I had NO idea making coconut butter was so darn easy. Really, seriously, easy. I feel silly for having bought it all these years, the same way I feel about buying broth or sauerkraut. If I can make it from scratch with minimal effort IMMA MAKE IT. Okay off my soapbox, this creamy, luscious coconut butter was made in my handy dandy vitamix but you can also make it using a food processor.
Coconut butter, if you aren’t familiar with it, is quite different from the oil. It’s made by “creaming” the flesh of the coconut to make a smooth butter. When you refrigerate it, the fats from the coconut solidify and your butter gets quite hard. A fine example of the healthy saturated fat present in coconut. If you’re curious about the benefits of coconut, check this out, they are many.
In a high powered blender or food processor add coconut flakes and blend on medium until they start to get creamy, turn to high setting until you have a smooth butter. For an extra smooth coconut butter, process through a fine mesh sieve. Store in the fridge, lasts a very long time.
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What to do with coconut butter? Here’s a list of ideas…
I’m stoked, finally after many attempts I have made successful crackers! These little crunch bombs are bloody addictive and reminiscent of the long forgotten vegetable thin- only way better. These are totally adaptable you guys, so if your not into toasted cumin you prefer rosemary or sesame or onion, you could definitely subtract the cumin and add those in, respectively. I adore the brilliant yellow turmeric imparts, not too mention the various health benefits. Toasted cumin gives these bright yellow crackers an Indian flare and reminds me of my beloved pappadam. Paleo and vegan cheese and crackers shazzam everyone is pleased!
The green goddess cashew cream cheese is the perfect accompaniment to these crackers and it’s a cinch to whip up. Did you know raw cashews are great for alleviating depression and anxiety? Cashew cheese makes me happy! This green goddess version is spiked with green onion and cilantro, and of course garlic, it didn’t last very long in our house. The cashew cheese is also really nice smothered on sourdough toast or as a sandwich base.
Being the spaz that I am, I often forget key kitchen tools like, all the time, case in point, parchment paper. This is why my other cracker attempts flopped into a sea of crumbs. You need parchment to roll the crackers out, the dough is just way too sticky to not have a protective parchment barrier below and above. Aside from that, anyone can whip up the toasted cumin and turmeric crackers. The good news, like most health freaks, I do not own a dehydrator (not that I don’t want one) SO these crackers won’t take 800 hours, they bake up just perfect in under 15 minutes, presto.
For cashew cheese 1 C RAW cashews, soaked for minimum 2 hours, drained
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
2 Tbs olive oil
½ tsp salt
handful chopped green onion
handful chopped cilantro
Instructions
Heat oven to 350F
For the crackers, combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, almond meal, tapioca flour, salt and turmeric.
When the flax is egg like and viscous in texture (about 30 mins of soaking) combine it with olive oil and toasted cumin.
Mix into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Separate into two equal parts.
Roll out one section of dough between 2 pieces of parchment until its about ⅛ inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to gently trace squares or diamond shaped crackers. Transfer bottom parchment to a baking sheet and repeat this process with the other half of dough.
Bake @350F for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Let crackers cool before serving.
For the cashew cheese, combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth
This is my most favourite soup in the whole world. If ever you go out for Thai food and you don’t know what to get, tom kha gai is a safe choice that everyone loves. The creamy rich sweet and tangy coconut broth, infused with lemongrass and kaffir lime and humming with a hint of red chili is simply good enough to eat on its own. Add in tender chicken and plump mushrooms which soak up all the yummy flavours and you will be just as addicted to this soup as I am.
My sister, our friend and I went to one of my favourite restaurants while we were in Edmonton. Syphay specializes in Thai and Laos cuisine and I am endlessly striving to emulate their amazing Tom Kha Gai. Since we returned I’ve made this soup 2 times, learning along the way the perfect balance of sweet, sour, spicy and creamy which this soup is so famous for. Often I become obsessed with certain dishes until I get them just right, part of this blog is that it forces me to create a document of recipes which I won’t ever be able to lose. Cause yeah, I’m kinda disorganized like that. I love this soup alongside a thai curry and jasmine rice, or just as a simple lunch. It’s perfect served with a wedge of lime, chopped cilantro, sprouts, and maybe a heaped spoonful of chile sauce, or maybe not. I may or may not have made this before on the blog, but it’s slightly different, I know I’m obsessed,I’ll get over it once I make Tom Kha 10 more times this cold month of January.
The ultimate in comfort food, these crispy on the outside, soft and pillowy on the inside little sweet potato cakes are the latkes great cousin. Super simple and consisting of about 5 ingredients, you just can’t go wrong. Top them with anything from lox to caviar, guacamole to a fried egg- the possibilities are endless.
Inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi‘s recipe, I have simply made a gluten free version with a zippy lemon-chile yogurt sauce. I’ve been cooking with sweet potatoes a lot lately as baby Mav just loves them, he’s my kinda guy. Ottolenghi is a huge inspiration, his cookbooks make vegetables look as exciting as skydiving off Mount Corcovado.
It’s sunny and beautiful out and the massive pile of snow is swiftly melting down, the igloo J built has caved in on itself and winter seems to be dissipating for the time being. So I’m going to keep this short and sweet, just like these little cakes, and go for a jaunt in Vitamin D land out there.
TA-DA! Winter doldrums be gone, chocolate cream pie has arrived to banish you until next week! For real, what’s better than a hazelnut-almond shortbread crust topped with decadent chocolate laden with a top secret ingredient, layered with airy whipped coconut cream?
Secret ingredient: Sweet potato has passed the test and gone completely undetected by my guinea pig, twice. Have no fear, the small amount of sweet potato adds oomph and body without any characteristic taste whatsoever. Kinda like sweet potato brownies, only better.
Plus you don’t even have to bake it and the longer it stays in the fridge the better it gets, win and win.
Another excellent cure for the bare bottomed blues of winter is to rearrange all the furniture in your entire house.
My house is very small so this was easy and deeply satisfying. Not a bad excuse to clean sneaky lurking dust bunnies either. I realized there was a giant pointless shelf in my kitchen which did nothing but occupy space and clutter. Be gone useless shit, I don’t need you anymore.
Have you ever rearranged a room and thought, how did I ever not have it this way? How the hell could I ever have lived with this room any other way?!
Sitting in my newly arranged living room, noshing on a luscious creamy piece of pie and watching my giant wolf dog allow my baby to hug his neck, life doesn’t seem like it could get much better. But just like the way the furniture was fine before, things can always get better.
1 C roasted hazlenuts ( you can substitute for almonds or almond meal if you wish)
2 Tbs coconut sugar or raw cane sugar
½ C coconut oil, melted
¼ C raw cacao paste OR powder
1 C raw cashews, soaked for at least an hour and up to 8
½ tsp vanilla extract
⅓ tsp sea salt
½ C sweet potato, steamed or roasted
3 Tbs honey or maple syrup
1 can coconut milk, thoroughly chilled to separate the coconut cream from the liquid
Instructions
In a blender or food processor, pulverize the almonds and hazelnuts into a fine meal consistency. In a large bowl mix with sugar and 2 Tbs coconut oil. Press this mix into a pie plate making sure to bring it up nice and high on the sides and press firmly to set in place. Set aside in the fridge or freezer while you make the filling.
In a blender or food processor add cashews, sweet potato, cacao, coconut oil, vanilla, salt and honey or maple syrup. Blend until smooth and add about 2 Tbs of the liquid from your coconut milk. Pour onto the crust and allow to set in the fridge for half and hour at least.
To make the coconut whipped cream, add the separated cream to a stand mixer or whisk by hand until light and fluffy. Pour over chocolate layer and chill before serving.
Hey guys, woweeee it’s officially 2015, happy new year to you all and I hope it’s the best yet! I’ve seen a lot of talk around of people starting their cleanses and whole 30 resets come January so I thought I would start the year off with a delicious salad recipe suitable for any of your new years challenges. I myself really need to give my adrenals a break and stop drinking so much coffee. Aside from that, I’ve really questioned my belief in setting new years resolutions this year. Every day is an opportunity to set goals and make changes. Every moment a chance to change and improve.
It’s been awhile since I made a real shin diggery of a new years affair. Last night was no different, though we did have a little dance party with classic hits on much more retro, kool and the gang anyone? When we got close to midnight my dad tried to turn on Dicks countdown but instead got stuck on some interactive channel where you find santa, the credits were already playing by the time we got to the right channel. Kisses and hugs and a tired baby wondering why everyones clobbering him ensued. We’ve been having such a wonderful visit with the family, I came here prepared to be productive but it’s all fallen to the wayside. Food photography on location isn’t our strong suit but hey, it’s a learning curve. We have been eating some amazing food, including a brined turkey, which I wanted to post on but it got gobbled up too fast to take any photos. I will recreate it to share, promise, it was just too good not to.
This salad is super simple and it has all those lovely pad thai flavours. Normally when I make this dressing I add all sorts of thai flare like lemongrass and fish sauce but here at my parents those ingredients weren’t so handy, so I simplified it and it’s still delicious. There’s a huge snow storm today so our trip home has been postponed until further notice. In the meantime I’ll just imagine i’m perusing the amazing food markets of Thailand.
Hey I'm Chantelle, my alter ego would be a mermaid if I wasn't such a terrible swimmer. I love writing authentically and cooking in my pyjamas. My favourite pastimes include eating avocados, travelling the world and hanging out with a toddler.
