A Letter to YOU + A Pina Colada Souffle' Pudding

Dear Readers (or Friends, as I would like to consider you),

I am sorry I dropped the ball on the Blog Every Day in May Challenge.  I was actually having tons of fun with.  It gave me ideas of things to write about that I might never think of, and it pushed me creatively.  Plus, it helped me connect a little more with some of you.  And that was fabulous.

You know how it goes.  Life got busy, I got off track, and well -- here we are, ten days later, just now getting back into the swing of things.  I saw that writing a letter to you was the challenge of the day and I thought, "I am all over that!"

The truth is, I am bummed that missed some of the posts.  Especially the one where I was asked to rant.  I almost never rant publicly (or I do and then promptly delete it) and I was looking forward to being able to do that.  Because -- oh! -- I have some things to rant about.  Maybe I will still have to do that one ;)

But here is the thing -- I made myself a promise awhile back.  This promise went like this: "Tiffany, when your blog and your real life compete for time, your real life will always win.  And there will be no apologies."  And so, here I am today, saying sorry that I dropped the ball on the challenge, but not saying sorry for disappearing.  Because, honestly, that wedding I was in last weekend?  Or the visits I had with long lost friends this past week?  Or exploring a beautiful and new-to-me hiking place on a random Wednesday afternoon?  Or just hanging out with my husband, walking through the local festival, eating beer-battered-deep-fried-mushrooms?  Those moments that make my life beautiful.  And this blog?  It is a place for me to record those moments along with my food journey, not a place to take away time from other things I might want to do.

As we head into the summer months, please know that I will not be around all that much.  I will be too busy enjoying the sunshine and making new memories with loved ones.

At the same time, though, please know that I do love sharing with you -- both having you here and by visiting your pages to see what you are up to.  So, thank you.  Thanks for following along on my journey and thank you for your kind words, you uplifting comments, and your presence in my life.  I truly appreciate it.

With gratitude,
Tiffany

PS -- For Sundays with Joy this past week we made her grapefruit souffle', and it was FANTASTIC.  So much so that my husband asked me to make another one the next day.  I got a little creative with the second one and made my favorite flavor ever, pina-colada.  This may not be the most beautiful dessert I have ever made, but it is -- no joke -- possible my favorite.  If you have never made anything else from me, please let this be the one.

(The recipe looks scary, but after you do it once you will see how EASY it is. Please do not be intimidated!)

PINA-COLADA SOUFFLE’ PUDDING

Recipe inspired by Joy the Baker's Grapefruit Souffle' Pudding, found in the Joy the Baker Cookbook

SERVES 6  •  PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES  •  TOTAL TIME: 55 MINUTES

ingredients

• ¾ cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons sweetened coconut shreds
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 large eggs, separated
• 1 ½ tablespoon coconut cream (from the can)
• 1/3 cup flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup pineapple juice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with a rack in the middle and nothing above it.  Bring a teapot of water to boil.  This will be used later to make a water bath.
2. Mix the ¾ cup of sugar, sweetened coconut, and butter in mixing bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 1 minute.  Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating on medium speed until fluffy.  Slowly add the coconut cream.  The egg yolks and coconut cream will need to beat for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the flour and salt and beat until combined.  Alternate between the milk and the juice, and add to the mixer at medium speed until all mixed.  The batter will be soupy.  Place in a large bowl and set aside.
4. Clean the mixing bowl and the paddle very well.  Dry and return to stand mixer.  Add the egg whites and cream of tartar and beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form.  Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. 
5. Gently fold the stiff egg whites into the pineapple-coconut mixture, being very careful not to break the egg whites completely.  They should have a bit of fluff to them still.  Carefully pour the batter into the baking dish (medium sized) or ramekins (6). 
6. Place the dish or the ramekins into a larger dish (like a casserole dish).  Carefully pull out the rack in the oven just slightly so that you can place the dishes on there.  Very carefully, add the boiling water from the tea kettle so that it goes half way up the outside dish.  Then, push the rack back into the oven and bake until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  This will be about 37 minutes for a full dish, or about 27 minutes for ramekins.

When it is finished and you pull it out, please be VERY careful not to spill the hot water on you!

The souffle’ can be served warm or at room temperature.  It is best the day it is made.

 COST: $3.76             COST PER SERVING (6): $0.63 

Carrot Coconut Cupcakes... HAPPY EASTER!

Carrots, coconut, walnuts.  A teeny bit of orange juice, and a whopping bit of fresh cream cheese frosting...

... here are some cupcakes that every Easter Bunny, big or small, can enjoy this year :)

Whether you are hunting for eggs or singing in the choir at church, I hope today is a very special one for you.  Happy Easter!

Recipe from Everyday Food, May/June 2003

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut, plus more for garnish 
• 8 ounces bar cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners. In a bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and eggs.
2. Stir in baking powder, baking soda, allspice, and salt. Add flour; mix. Stir in carrots, walnuts, and coconut.
3. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
4. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
5. Frost cupcakes, and garnish with shredded coconut.
   
   

   COST: $5.72        COST PER CUPCAKE (12): $0.48

Third time's a charm... right? (Coconut Pound Cake)

We decided to put up new curtains a couple of weeks ago.
Bought the rod...
... it was too short.
Took it back and bought another rod (the right length this time).
It was missing a piece.
Took it back and got one more...
it fit and worked.

Third time;s a charm.


It was time to get a new dining table.
Er... get our own dining table, instead of using a hand-me-down one.
It arrived.  We opened the box.  The screws were loose and the table was broken.
Called, complained, and waited for a new one.
The reviews were all 4 1/2 stars or above...
Excellent packing, no loose screws, but broken top.
We are waiting for another one.
Which will be perfect, they assured me...

Third time's a charm.

Made a recipe the other day.
Didn't have all of the ingredients, so I thought would substitute.
The pictures were amazing.
The taste was good.
The texture was awful.

Made another recipe after that.
The texture was good.
The taste was pretty darn incredible (my husband feel in love with me even a bit more, I think...)
The pictures?  They are the ones you see here.
Not terrible, but good.
Just Ok.
But I want more than OK.  I want GOOD and GREAT and YES, I AM PROUD OF THESE pictures.

Next time, it is going down.  Beautiful pictures and a fabulous taste to accompany it.  How do I know?

Because third time's a charm.

(Seriously, though, MAKE THIS.  Trust me, OK?  Ok.  Thank you.)

Coconut Pound Cake
Recipe adapted from Everyday Food, Oct. 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ingredients

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk mixed together with 1 teaspoon of white vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted, divided
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 4 1/2-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, 8 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down bowl. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with two 1/2-cup additions buttermilk, and beat until combined. With a rubber spatula, fold in 1 1/4 cups coconut.
2. Transfer batter to pan and bake until a skewer inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, 1 hour. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack. (Store at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, up to 4 days.)
3. Whisk together confectioners' sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Drizzle over cake and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup coconut.
   
   

   COST: $4.39  COST PER SLICE (10): $0.44

I've Got a Love-el-y Bunch of Coconuts (a deedly-dee)

See that blond over there on the right?  Yup, that's me.  A lot younger me, but still me. (Just to give you an idea, that little girl under my arm?  She is in the middle of her first year of college.  So yes, a much much younger me!)  There I am, with my Swedish friend, a South African teenager, and two little Palauans... and of course, a coconut.

Which is what this post is all about.

Last Saturday I mentioned that I found THE DRINK of all drinks.  And truthfully, it was a great one.  I do not take back my claim.  But then I started hearing from people (via blog comments and FB comments and other comments) that many people had never actually had coconut water before.

WHAT?! 

Although that was my initial reaction, I thought back this moment pictured above.  Notice that Helen (the friend next to me) is holding a coconut and I am not?  It is not because I wasn't given one.  It is because I was given one, and then I promptly gave it away.

It tasted like dirty socks.  What did you expect me to do?

Time, however, has marched on, and I later found myself more long-term in this island nation, and later in the Marshall Islands, and later marrying a Brazilian.  You add all that together and yes, I now love coconut water. 

Roadside stand in Costa Rica

I did a little research and basically found out that the stuff is amazing for you.  A-MAZE-ING.  For example:

• high in potassium and calcium
• promotes weight loss (low in calories and sugar)
• cleanses your digestive tract
• boosts immune system
• helps with rehydration
• and on and on and on...

My man, getting us our much desired coconuts for the day

Of course, some people think this is bogus, and you know, it might be.  Who knows.  But I do know this: It definitely isn't bad for you, that's for sure.  Last I checked eating fruit was a good thing, so I intend to keep on doing it. 

Sweet Find: Coconut Water with Dark Chocolate

I think I have found the drink of all drinks:
Zico Pure Premium Coconut Water with Dark Chocolate.

(Whew -- that was quite a mouthful!)

//source//

Have you ever had coconut water?  I mean, the real stuff, like cut-the-top-off-of-the-coconut-and-stick-a-straw-into-it coconut water?  It tastes nothing like you would expect.  When I think of coconuts, I think of the stuff that comes in the candy bars.  Sweet.  But that is not what coconut water tastes like.  The first time I tried it I hated it.  Hated it.  But over time it grew on me and now I am a fan.  And my body is a fan, too.  Coconut water is so incredibly healthy, filled with all kinds of electrolytes your body needs.  But alas, I do not have any coconut trees in my neighborhood (sigh...) so I must stick to the packaged stuff.  Which is good, too.  But now I found something great...

Coconut water with dark chocolate!  YESSSS!  So maybe there is some sugar thrown in there.  Whatever.  I like sugar.  This stuff is amazing.  I am sure you can find it in many places, but of course I will promote my favorite:  it is a buck-99 at your local Trader Joe's.  Yup, less than the cost of chocolate milk in most places.  Sure is better for me than those Starbuck's-fraps-in-the-jars that I love (the taste of, if not the ingredients). 

//source//

I think I have found my happy drink.  Move over Ovaltine and Silk.

Brazilian Cooking with Daniela: Prestigio Cake (Recipe)

CAKE

3 eggs

1 ½ c. sugar

1 c. Nestquik

½ c. oil

½ teaspoon of salt

Use mixer until well blended. 
Add 2 c. flour & 1 c. hot water.  Mix again.

Add 1 t heaping baking powder and stir together, but not with the mixer.

Bake for 35min on 380F in greased pan.

Meanwhile, start the coconut cream for the middle.

COCONUT CREAM

Mix 1 can of condensed milkwith 1 cup of coconut shavings.  Stir over medium heat until well cooked, but be careful not to burn.  (5 minutes, I think.)  Remove from heat and mix with , 1 can of “crème de leite” which you can find in the Mexican section of the grocery store called “Nestle Media Crema”.  Put in freezer to cool it down.

When cake is done and cooled, cut in half using a large knife, creating something like a hamburger bun out of the cake.  With the middles facing up, pour 1 can of Guarana or Sprite (Guarana is a type of Brazilian soda) onto the cake, about 2/3 on the part that will be the bottom, 1/3 on the side that will be the top.

Carefully spread the coconut mixture on the bottom half of the cake.  Be careful to spread from the center going out to the edge to avoid the edges crumbling inward.  Very, very carefully add the top half back onto the bottom part of the cake.

Frost the cake.

FROSTING

1t butter

1T sugar

Heat and stir until melted and mixed.

Add 6 c. of Nesquik.  Stir until evenly blended – will be dry.

Add 2/3 can of crème de leite (see above).  Stir until well mixed. 

Sprinkle coconut shavings on top, and be prepared to be blown away!

Brazilian Cooking With Daniela: Prestigio Cake

Click on any picture to be taken to the recipe.