probably averaged ~23C during this period. I used clean glass jars with the lid left ajar (to avoid any gas build-up / explosions), and put them in the pantry away from direct sunlight.

Day 1: A brought me some milk kefir grains (in milk - he usually uses them in milk) in an old marmalade jar. When I got them home I split them between three glass jars: 1) the original jar, with milk in it; 2) one with a whole tin of full-fat coconut milk in it (I think Chaokoh brand: forgot to note - was a brown tin with coconuts on it); 3) one with about a cup of Almond Breeze almond milk in it. Left them at room temperature. Jar 1 (milk) already tastes sour and yoghurty, although still a bit milky.

Day 2: Jar 1 (milk) is well soured by now. Transferred to fridge. Jar 2 (coconut) is developing an interesting sourness and thickness, also separating a little. Jar 3 (almond) is separating but nothing much is happening to the taste, also the kefir grains don't look very healthy.

Day 3: Jar 2 (coconut) is good: thick, sour, slightly fizzy, separating (goes together when beaten with a fork) - A said all of these features were desirable - transferred to the fridge. Jar 3 (almond) is a loss: it did not sour properly, kefir grains looked bad, eventually mould developed on top and I threw it away.

Day 6: Jars 1 and 2 are currently stored in the fridge. To use the coconut kefir I have been stirring it thoroughly with a fork, then scooping out the quantity I desire to use, being careful to leave the kefir grains in the jar.

Day 8: Removed all the coconut kefir from Jar 1 and transferred it to a fresh jar, leaving the kefir grains behind. Cleaned and dried the jar, then put another tin of coconut milk (Goya brand, no additives, looked a bit like it had separated) into the jar with the kefir grains and put it at room temperature.

Day 9: Coconut kefir starting to smell and taste sour already. Room temperature is pretty high at the moment - approx 28C.

Next phases of the experiment will involve (1) attempting to strain the remaining grains out and (2) transferring them to a fresh quantity of coconut milk to see if I can maintain the culture without dairy milk.

(1) I haven't been bothering with straining: I have just been scooping the kefir out from around the grains / scooping out the grains and pouring off the kefir.

(2) Kept grains in coconut milk in the fridge for 2-3 days. Then transferred them to a clean jar with a new can (Aroy-D brand) coconut milk. The milk soured within 48 hours again (got so fizzy it almost boiled over). I transferred it back to the fridge.

Brands (all tinned, without thickeners added): Goya = $1.75 @ Brigham Circle Stop n Shop, very thin and slightly grainy; Aroy-D = $3.00 for two @ Super 88, very thick before but thin after culturing, Chaokoh = $2.50 for two @ Super 88.

Discussion:
Grains are not really growing while in coconut milk, and they are not all plump and gelatinous-looking like they were when they came out of cow milk. So, while they are efficiently souring coconut milk just now, I imagine this might not work forever. However, A has a constant excess of grains from his cow milk culture at the moment, so I can re-up my culture whenever I want.
The first batch I did thickened up, whereas the second and third batches remained thin. I think this was because of the brand of coconut milk: a second batch using Goya brand and some fresh grains from A was also thin. Seems like the thickness of the kefir mostly depends on the thickness of the coconut milk used. Shake the tin before buying and listen to guess at how thick it is - if it doesn't make much sloshing noise it is likely to be quite thick.
The big advantage of kefir-making over yoghurt-making is that works well at room temperature. I'm curious to try yoghurt culture with tinned coconut milk, as I only ever tried it with soy milk (which didn't work).

Conclusions:
I can make coconut kefir, although perhaps not indefinitely or at lower temperatures. It is still possible I could make kefir with other non-dairy milks, but the results with almond milk suggest that using a pure milk (without thickeners or other added ingredients) may be important. Seems possible to store kefir and grains in the fridge for at least weeks and be able to bring them out anytime and they still work straight away. Fizziness of freshly made kefir seems reduced after a few days in the fridge.

Thai green curry with plantain, chickpeas and cauliflower

I have been ferreting through the freezer, trying to figure out why it is so full and disorganised (probably a clue is its bad design... at least, S pointed out, it being really full means it is more energy efficient!), and what treasures might be lurking at the back...

Among other things, I discovered galangal, lemongrass, and half a bag of frozen peas. And, possibly due to an exciting visit to Jitlada Thai in Hollywood, wondered if maybe I should make a Thai curry?

This recipe looked like the business. Amazingly, I actually had most of the key ingredients for the paste (or reasonable substitutions). I didn't have any of the recommended veg to go in it, but decided to freestyle with what I had - no way was I going out to buy food last night - it hit -12C and my fingers froze on the bike ride home in spite of double, super thick gloves.

Green Curry Paste:
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, sliced finely and minced OR 3 tbsp frozen or bottled lemongrass
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2+1/2 tbsp soy sauce, OR equal parts Thai Golden Mountain Sauce and soy sauce, leave out the dark soy
1-2 tsp brown sugar (to taste)
1-3 green chillies, minced (to taste) (used 1-2 tsp dried red chilli as we didn't have any green)
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, peeled and sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves (fresh or frozen), snipped into thin strips with scissors, OR substitute 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 loose cup chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tsp dark soy sauce, OR substitute 1 more tbsp regular soy sauce

Other:
2 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute 1 bay leaf
1 tin coconut milk
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas OR 1 1/2 cup firm tofu drained and chopped into cubes OR a combination
1 black plantain, peeled and chopped into chunks
~3 medium carrots peeled and sliced
~10 mushrooms, roughly chopped into quarters
~1 cup of cauliflower chunks about an inch diameter
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped (optional)
2-3 tbsp oil for frying

To make the green curry paste, place all paste ingredients in a blender. Add a few tbsp of the coconut milk, enough to blend ingredients. Process well.

Place oil in deep frying pan. Turn heat on medium-high and add paste. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add the coconut milk. Add tofu and / or chickpeas and stir to combine.

Add lime leaves (used bay) and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

Add plantain and carrots. (Note: if more sauce is desired, add up to 1 cup vegetable stock.) Cover and simmer another 5 min, then add the cauliflower. Simmer for 3-5 min more, until carrots are soft enough to pierce with a fork.

Finally, add mushrooms and frozen peas. Stir and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until peas are cooked but still bright green.

Do a taste test for salt and spice, and add more soy sauce, salt, lime juice or coconut milk accordingly.

Vegetables: The recommended combo was 1 cubed sweet potato (added when I did the plantain and carrot), 1 red pepper, chunked and a cup of sugarsnap peas (both added when I did the mushrooms) - alternative recommendations were: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, french beans, aubergine, squash, and courgette.


All in all this was really successful: the curry paste worked out well and tasted good and quite authentic. The colour of the curry paste was a bit off (kind of greenish, but also brownish): wondered if I might have skimped a little on the coriander by measuring it before chopping - another time measure after chopping and will probably end up with more. The basil was the tired stuff off our windowsill - fresh holy basil would probably have been much better (and greener).

The plantain, chickpeas and cauliflower all tasted great in this format - was especially pleased with the plantain and chickpeas together. However, they are all brownish and so are the mushrooms and tofu, so that didn't help with the colour issues! So, another time it would be cool to try and get hold of some kaffir lime leaves and holy basil, and some more colourful veg, but I was really impressed with this recipe as a quick, storecupboard-based weeknight supper.

It probably took about an hour in total - could have sped this up by cutting the carrot thinner, and also by prepping the cauli / mushrooms / peas while the pot is on (I was tired and thought it best to prep everything at the beginning to avoid getting confused / stressed). We ate it with simple coconut basmati rice (toss through a few tsp of coconut oil when the rice is cooked and steaming).

Edit: I made this again (after another freezer-clearance effort): this time used holy basil and lime leaves, and green chillies, and made sure my herbs were well-packed. And the paste came out deep green and wonderfully aromatic - I could eat it on its own. I used only one chilli - perhaps use more next time, it wasn't very spicy. For content, I used chickpeas, carrot, tempeh, baby turnips (roots and greens), courgette, peas, radish greens... turns out this is a good way to use random things up / most of the necessary items can be stored in the freezer or pantry indefinitely - only really need the fresh holy basil and coriander.

Gluten-Free Wedding Desserts: Carrot+Pinenut Cake, Chocolate Black Bean Brownies, Lime Tart

Our friends Hannah and Orion got married this weekend.  So we were at Earthlands in Western Mass for the party (+camping Sat night).  H asked me to bring some gluten-free desserts as my contribution (she eats GF).  S and I decided that first up would be as many cherries as we could get from the Haymarket for $20 (below is about 2/3 of them).

I also decided it would be a good opportunity to test out some gluten-free dessert recipes I was curious to try.  Another advantage of vegan food, I have realised, is that it is typically pretty resistant to going off - all this stuff was kept at room temp on a sunny day and was absolutely fine. 

1) Nigella's carrot and pine-nut cake

I found this one on the BBC website, and figured Nigella would know good cake.  I got doubly excited when I realised I could use some carrots we harvested from the community garden last weekend (H+O and I met through the garden).  I also used 2 eggs Sadie gave me the other day when she had loads from her CSA - I feel like eggs are OK if I know they come from a good source, especially if they would otherwise go to waste!

3 tbsp pine nuts
2 medium carrots (approx. 200-250g/7-9oz)
75g/3oz golden sultanas
60ml/2¼fl oz rum (used Pimms instead)
150g/5oz caster sugar
125ml/4½fl oz regular olive oil, plus extra for greasing
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 free-range eggs (used 2 plus 1 flax egg (=1tbsp ground linseed+3tbsp warm water); reckon would work fine with 3 flax eggs)
250g/9oz ground almonds
½ tsp ground nutmeg, or to taste (forgot to put this in)
½ lemon, finely grated zest and juice

For the carrot cake, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line the base of a 23cm/9in round springform cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides with olive oil.

Toast the pine nuts by browning in a dry frying pan; set aside.  Or use pre-toasted ones and skip this.

Coarsely grate the carrots, then sit them on kitchen paper to soak up excess liquid. Set aside.

Put the golden sultanas in a small saucepan with the rum / Pimms, bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 3 minutes.

Whisk the sugar and oil until airily mixed.

Whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs and, when well whisked, fold in the ground almonds, nutmeg, grated carrots, golden sultanas (with any rum that clings to them) and, finally, the lemon zest and juice.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. The batter will be very shallow in the tin.

Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the cake and put it into the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the top is risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out sticky but more or less clean.

Remove from the oven and let the cake sit in its tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unspring and leave it on the rack to cool.  To serve, transfer the cake to a plate.

This was dense and sticky and yummy.


2) Chocolate Black Bean Brownies

Stumbled across this recipe (liked the blog too) and thought it would be worth testing...  Here's an alternative that might also be worth a try.

~1 1/2 cups black (or black-eyed) beans, defrosted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup applesauce (edit: tried subbing this with blended silken tofu plus a little more sugar - worked fine)
1/4 cup flour (rice flour for GF)
1/4 cup ground linseed
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
good handful walnuts, coarsely chopped
handful chocolate, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 350F, and lightly oil a baking pan.

Blend the beans until smooth.  Measure the dry ingredients (except nuts and chocolate) into a bowl and mix with a fork.  Add the applesauce and black-eyed beans and mix thoroughly with a fork.  Add 3/4 of the nuts and mix.

Spread mixture in pan, and bake ~35 minutes, until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Sprinkle the top with chopped chocolate and nuts, and cool well so that the chocolate re-sets before eating.

These were really simple, and really, surprisingly tasty (quite solid though).  Might need to find an alternative to the applesauce as that's the one thing I don't often have in the cupboard.  I used black-eyed beans as I discovered I didn't actually have any black beans in the freezer, and they were fine.  Often rice flour can impart a nasty gritty texture to baking, but here I think it is in a small enough proportion that it doesn't matter.  I made this again already (since I'd opened the jar of applesauce...)!  This time I sprinkled some chopped walnuts on top as well as the chocolate, so it looked prettier.


3) Lime Tart

I was interested in making something with agar and found this recipe on ppk.  I needed a GF, vegan piecrust, and remembered a nice-looking pie here.  So...

For the crust:
2 cups ground almonds
1 cup ground linseed (used a mixture of linseed and chia)
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp water

For the filling:
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest (~2 limes)
2/3 cups fresh lime juice (~6-8 limes)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons agar flakes (or two teaspoons agar powder and skip the soaking step... used powder)
1 16 oz can coconut milk at room temperature
2 tablespoons tapioca flour (used cornstarch)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Heat the oven to 350F.  Mix the almonds, linseed and cornmeal with a fork, then blend as well as possible, while adding salt and cinnamon. Keep going until the mixture becomes forms crumbly clumps. Then add in the water and maple syrup and keep mixing until well combined.  Transfer the mixture to a 9 inch pie plate (lined with foil) and press it into the bottom and sides to form the crust. Make sure the tops of the sides are not too thin.  Bake the crust for 10 minutes, remove and set aside.

Mix the almond milk and agar powder in a saucepan (or soak agar flakes for 15 min).  Separately, mix together coconut milk, cornstarch, sugar and vanilla.  It’s important that the coconut milk is at room temperature so that it doesn’t affect the agar when you add it.

Turn up the heat on the agar and bring to a boil.  Keep a close eye so that it doesn’t boil over.  Immediately reduce heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes, until agar is dissolved.  If using powdered it will only take about 5 minutes to dissolve.

Once dissolved, slowly whisk in the coconut mixture and then the lime juice and zest (don't add too quick - that'll make the agar gel too soon).  Then whisk often for about 10 minutes, until it has thickened.  If it isn’t thickening, turn the heat up, but you don’t want it to boil.

Pour into the pie crust and let cool for about half an hour.  Then move to the fridge for at least 3 hours, until fully set.  Garnish with lime slices, if you like.

I wound up with about twice as much pie crust as I needed, so froze the other half.  I also had too much filling so poured the rest into a bowl and added some pink food colouring.  Probably half quantities would be fine for making one tart in future.  When it was all set I cut the pink stuff into 2cm cubes.  Then I cut some of those into thin hearts to make kitschy decorations.

I liked it, but the jellyish filling and robustly textured crust might not be to everyone's tastes?  The colour was a bit off - could have been more green.  I expected the crust to fall apart but it was fine.  It was quite a lot of work squeezing the limes!


Everything disappeared without trace, so I take that as a good sign!

Things with coconut milk

Had most of a tin of coconut milk left from Seb's birthday cake - somehow ended up making many things from it...

Coconut rice

1/4 large red onion, sliced
4 cardamom pods, crushed slightly
cup basmati rice
tsp veg oil
cup of coconut milk
cup of water

Heat oil in a saucepan and then fry the onion til soft.  Add rice and cardamom and stir / fry a couple min.  Add coconut milk and water and bring to boil.  Cook ~ 10min til rice is done, then leave with lid on for 10 more min.  Fluff with a fork before serving.

-pretty good.


Beetroot brinjal coconut curry


1 small red onion, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove
~1 red chili (taste)
1/3 lemongrass stalk
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp coriander seed
1/3 tsp fennel seed
1 tbsp veg oil
150g raw beetroot (1 large beetroot) peeled and cut into chunks
bits of aubergine equivalent to 2 baby aubergines, quartered
70ml veg stock
100ml coconut milk
salt and pepper
handful raw cashews

Liquidise onion, garlic, chili, lemongrass.  Dry roast cumin, coriander and fennel to dark brown, then grind.  Heat oil.  Add onion paste and cook for a few min, then add ground spices.  When combined add beetroot and aubergine.  Fry for 2min high.  Add stock and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer til soft (~30min).  Add coconut milk and simmer for 5 min.  Dry roast cashews and use as garnish.

This was tasty.  Bit faffy with paste and ground dry spices, and took awhile to cook.  But several of my favourite things, and bright pink of course.  Based on a recipe I copied from a book of Shireen's awhile ago - I don't remember the title.


Coconut veg curry

2 tbsp veg oil
1 1/2 tsp coriander seed
1 1/2 tsp cumin seed
2/3 tbsp cardamom seed
1 onion, sliced
1 large sweet potato, diced roughly
3cm chunk of ginger, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
300ml coconut milk
1 small red chili, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime and few shards of zest
~ 6 stalks of kale - greens separated from stalks and chopped separately
3/4 a large red pepper
about 1/4 a large aubergine

Dry-fry the spices til fragrant, then grind.  Heat the oil and saute the onion for ~ 12 min til browned.  Add sweet potato, ground spices, ginger, garlic, coconut, chili, lime zest.  Cover and simmer ~12min.  Add kale stems, aubergine, red pepper, simmer ~4min.  Simmer til veg are semi cooked.  Add kale leaves and simmer uncovered until kale is wilted and sauce is thick.  Add lime juice (and fresh coriander if I'd had it), taste for seasoning.  Sit for 10min before serving.

Suggested addition was: Put 50g sunflower seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seed, 1 tsp caster sugar, pinch salt in nonstick pan and put on high heat.  Stir for 3-4 min til sugar dissolves and coats seeds.  Set aside to cool.

Overegged the chili and the cardamom slightly - next time use less.  Otherwise a tasty veggie mess.  Reckon you could use any combination of veggies - I based this on a more complicated recipe using okra, carrots, butternut squash and cauliflower instead of sweet potato, kale, red pepper and aubergine.