Food Maker, Chef, and Traveling Diner
I eat chorizo often. I love Mexican chorizo, though most people have questionable ideas of its origins and what it’s made of. Chorizo is just something I’ve grown up with, eaten many times and will eat tons more of for the rest of my life. …
On a lovely evening, after shopping for some cooking gadgets and finding some great deals on my favorite large white platters, Brandon and I decided to get a bite to eat at the new Umami Burger in Thousand Oaks. I’m not really a big fan …
I haven’t written about anything sweet in a little while. I’m a pretty savory type of person, but I won’t say that I don’t have a couple of sweet teeth in my mouth; okay maybe more than a couple. My family really does love coconut cream pie. I’m not really the most savvy of bakers with crust and all that, but I can make something simple and with a little help from the grocery store, I’m sure others could make this easy as pie. So, I’m a big fan of Jello Pudding. It’s probably the least expensive way to make pudding, because cream is expensive, eggs, and everything else. Not to say I don’t enjoy a lovely custard or homemade butterscotch pudding, but when you have yoga and homework and everything else life throws in your face, maybe a little box can give you peace of mind and no one will ever know! I’ve already shown you my Banana Vanilla Creme Wafer Pie and Simple Whipped Cream Pistachio Pie so let’s add this easy Coconut Cream Pie to the mix. Try one out; even the less experienced pie putter- together-person can put this one together.
Coconut Cream Pie
1 large box of vanilla jello pudding
1 14 oz can coconut milk
2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 ½ cups sweetened coconut flakes
1 graham cracker crust
In a pan, on low heat, toast 1/2 cup of the coconut flakes till lightly browned. Set aside and cool.
In a large bowl, place contents of pudding package. Place coconut milk inside pudding and mix together till incorporated. Fold in 1 cup of coconut flakes.
In another bowl, place cold heavy whipping cream and add powdered sugar, then mix with a hand blender till whipped cream becomes stiff, about 6-7 minutes depending on your mixer.
Add about ¼ cup of pudding to your whipped cream and fold in with a spatula.
Using the toasted coconut, place a small sprinkle of coconut on the bottom of the crust and layer the pudding in the bottom of the pie shell, about ½ way up, sprinkle some coconut between, then layer about ½ of the whipped cream, then the rest of the pudding.
Clarification – When using the toasted coconut use about 1/4 cup it in the pie and reserve 1/4 cup for the top of the pie as desired. This will not effect the taste just the look if you happen to use more or less in either place.
Finally, add the rest of the whipped cream and smooth out over the top, so the pie is a large mound. Press the remaining toasted coconut into the whipped cream, and refrigerate about 1 hour till set.
Enjoy
Cheers
-Unrivaledkitch
As we find ourselves in a hurry, which I seem to be doing more and more often nowadays, a large meal or something that takes a lot of time might not be the most accessible thing to eat. Today, after yoga. I was thinking that …
Something about the versatility of polenta makes for crossing cultures and pops up in my dishes all the time. I love polenta. Its creamy nature of substantial delicious flavor always speaks to me, plus it’s very simple. This polenta was just hanging out in my …
Anyone eat Fatoush salad? It’s that delicious bit of crunchy pita that satisfies your craving for extra bread and fresh vegetables, sitting in an acidic-flavored dressing, with a bit of middle eastern influence. I love it. Working with what I have, I decided that this would be some of the flavors I’d like to achieve. But seeing as though I didn’t have the classic ingredients (cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions)–um someone needs to get to the grocery store!–I made something that could remind me of the salad. I’m always looking for new ways to eat vegetables, and this gave me some great inspiration. So here’s a bit of a fatoush-inspired, delicious, seemingly summer salad, seeing as it’s over 90 degrees where I live right now. Summer came very quickly in California this year.
Arugula and Toasted Pita Salad with Tomato Red Wine Vinaigrette
1 large pita, toasted crispy and crumbled
2 cups arugula
1 large romaine heart, chopped
6 green olives, sliced
1 large carrot, chopped oblique
5 pepperoncini, sliced (or fewer if you’re not a big fan)
¼ green pepper, minced
1 teaspoon of shredded pecorino cheese or Parmesan
Dressing
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons tomato juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small lemon wedge, juice squeezed
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Small pinch garlic powder
Cut all ingredients and place in a large bowl.
Make dressing in a small bowl by combining all ingredients and mixing well. Dressing should be acidic with a slight sweet finish.
Combine salad with enough dressing to your liking and lastly, toss in pita crumbles.
Enjoy!
Cheers
-Unrivaledkitch
Life is a balance. We all feel ourselves spiraling some way or another, at some point in time; either in our joy, or sometimes in our sorrow, but the choice is our own, even when it feels like it’s not, and that in itself is …
Wednesday afternoon, we decided to celebrate Mother’s Day a little early because of my brother’s work schedule. So all of us (me; my sister, Kristen; my niece, Maleeya; my brother, Kyle; my mom, Trudy; my dad, Mark; and my boyfriend, Brandon) decided to meet up …
If you live in Los Angeles you’ve more than likely been here. In fact, you’ve probably been here many times. You’ve fought the traffic, gotten a little bit of your personal space encroached upon and decided that this could be a little bit of sensory overload …