Tag: coconut milk

Categories
Dessert

‘Nut’ing compares to eating dessert for a good cause

There’s no baking involved to make this dark chocolate pistachio tart, but there are plenty of steps, from making a nutty chocolate crust to a creamy pistachio paste and a decadent dark chocolate ganache.
There’s no baking involved to make this dark chocolate pistachio tart, but there are plenty of steps, from making a nutty chocolate crust to a creamy pistachio paste and a decadent dark chocolate ganache.

I love acts of subtle service.

You know, acts that are seemingly so ordinary that, to someone who has never struggled with that particular essential, it’s almost an invisible need in their day-to-day lives.

One subtle act that I really like is an event that takes place every Thursday in Newton, Kansas, called “Laundry Love.”

It’s not flashy. It’s merely an event that gives free laundry service and detergent, along with a meal, for those who attend. Clean clothes is something so many of us take for granted, and I love this amazing service that seems so small but makes such a huge difference.

So why do I bring this up? Because I’m sharing a recipe with you that will be featured on the dessert auction at the annual Peace Connections soup supper on Thursday, Feb. 20, and Laundry Love is one of several amazing programs they sponsor in the community.

I decided to go for a complicated dessert, and this one comes from the blog “Addicted to Dates.” You can find the original post at https://addictedtodates.com/dark-chocolate-pistachio-tart/. I simplified a bunch of the measurements, and I added extra vanilla in my version.

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No Bake Dark Chocolate Pistachio Tart

There’s no baking involved to make this dark chocolate pistachio tart, but there are plenty of steps, from making a nutty chocolate crust to a creamy pistachio paste and a decadent dark chocolate ganache.
Course Dessert
Keyword chocolate ganache, cocoa powder, coconut cream, coconut milk, dark chocolate, decadent dessert, maple syrup, matcha, no bake, pistachios, vegan dessert, walnuts

Ingredients

Pistachio Paste Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cup shelled pistachios
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon matcha powder as a coloring agent, optional

Crust Ingredients

  • 2 cups pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts or cashews (I used walnuts)
  • 1 scant cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Ganache Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup full-fat canned coconut milk chilled or coconut cream
  • 6 ounces dark chocolate finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup shelled pistachios chopped

Instructions

Pistachio Paste Directions, part one

  • Place the shelled pistachios into a bowl of room temperature water for four hours or into a pot of boiling water (take it off the stove, first) for 30 minutes to let them soak.
  • Rinse and drain the nuts, and then rub as much of the skins off the pistachios as you can. Set them aside for now.

Crust Directions

  • For the crust, prepare a nine-inch tart pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper, and set it aside.
  • Add the walnuts, cocoa powder and salt to a food processor, and process until everything is in fine crumbs. Process in the maple syrup until the mixture starts to stick together. (If it isn’t coming together, add just a little more maple syrup until it does.)
  • Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and up the sides of your prepared tin. Freeze for 30 minutes or until the crust is firm.

Pistachio Paste Directions, part two

  • Clean out your food processor and add the pistachios you prepared earlier, along with the maple syrup, vanilla and matcha powder. Process until the mixture is extremely smooth. Once the tart crust is firm, spread the pistachio paste evenly into the bottom of the crust, and place the tart in the refrigerator.

Ganache Directions

  • If you are using chilled coconut milk, only scrape off the congealed cream from the top of the can, and leave the milk for a different use (I ended up using the solids from two cans). Add the coconut solids to a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat in order to bring it to a low simmer.
  • Add the dark chocolate to a heat-proof bowl, and when the coconut solids are at a simmer, pour them over the chocolate. Let the mixture sit for five minutes, and then whisk until smooth.
  • Whisk in the maple syrup and salt.
  • Once everything is smooth, remove the tart from the fridge, and pour the ganache on top. Spread it evenly, tapping the tart gently on your countertop to release any air bubbles and help it even out.
  • Chill for at least four hours or overnight.
  • Before serving, sprinkle the 1/3 cup of chopped pistachios around the edges as decoration. Store the tart in an airtight container.

There are a ton of steps in this recipe, but they are so, so worth it. The flavor profile on this is incredible between the nuttiness of the walnuts and pistachios and the deep chocolate flavor of the ganache.

I shared my first attempt at this recipe with friends, and they absolutely raved about it.

If you want to try to win this at the Peace Connections, auction, be sure to come to their event at Newton Nazarene Church, 1000 N Main St, Newton, on Thursday, Feb. 20. The soup supper is by donation and starts at 5:30 p.m. The dessert auction will take place from 6:15 to 7 p.m. You can find more information at peaceconnections.org.

It is certainly a worthy cause, and I think this is a pretty worthy dessert, too.

This piece first appeared in print Feb. 13, 2025.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Dessert

Want to try something new? ‘Mousse’ around and find out.

This chocolate mousse is made with only three ingredients: coconut milk, sugar substitute and cocoa powder, making it a yummy dairy-free and vegan dessert.
This chocolate mousse is made with only three ingredients: coconut milk, sugar substitute and cocoa powder, making it a yummy dairy-free and vegan dessert.

During my junior year of high school, we read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” in English class.

Our final project included the option to create a video, and for some reason, my group thought it would be an excellent idea to recreate scenes from the classic novel in a mashup with jokes from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

As part of our filming, I purchased a “quick crack” coconut to use for horse hoof sound effects and learned quickly that this coconut did not want to crack quickly at all. In the end, my poor dad had to come to my rescue with a hacksaw. I was also horribly disappointed that coconut milk was not nearly as sweet as I thought it was. Many things were learned that day.

I was thinking about that this week when I bought a can of coconut cream for a recipe and then realized that it called for coconut milk. The good news is that they’re almost the same product. The only difference? Coconut cream has more fat and less water. And in this case, that was actually a benefit.

The recipe I tried came from the blog “Yummy Inspirations.” You can find the original post at https://yummyinspirations.net/2023/03/coconut-milk-chocolate-mousse-recipe/. With only three ingredients, there wasn’t much “spicing up” to do, so other than noting that you can also use coconut cream, I did not change anything in this one.

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Coconut Milk Chocolate Mousse

This chocolate mousse is made with only three ingredients: coconut milk, sugar substitute and cocoa powder, making it a yummy dairy-free and vegan dessert.
Course Dessert
Keyword cocoa powder, coconut cream, coconut milk, cream of coconut, dairy-free, easy dessert, keto, mousse, sugar substitute, vegan, vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 13 to 15 ounce can of coconut milk or cream
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar substitute
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

  • At least 24 hours before you want to make this, put your can of coconut milk into the refrigerator.
  • When you’re ready to make it, carefully spoon the coconut solids off the top of the can into a mixing bowl, leaving as much of the water behind as you can.
  • Beat the coconut solids, on high, for several minutes until it is smooth and forms soft peaks.
  • Beat in two tablespoons of sugar substitute and two tablespoons of cocoa powder, and once everything is well combined, give it a taste. Add another tablespoon of either if you want it sweeter and/or chocolatier.
  • Serve right away or refrigerate until you’re ready to enjoy.

This makes either one decent-sized serving or two smaller servings of chocolate mousse. If you’re not a huge coconut fan, you probably won’t like this one, but honestly, the chocolate overpowers the coconut overall, so it’s not as prominent as you might think.

The texture is pretty close to a mousse but definitely not as airy as a traditional one. It was a nice treat, regardless.

It also isn’t going to be fat free by any means, and despite using a sugar substitute, there will still be some sugar in this from the coconut milk. The bonus, though, is it’s dairy free and vegan, so it’s a nice substitute for people with some dietary restrictions.

And I got to learn yet another new lesson about coconut products.

Looking back on it, I’m guessing not too many people learn about tropical fruits as part of their reading of Hawthorne, but I’m also guessing not too many English teachers are in a predicament where they have to watch a stupid movie in order to understand their students’ equally stupid project so they can grade it. (Sorry, Mrs. Coleman.)

But I suppose the silver lining is we all received some surprising lessons in the process.

This piece first appeared in print on May 30, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Meat is ‘naan’ essential for this potato and chickpea curry

Potato and chickpea curry is spicy and full of lots of flavors from a variety of spices. It is also vegan, giving those avoiding animal products a great, quick meal to enjoy.
Potato and chickpea curry is spicy and full of lots of flavors from a variety of spices. It is also vegan, giving those avoiding animal products a great, quick meal to enjoy.

Quite a number of years ago, when we put our house on the market, our realtor gave us some tips for keeping our home ready for showings.

In addition to keeping things clean and organized, he encouraged us to pin back the curtains for plenty of natural light and begged us to take a break from cooking anything that would have strong, lingering smells. Specifically, he said we should stay away from curry.

I thought about that this week when I decided to try a vegan curry recipe I found online. Personally, I think the smell of spicy curry would be a selling point for a house, but I’m sure it’s not for everyone.

This recipe was fantastic, and if you’re trying to cut some meat out of your diet, I highly recommend it. It was filling, extremely flavorful and very pretty, to boot. It was also on the spicy side, so if that’s not your favorite, I’d skip this one. I think it would be a bit difficult to make this one completely mild.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Well Plated” by Erin Clarke. I added extra garlic in my version.

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Potato and Chickpea Curry

Potato and chickpea curry is spicy and full of lots of flavors from a variety of spices. It is also vegan, giving those avoiding animal products a great, quick meal to enjoy.
Course Main Course
Keyword cayenne, chickpeas, coconut milk, cumin, curry, diced tomatoes, garam masala, garlic, ginger, peas, potatoes, rice, turmeric, vegan, vegetarian, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger or ginger paste minced
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • salt to taste
  • 2 pounds potatoes diced (I used Russets)
  • 14 ounces canned chickpeas rinsed and drained
  • 14 ounces diced tomatoes in juice
  • 14 ounce can light coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • Prepared white rice for serving
  • Naan bread for serving

Instructions

  • In a Dutch oven or stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
  • Add the onion to the hot oil and saute until the onions are soft. Add the garlic and ginger, and saute for about 30 seconds. Add in the curry powder, garam masala, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and salt, and continue to stir for about a minute.
  • Once the mixture smells really nice, stir in the potatoes and chickpeas to coat them with the spices.
  • Add in the diced tomatoes and coconut milk, and stir well to combine.
  • Bring the mixture to a very low boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring regularly to keep the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pot, for about 15 minutes.
  • Once the potatoes are fork tender, stir in the sugar, lemon juice and peas. Let the mixture heat over low until the peas are hot.
  • Serve the curry over top of white rice and with a side of naan bread.

I absolutely loved this one. Joey was out of town for the evening, so he had to settle for leftovers later in the week, but he also gave it a thumbs up.

It does make quite a bit of food, and it stretches even further with rice, so if you want to feed a crowd on the cheap, save this one for the future.

Plus, our whole house smelled like warm, delicious spices for a couple days, so I suppose it’s a good thing we aren’t trying to sell it right now.

Of course, with the way the housing market is moving right now, I doubt it would even matter.

This piece first appeared in print on May 19, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Uncategorized

Recipe proves you don’t know ‘lentil’ you try

Lentil meatballs in curry sauce is a delicious meatless meal with a rich sauce and lots of great, rustic flavors.
Lentil meatballs in curry sauce is a delicious meatless meal with a rich sauce and lots of great, rustic flavors.

Well, I did it to myself again. I noticed a lonely bag of 60-cent lentils sitting at my local grocery store, and I decided to bring them home and figure out what to make with them.

I mean, 60 cents? Who can resist such a bargain?

I’ve only made lentils once before, for a soup, so I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to buy more, but then, of course, I doubled down and chose what appeared to be a pretty involved recipe to use them in.

But let me tell you what: it was so worth it. This was so delicious, so if you’re ready to undertake a cooking adventure with me, I’d encourage you to give this a shot.

The recipe I tried comes from a blog named after its author, “Bianca Zapatka.” You can find the original post at https://biancazapatka.com/en/lentil-meatballs-curry-sauce/. I added some more spices to my version.

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Lentil Meatballs in Curry Sauce

Lentil meatballs in curry sauce is a delicious meatless meal with a rich sauce and lots of great, rustic flavors.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword coconut milk, curry, gingerbread, lentils, meatless, red bell pepper, sun-dried tomatoes, vegan

Ingredients

Meatball Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried lentils
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons dried coriander
  • 2 teaspoons dried parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs

Curry Sauce Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil or use olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated (or sub 1/4 teaspoon dried ginger)
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 4 teaspoons curry powder
  • 3 large tomatoes diced
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons red chili flakes

Instructions

  • Cook the lentils according to package directions. (Don’t worry if they get a little mushy—you’re going to process them anyway.)
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • For the meatballs, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until it’s soft, and then add the garlic and remove the skillet from the heat when it browns slightly.
  • Add all of the meatball ingredients to a food processor or blender and process to a coarse consistency. There will probably still be some whole lentils in there, and that’s perfectly fine. Taste the filling and add any more spices, if necessary.
  • If the mixture is too wet to hold together, add more breadcrumbs until it reaches a consistency where it will. Set the mixture aside for about 10 minutes to let it cool down before handling it.
  • Have a bowl of water handy and shape the mixture with wet hands into about one-inch balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. They can be fairly crowded but not touching. Brush them with some additional olive oil and bake for 30 minutes, turning them halfway through.
  • While the meatballs cook, start on the curry sauce. Using the same skillet as before, heat the coconut oil over medium heat and add the onion and bell pepper. Cook them until soft.
  • Add the garlic, ginger, cumin and curry powder, and stir to combine. Once the garlic is slightly browned, add the tomatoes, water, coconut milk, salt and chili flakes.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat. Place a lid on the skillet and let it cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Transfer the sauce to a blender or food processor and blend until it’s smooth. Pour the sauce back into the skillet and let it cook for a few minutes to thicken a bit, and taste it to see if it needs more seasoning.
  • When the meatballs are finished, drop them into the skillet with the curry sauce and then serve over cooked rice with some pita or naan bread on the side.

I added quite a bit more spice to my version, because I like spicy curry sauce. If you’re more in the mild camp, I’d encourage you to look up the original recipe and follow those amounts a bit more closely.

This was such a great meatless meal, because you honestly don’t notice that there isn’t meat in it. The “meatballs” aren’t meat-like in consistency at all, but they have great flavor. They’re a bit like a soft hushpuppy.

And while Joey was pretty skeptical watching me cook my lentils, he was totally on board once dinner finally hit the table. My forays into discount shopping sometimes freak him out a bit.

But now I still have half a bag of lentils to try to use. We’ll have to see what I come up with next.

This piece first appeared in print on Aug. 6, 2020.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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