Rich and Creamy Coconut Jelly Squares

Oh, I can taste the tropics just on the horizon. In a week from today, I'll be enjoying the lush green forests and dramatic coasts of Kauai.

And hopefully, I'll be enjoying some coconut based deliciousness along the way! This recipe is made using agar agar, meaning it's suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

It also uses creamed coconut - which you should not confuse with coconut cream! Creamed coconut is the unsweetened, dried flesh of the coconut ground into a paste and then formed into solid blocks (coconut cream, on the other hand, is a liquid.) It adds an intense coconut flavour to dishes and means you don't have to use any coconut extract to amp up that delicious flavour.


Coconut Jelly Squares

Ingredients

1½ cups full fat coconut milk
3/4 cups water, divided
¼ cup creamed coconut (not to be confused with coconut cream)
3/4 cup sugar
4 heaping tsp agar agar powder

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together coconut milk, ½ cup water, creamed coconut, sugar and heat until just simmering.

2. In a separate, small saucepan, bring remaining ¼ cup water to a boil. Sprinkle with agar agar powder and let boil for 3-4 minutes, until agar agar is dissolved. Pour mixture into coconut mixture, stir well to combine and simmer for 3-4 more minutes.

3. Rinse a 5"x9" loaf pan with water. Pour coconut mixture into loaf pan and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until set. Cut into 1" squares and serve with toasted coconut or your favourite tropical sorbet.

Coconut Cream Tart with Chocolate Macadamia Nut Crust

Oh my lord. When I was poking over Sweet and Crumbly earlier last week, we got to talking about restaurants on Kauai. Geni had just come back, and I'll be heading out in 5 weeks time.

She posted a picture of some seriously delicious looking Haupia Pie, and I got to wondering about doing some kind of riff off the chocolate-coconut-macadamia nut pie, except making it vegan.

It was a challenge I was SUPER excited about tackling.

I whipped up a simple coconut custard and poured it into a macadamia-coconut version of the hazelnut crust I did a few weeks ago. My intention was to make this a frozen tart, but after tt set up in the freezer for a couple of hours, the night was coming to an end. So, it was whipped out early and was quickly inhaled by three of us during the end of  Bachelorette.

YUM.

Coconut Cream Tart with Chocolate Macadamia Nut Crust

Ingredients

for filling

1 cup almond or soy milk
1 cup coconut milk
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp coconut extract
1 ripe banana
1 oz grated chocolate
¼ cup flaked coconut

for crust

½ cup macadamia nuts 
¼ cup flaked unsweetened coconut
¼ cup oats
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. For filling: In a measuring cup, whisk together almond and coconut milks. Set aside. In a saucepan set over medium heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add in coconut milk mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture coats the back of a spoon. Stir in vanilla and coconut extracts. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Press the plastic directly onto the custard, so it does not form a skin. Set in fridge to chill. Mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.

2. For crust: Heat oven to 350º. Spread macadamia nuts, coconut and oats on a baking sheet. Toast for 5 or so minutes, or until just beginning to colour. Place nuts, coconut and oats in a food processor and pulse 2-3 times, just to break up the mixture. Add in the remaining crust ingredients and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Pat into a greased, parchment lined 6" springform pan. Be sure to form a rim up the wall of the pan to keep the custard in. Set aside in freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

3. To assemble: Remove crust from freezer. Slice banana thinly and place directly on top of crust. Pour custard over bananas. Sprinkle with grated chocolate and flaked coconut. Place back in freezer for 1-2 hours, until just beginning to freeze. Serve with additional grated chocolate if desired.

Toasted Coconut Macadamia Nut Cookies with White Chocolate

This summer, Phil and I are going on vacation in Hawaii - we'll be escaping on our own in Kauai for a bit before joining my parents at the condo they've rented in Kauai and then we're all going back to Maui.

I've been dreaming of this:

View to Kahului from the Waihe'e Ridge Trail

and this:

Eggs Benny /w Portugese Sausage and Coconut-Pineapple Pancakes at the Hula Grill Waikiki

And the trees at the Kahana Village (I took this picture from my seat at dinner the night before my husband and I were married:

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And most of all the water. God. I love the water.

Kahekili Beach, Maui

All the thinking and dreaming of my summer vacation has me salivating for island food. So, riffing off of the vegan brownie bites I did last week, I played around and came up with this recipe. The coconut oil just called for more coconuty goodness, you know?

Toasted Coconut Macadamia Nut Cookies with White Chocolate

Ingredients

1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt (if you're feeling adventurous, replace the salt with 1½ tsp white miso! Inspiration here.)
1/3 cup almond milk (or any non-dairy milk)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp coconut extract

¼ cup chopped toasted macadamia nuts
¼ cup toasted flaked coconut
¼ cup coarsely chopped white chocolate (use dried pineapple or mango if you want to make these vegan)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. In a large bowl, stir together first 6 ingredients (oatmeal through salt). In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients (milk through extracts). Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir, just to combine. Stir in chopped hazelnuts and coconut and white chocolate.

3. Divide batter into 20 balls (roll with your hands), and place on parchment lined baking sheets about 1" apart. Bake for 12 minutes. Do not overcook these! You want them to be nice and chewy.

4. Remove from pan and let cool on rack. Keeps in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Another Soba Bowl: Marinated Tofu, Mixed Greens and Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut Pesto

Over the last weekend, while doing our weekly clean, my husband and I finally put away our winter boots. April had been so cold and wet, I just kept holding off on putting away the boots, but it seems like now, maybe, just maybe it's time to pack it all away.

Yesterday's pesto got me thinking. Along with the winter boots, mitts and jackets, it also feels like it's time to put away the cast iron dutch oven and to get out the salad spinner.

It's spring and I feel like eating my weight in vegetables.

Also, I'm in a wedding this summer AND going back to Hawaii and a man wished me a happy mother's day as an expectant mother last Saturday, which tells me that the belly fat has got to go because I'm not even vaguely pregnant.

Not hot.

And, what better way of plowing through some delicious greens than doing that than another gigantic vegetable-noodle bowl?

Tamari Marinated Tofu

(from More.ca)

Ingredients

1 block tofu, cut horizontally into 8 pieces, each piece then cut diagonally into triangles.
3/4 cup tamari
½ cup apple cider vinegar (I love the Eden organics brand)
¼ cup water
1½ tsp canola oil

Directions

1. Mix together all liquid ingredients in a non-reactive container (I used a glass container with a lid), then layer in the tofu. Cover and refridgerate for at least 1 hour and up to 5 days. Obviously, the longer you let it sit, the more marinade the tofu will absorb.

2. Grill tofu for 1-2 minutes per side.

Easy as pie... erm... tofu.

I like this served with soba noodles that have been tossed with the Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut pesto, topped with steamed broccoli, rainbow chard, bok choi and bean sprouts. A tablespoon each of cashews and toasted pumpkin seeds pumps up the crunch.

Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut Pesto

I don't think I should be calling this pesto at all, but to simply call it sauce seems to do it a disservice. I came up with this recipe as the companion to another of my Fresh inspired noodles bowls. It's bright and herbal, with lots of room for adaptation.

I wanted something slightly Thai inspired, but without the heat. This is creamy, smooth and would be so great as a counterpart to a spicy summer roll or dolloped on top of a curry for contrast. YUM.

Cilantro-Cashew-Coconut Pesto

Ingredients

2/3 cup dry roasted, unsalted cashews
½ cup light coconut milk
juice of one lime
1 large handul cilantro
1 large handful basil leaves
1 tbsp tamari (or Thai fish sauce, if you're not concerned about keeping it vegetarian)
¼ cup water

(suggested add ins: 1 garlic clove, a spoonful of green curry paste, minced lemongrass, minced serrano pepper if you want some heat)

Directions

1. Pulse all ingredients except water in a food processor until think. Add water, 1 tbsp at a time until mixture reaches desired consistency.

Now, that was easy, wasn't it? Serve with noodles, if you like.

The pesto on soba noodles. Yum!

Coconut Thumbrint Cookies with Mango-Ginger-Lime Jam

Last week, my friend Lindsay sent me a couple of jars of her preserves: a raisin chutney (yum! I have a cheese platter calling its name) and a mango-lime-ginger jam of her own creation.

Now, I love tropical flavours, and I adore mango, so I was super excited to try it out.

And, it was delicious. As always.

But, if you're simply eating your preserves on toast, you're really missing out on half the fun of a jar of great jam. I was in a baking mood and knew that I wanted something tropical but easy. Thumbprints seemed to be the way to go.

Seriously, I think this recipe came together in about 10 minutes.

Coconut Thumbprint Cookies with Mango Lime Ginger Jam

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg yolk
1¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1¼ cups flaked coconut (I used unsweetened)
¼ cup jam

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat.

2. Cream together butter and sugar. Once light and fluffy, add in vanilla and egg yolk. Blend. Then add in flour, mixing until combined.

3. Roll the dough into 20 balls and place on baking sheet. These cookies won't spread too much, so you don't need too much room between them.

4. Place beaten egg white in one shallow dish and coconut into another. Working with one ball at a time, roll dough first into egg white, then into coconut. Place each back onto the baking sheet.

Once all balls are covered with coconut, make an indent in the centre of each, using your thumb (hence the name thumbprint cookies). This little well will be where you put the jam.

5. Spoon ¼-½ tsp jam into the well of each cookie. Be careful not to overfill the centres; you don't want the jam to leak out all over the cookie sheet. It has a tendency to burn then.

Take a moment to admire all those cookies with jewel-like toppings. You're a genius!

6. Bake in oven for about 25 minutes, or until just lightly golden and firm to the touch. Because we have a temperamental oven, I started keeping a close eye on mine at about the 20 minute mark and they were finished at 27 minutes. Remove to rack and let cool.

Serve with tea and try not to eat too many at once!