Tag Archives: coconut

Pineapple-Coconut Jasmine Brown Rice

  • Pineapple-Coconut Jasmine Brown Rice

Discovered this rice originally at a local waterside dive bar/restaurant called ZigZag Scallop on the west coast of Florida in Hernando Beach and had to recreate it. Their food is phenomenal if you’re ever in the area. They had used regular jasmine rice but we prefer the jasmine brown. It’s not very dark but it is brown rice. I get my rice at Trader Joe’s because it’s the one place I know I can always find it. Sometimes the supermarkets or specialty markets have it but Trader Joe’s has the best price. I buy several bags when we go and store in the fridge, even unopened. Because anyone who lives in Florida knows that the ants here are beyond tenacious and determined to get into ANYTHING! I lost a whole unopened bag of this rice that was in my pantry as they ate through the plastic. So in the fridge it goes. I also make my rice in a rice cooker these days. So much easier if you ask me. For years I swore I’d never buy one and finally broke down and was so glad I did. I love it!

Use fresh pineapple if you can, it makes a HUGE difference. But if canned is all you can get try to get the best quality canned you can find. Do not use crushed. You want the chunks.

I use this recipe with my Tuna Poke recipe and served it warm. But it is also delicious cold. This recipe is a doubled so I will have extra. Feel free to cut it in half.

This can definitely be made on the stove top or in a rice cooker. Just follow the directions for both and all will be fine. I don’t go by the instructions for the rice cooker on their liquid amounts, they are not really accurate and the rice gets over-cooked.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups jasmine brown rice

1 can of light coconut milk (15-16 oz) (I also get mine from Trader Joe’s, but any brand is fine)

6 cups water

2-3 cups fresh pineapple, diced (if using frozen or canned, drain the juice)

1-2 limes juiced

1 tsp salt or to taste

1/2 cup fresh cilantro or about 1 TBS dried, or leave it out if you don’t like cilantro, I did not use it.

2/3 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened, toasted if desired

1-2 scallions thinly sliced

Directions:

Rice Cooker:

Combine the rice, coconut milk and water in the cooker. Cook until done. (my rice cooker turns off when complete.) Check to make sure it’s not too dried out, if it is just add a little more water and cook for a few minutes.

When cooker turns off and goes to warm (as mine does) add the pineapple chunks, salt, cilantro, scallions, coconut and lime juice. Stir to combine. Serve warm or cold.

Stovetop:

In a medium pot, combine the rice, coconut milk and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low right away.

Simmer on low for about 40-60 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Keep covered and remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

Add the pineapple chunks, salt, cilantro, scallions, coconut and lime juice. Stir to combine. Serve warm or cold.

Pumpkin Spice Magic Bars

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It’s been a while since I posted but I’m back! I made this recipe for our Halloween Party at my new job. (Ok it’s not so new anymore) Everyone knows how much I LOVE to dress up (NOT!) so instead I made a dessert. Normally dessert is not my go to recipe realm but I keep trying! Never give up! Anyway…. I found this recipe on Taste of Home. It was originally called Pumpkin Delight Magic Bars. After reading the reviews I decided it would be a good choice. Though as the reviews do state, the toppings do tend to fall off a bit after it’s baked. Not a big deal but even when I was determined to ‘fix’ that by making sure I pressed the toppings into the cake before baking, it did no good. Oh well! I think the next time I make it I may put some of the topping inside instead. Either way, this recipe came out amazing! I didn’t have any leftovers at work! Score for the newbie! The recipe says it makes 24 bars. I thought they might be too big so I cut them in half and got 48 small bars. Worked out great. But what to do about keeping the topping under control? I put each bar into a cupcake liner! This way it kept everything neat! Easier to transport and display as well.

 

I kept the recipe the same except instead of the 1 cup of white baking chips it called for I used 1 cup of pumpkin spice chips. AMAZING! So experiment with different flavors! I think for Christmas I will use cinnamon morsels and maybe throw some toffee bits on as well! Can’t hurt right! And yes even though I am doing WW again, and yes these are many points I did eat a few. How could I not? And I definitely recommend keeping them in the refrigerator if you’re not going to devour them at one sitting. Chilled is definitely better! They will not disappoint! Moist, sweet, nutty, rich bites of heaven…

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INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1 package vanilla wafer cookies (11 ounces)
  • ½ cup butter, melted (1 stick)
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (½ a brick)
  • 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
  • ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin (NOT Pumpkin Pie filling)
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut
  • 1 cup pumpkin spice baking chips (or white if you choose)
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Great a 13×9 inch baking pan.
  2. Place the vanilla wafer cookies in a food processor* and pulse until coarse crumbs form. 
  3. Drizzle in the melted butter and pulse until blended. Press into the bottom of the baking pan.
  4. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and pumpkin pie spice until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin. Stir in cranberries.
  5. Pour over crust. Layer the coconut, baking chips and pecans.
  6. Bake 45-55 minutes (it took my oven 45 minutes) or until golden brown. Cook in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes
  7. Loosen the sides from pan with a knife of spatula. Cool completely. Cut into bars**and refrigerate leftovers.

* If you don’t have a food processor you can just put the cookies in a large Ziploc type bag and smash them until they are crumbs. 

** I recommend cooling completely in the refrigerator and then cutting them. Makes it easier to cut.

NUTRITION FACTS: (like we really care at this point)

1 bar: 299 calories, 17g fat (8g saturated fat), 25mg cholesterol, 144mg sodium, 35mg carbohydrates (28g sugar, 2g fiber), 4g protein.

Makes 24 bars (or 48 if you cut them in half)

 

Pina Colada Cake

Pina Colada Cake

I BAKED!! I know what you’re all saying…(But you don’t bake!) But I tried yet again, I refuse to give in on this. And it’s not really from scratch, it’s semi-homemade. I added my own touches and it worked! It came out amazing! So moist, rich and tropical! Oh and I even made the frosting from scratch! It was so easy! Go figure!

Rum/Vanilla Frosting

I had this cake mix in my cabinet for months, I bought it online for like a dollar and it was past it’s “best if used by date” by a few weeks so I figured I’d be adventurous. Originally I was going to make cupcakes but I thought I better just stick with a sheet cake this time. I toasted up some sweetened coconut flakes I had in the pantry also (they came out a little darker than I wanted but they taste great so all is well), and topped the cake with them.

Toasted coconut

Toasted Coconut

After tasting a small piece I wanted to eat the whole cake! WOW! Success!! I can bake I can bake I can bake!!!!

 

So without anymore self-praise here is how I did it.

Cake Ingredients:

1 box pineapple cake mix (I used Pillsbury Moist Supreme Pineapple)

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained (I used about 8 ounces of fresh crushed pineapple I had in the freezer and thawed)

1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)

1/4 cup coconut syrup (or you can just use water or even coconut water)

3 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Frosting Ingredients:

2 cups confectioners sugar

4 oz butter (1 stick), softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon rum extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Extra Ingredients:

1/2-3/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Cake Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom of 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray or butter with a dusting of flour.
  2. Beat cake mix, pineapple, butter, coconut syrup and eggs in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes. (didn’t realize how long 2 minutes can be when you’re timing something!)
  3. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  4. Bake for 34-38 minutes. (Check after 30 minutes as all ovens can be different. I took mine out at 32 minutes)IMG_5193
  5. Let cool completely before frosting.
  6. Once cool, frost the cake.

Frosting Directions: (this recipe will frost the entire cake)

  1. In a large bowl beat(cream) the butter and cream cheese.
  2. With the mixer on low-speed add the sugar a little at a time until smooth and creamy.
  3. Add the extracts.

Toasted Coconut Directions:

Place the coconut on a cookie sheet in a 350°F oven for about 2-5 minutes. Check after 2 minutes so it doesn’t burn. It goes quick once it starts to toast. Cool before putting on cake.

Pina Colada Sheet Cake

 

Firecracker Coconut Dip

Ever have one of those “hump” days that make the “hump” seem like it’s Mt. Everest? Well today was that day for me. I also think I should have made my New Year resolution something other than exercising more. I think it should have been for me to do my blog in the MORNING!! Well today’s mess started yesterday morning. Took my half-and-half out of the fridge for my coffee and thought the container seemed a little on the warm side. Hmmm…Started checking other items. Same thing. Freezer check. Most still frozen but a few items were soft. Not a good sign. So I put thermometers in both places and my fridge was reading 60 degrees! Um that’s not right! And the freezer was almost 50! Also not a good thing. So I cranked the temperature to the highest it would go and by that night the fridge only dropped maybe 5 degrees. Same in the freezer. So I called the service dudes. They told me they’d be here sometime today between 8 and 5! As usual! And they’d call 30 minutes before they arrived! OMG! I was now trapped in the house all day. Afraid to go in the shower for fear the guy would of course show up without calling or something. Couldn’t do anything! Then later in the afternoon I get my delivery from Apple computers with my new iLife 11 software for my iMac. A third of the way through the installation it froze!!! OMG again! Now I’m on hold for tech support and of course the service guy beeps in! He’ll be there in 30 minutes! Yikes! Go back to Apple and they guy on the other end is saying Hello?? Ok so we shut down my iMac (Fiona, I name all my computers) and we try again. He stayed on the phone with me the entire time. All went well! Just a brain fart! It happens. I was scared to do anything for fear I’d erase my entire computer! (that is how you get when you have PCs for most of your computer using life and they always have issues) And for anyone who knows me I am totally attached at the hip to my computer. So as I am saying thank you and hanging up with Apple the repair guy shows up! 5:00! 40 minutes later my fridge is working. For now. Some defroster/heater or something. I needed a drink! So here I am, at 7:15pm finally doing the blog! And now that I’ve put you all to sleep with my ramblings…Here is today’s recipe.

This is a low-calorie dip and so refreshing and different from your usual ranch veggie dips or whatever else is out there. I love making my own dips, I know what is in them and I know what isn’t! You can even serve this dip with grilled shrimp or pork or put it on a burger! Versatility is a wonderful thing! And the “firecracker” is the explosion of flavor you will get from the wasabi or horseradish. If you don’t like it too “hot” put less in. But its sooo good!!

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (8oz.) light cream cheese, softened

1 carton (8oz.) light sour cream

½ cup unsweetened coconut milk or light cream of coconut

1-2 tablespoons wasabi paste (you can also use 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish)

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel

3 tablespoons lime juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium mixing bowl beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Beat in the sour cream, coconut milk or cream of coconut, wasabi paste, ginger, lime peel and lime juice until smooth. Chill for at least an hour. Always better to let dips sit and mellow out.

2. Serve with carrots, sugar snap peas, celery, peppers or any other vegetables you like!

Makes about 2½ cups

Macaroons in Paradise

Well here it is again, almost 7pm and my blog is still not ready for today. But here we go. I found this recipe on Food Network back in 2008. It is one of Alton Brown’s recipes and it is full of calories and downright deliciousness. The cookies are definitely NOT on the diet list. But like I’ve said before it’s the holidays and no calorie counting till the new year. The cookies are also very rich and sweet so be careful eating them. They are very addicting. Not only are they addicting but they are really easy to make also.  Easy and decadent!


INGREDIENTS:

2 (7 to 8 ounce) packages sweetened shredded coconut

2 ounces sweetened condensed milk

Pinch kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 large egg whites at room temperature

5 ounces granulated sugar

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1 ounce vegetable shortening

2 ounces finely chopped dry-roasted macadamia nuts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Combine the coconut with the sweetened condensed milk, salt and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a hand mixer) with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to whip the whites until medium peaks form, 6 to 7
minutes.

4. Gently fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture. Scoop tablespoon-sized mounds onto a parchment-lined half sheet pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately transfer the parchment with the macaroons to a cooling rack. Cool completely before topping.

5. Fill a 4-quart pot with enough water to come 2 inches up the side, set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Combine the chocolate chips and shortening in a small metal or glass mixing bowl and set over the simmering pot. Stir occasionally until melted, then remove from the heat.

6. Dip the cooled cookies in the chocolate mixture, sprinkle with the chopped macadamia nuts and place on parchment paper to set, about 30 minutes.

Makes about 42 cookies

Poinsettia Cookies

What says Christmas more than a beautiful red poinsettia. I continue to buy them every year, they just make everything more Christmas-like. I even plant them outside when Christmas is over. Here in Florida they continue to grow long after the holidays. We’ve had them get pretty big too, until the landscapers did something and killed it. I think they poisoned it or something but I can’t prove it. Anyway…When I saw this recipe it sounded really cool. I could not find a picture however and I have not made them yet. So you can use your imagination on it until I bake some and post the photo. They are a pretty simple cookie to make also. You can make the dough ahead of time and use it later.

INGREDIENTS:

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup butterscotch chips, divided

½ cup sweetened flaked coconut

1 jar (4 ounces) red candied cherries


DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, egg, water, and vanilla until well blended. Gradually add the flour, baking powder and salt until well combined.

3. Stir in ¾ cup butterscotch chips and the coconut. Cover and chill at least one hour.

4. Cut the candied cherries in half. Then cut each half into 3 slices.

5. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten each ball and place a butterscotch chip in the center of each. Arrange 5 cherry slices in a circular pattern around each butterscotch chip to resemble the pattern of a poinsettia.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are firm but not brown. Cool the cookies for about 1 minutes on the baking sheets then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Pina Colada Oatmeal Cookies

Ok my Christmas tree is up and decorated! Woo Hoo! Now I just need to clean up and finish up the loose ends for the inside decorating. Spent all morning and part of the afternoon Christmas shopping so I got a late start on the tree today. I had promised myself I would write the blog in the morning also. Didn’t happen! It is amazing that even though I am not working (unemployed but not by choice!) you would think I had so much time on my hands! I seem to have even less. Looking for a job is a full-time job in itself so I am happy to take time and just write about my recipes and research photos and just escape into my own little food blog world. It’s a great place!

My Christmas tree

Great places have great food and drinks. The piña colada is a wonderfully decadent and delicious drink and it definitely brings up images of palm trees, warm weather, sandy beaches, tiki huts…You get the picture. So I found a recipe for my last cookie exchange that took that wonderful cocktail and made it into a cookie! The recipe calls for rum extract but I like to use the real thing. Or even use a coconut rum. It’s a small amount so don’t worry that anyone will be getting plastered from eating these cookies. They are tasty and tropical and they even go great with a real piña colada to wash them down! Why not! It’s the holiday! Enjoy! (I know the picture is small but I didn’t have a close up them by themselves. Never thought I’d be doing a blog when I made them!)

Pina Colada Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1½ cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

1½ sticks butter, softened

1 egg

1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple in juice

1 teaspoon rum or coconut rum (or use rum extract)

2 cups flour

½  teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1½  cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)

½ cup flaked coconut

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, pineapple with its juice, and rum extract until well blended.

2. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until well blended. Stir in oatmeal and coconut.

3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. (Those silicone mats or parchment paper work great also). Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cookies cook on sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to a rack and let cool completely.

Makes about 48 cookies

Independence Day Martini

This is a really cool looking martini. The blue portion is Hpnotiq liqueur. It’s a wonderful tasting liqueur but you have to be very careful when drinking it. Make sure you will not be driving or operating heavy machinery. This is no joking matter. People have been known to do really dumb things “On Hpnotiq”. For instance, jumping into a pool and forgetting to take the keyless remote for the car out of your pocket. Several hundred dollars later….It is really tasty though. It does look a little like windshield washer fluid but sure goes down nice and smooth. So have a safe and happy July 4th!

INGREDIENTS:

2 ounces Hpnotiq Liqueur

1 ounce citrus vodka

Splash lemon-lime soda

coconut curl for garnish

Grenadine


DIRECTIONS:

Shake all ingredients (except the Grenadine) with ice, strain into a martini glass and slowly add a touch of grenadine. Garnish with chopped coconut.

Piña Colada Cupcakes

One of my favorite drinks is the Piña Colada. And not one made from a mix either, made from scratch. The flavors are so much better. But like all things we LOVE to eat or drink, most likely it’s loaded with calories and fat. One way to get that coconut/pineapple fix is with cupcakes! Using lower fat items we can still get that piña colada taste with fewer calories. Granted, it is not the same as the real thing but it’ll do in a pinch! On average an 8 ounce piña colada has about 350 calories and over 10 grams of fat! One of these cupcakes has about 120 calories and about 2 grams of fat! You do the math! The cupcakes are sweet and I can’t wait to make them again!

(Photo for illustrative purposes only)

INGREDIENTS:

For Cupcakes:

2 cups moist-style yellow cake mix (½ of an 18.25 ounce box)

12 ounces crushed pineapple in juice (not drained)

½ teaspoon coconut extract

For Frosting:

4 ounces crushed pineapple in juice (drained)

1 sugar-free vanilla pudding snack

1½ tablespoons fat-free or light cream cheese, room temperature

1/8 teaspoon coconut extract

1 packet Splenda (sucralose)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all frosting ingredients and mix till well blended. Refrigerate until cupcakes are ready to be frosted.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix with pineapple. Add the coconut extract and mix until thoroughly blended.

4. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups. Pour cake mixture evenly into cups.

5. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean.

6. Allow cupcakes to cool completely and frost. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 12 servings.

Italian Margarita

One of my all time favorite drinks is the margarita. But when I discovered this recipe I was sold on a whole new version of the classic margarita. The only problem is that when I first made this drink it called for  Coconut Tequila. I had just bought a bottle of Margaritaville Coconut Tequila on a clearance shelf and decided to find out what to make with it. The only problem with this is that there was a reason it was on the clearance shelf. It was being discontinued and of course now that I fell in love with this drink I couldn’t find the tequila anymore!! Soooo I have improvised and came up with a recipe just as good.

I will give both versions in case by some chance you happen to come across the coconut tequila. Each version makes 2 drinks.


VERSION #1

INGREDIENTS:

3 oz. coconut tequila

1 oz. amaretto liqueur

8 oz. margarita mix (with our without alcohol)

DIRECTIONS:
Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled 1/3 with ice. Shake and strain into martini or margarita glasses! Garnish with a maraschino cherry if you like!

Italian Margaritas

VERSION #2

INGREDIENTS:

1 oz. coconut flavored syrup (I use the sugar-free kind by DaVinci which you can find online or usually in stores like HomeGoods, Marshalls or TJMaxx)

1 oz. amaretto liqueur

2 oz. silver tequila

8 oz margarita mix (with or without alcohol)

DIRECTIONS:
Place all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled 1/3 with ice. Shake and strain into martini or margarita glasses! Garnish with a maraschino cherry if you like!

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