COCONUT FLANS

Flanes de Coco (adapted slightly)
Begin making these one day ahead; they must chill overnight before serving.

1/4 cup water
1 3/4 cups sugar (divided use)
3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut (I used frozen raw coconut meat)
1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise in half
8 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons triple sec (I used cointreau)

Set eight 3/4-cup custard cups or ramekins in a flat pan with tall sides - I use a rectangular cake pan that is perfectly flat on the bottom (not a 9x13 pan with rounded edges). Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling occasionally, about 9 minutes. Immediately divide caramel among prepared custard cups. Using oven mitts, tilt each custard cup to coat bottom with caramel.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread coconut on baking sheet. Toast in oven until light golden, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. (I skipped the toasting step.) Maintain oven temperature.
Combine coconut milk and milk in another medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to boil. Remove from heat. Cover; steep 10 minutes. Remove vanilla bean. In a large heat-proof bowl, mix egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugarthick and pale, about 4 minutes. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into egg mixture. Whisk in triple sec. Stir in 1/2 cup toasted coconut.
Divide custard among caramel-lined custard cups. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of custard cups. Bake until custards are almost set and move only slightly when cups are shaken gently, about 50 minutes. Remove custards from water. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered overnight.

Run small sharp knife around custards to loosen. To unmold each custard, place plate atop custard cup. Firmly grasp custard cup and plate and invert, shaking gently and allowing custard to settle on plate. Sprinkle custards with remaining 1/4 cup toasted coconut and serve.
Makes 8. (The number this recipe makes depends on the size of your ramekins. I like to pour the custard all the way to the top of the ramekin, so a single recipe makes 6 for me.)

Bon Appétit

Hearty Korean pancakes

Didi Emmons – Vegetarian Planet

A substantial dinner, these pancakes are filled with brown rice, grated carrots, scallions, and tofu. Their crisp, crunchy outsides balance a soft, chewy inside. This is a great meal for novice tofu eaters.
Don’t hesitate to substitute other vegetables – such as grated zucchini, daikon radish, or sweet potatoes, or chopped spinach – for the ones I’ve chosen here.

Pancakes:
1 egg
1 1/3 cup water
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 cup glutinous rice flour (available in Asian markets and many supermarkets), or an additional 1 cup white flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup cooked short-grain brown rice, or 1 cup glutinous (sweet) rice (available in Asian markets)
8 ounces firm tofu, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 large carrots, grated
6 scallions, both green and white parts, chopped fine
3 tablespoons canola or corn oil

Dipping Sauce:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 pinch chile flakes, or 1 dash hot chile sauce
1 pinch sugar (optional)

1. Make the pancake batter: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. In a large bowl, stir together the flours and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and add the egg-water mixture. Stirring slowly with a whisk, gradually incorporate the flour into the liquid. Stir until the batter is smooth. Add the cooked rice, tofu, carrots, and scallions to the batter, and stir well. Set the bowl aside.

2. Make the dipping sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together all the of the sauce ingredients except the sugar. Taste the sauce, and add a pinch of sugar, if you like.

3. In a well-seasoned skillet at least 10 inches in diameter (do not use a nonstick pan; the texture of the cakes would be quite different), heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Pour 1 generous cup of the batter into the middle of the pan. Turn the heat to medium-low, and spread the pancake with a spoon. Cook the pancake for about 5 minutes, or until it is lightly browned on the bottom. Turn the pancake with a spatula, and lightly brown the other side for 5 minutes. Slide the pancake onto a plate. Keep the pancake warm in a slow oven while you make the two more in the same way, using 1 tablespoon oil for each.

4. Pour the dipping sauce into small individual bowls, and serve the sauce with the hot pancakes.

Variation: For a wonderful texture and flavor, add 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds to the batter.

Note – I haven’t yet found glutinous rice flour, so I use 1 cup of rice flour and 1 tsp gluten (you can buy in the flour section). I don’t know if the gluten makes a difference or not. Make sure to drain the tofu well. I usually make a double batch so I can use a whole pound of tofu.

Coconut pad thai (more of a yummy cold salad)

This is a raw recipe from Roxanne Klein. I did not have the energy to crack open fresh coconuts and shave ribbons of the meat, but I have found frozen coconut "meat" at an asian market - similar enough, I figure.

Almond-chile Sauce
1/2 cup raw almond butter (available in peanutbutter aisle)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced serrano chile with seeds (I used jalepeno)
1 to 2 tablespoons water

Tamarind vinaigrette
1/2 7-ounce block tamarind with seeds** (I used tamarind concentrate from asian market - have also used block kind, but it is more work)
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

Pad thai
1 cup (packed) very thinly sliced Napa cabbage
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

2 large young Thai coconuts (also called white coconuts), outside husk cut away, cracked open with hammer, drained

1 1/2 cups matchstick-size strips peeled carrots (from 2 large)
1 cup matchstick-size strips red bell pepper
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup matchstick-size strips seeded English hothouse cucumber
1/4 cup slivered fresh basil
Fresh cilantro sprigs

For almond-chile sauce:
Combine all ingredients except water in blender or processor. Puree until smooth. Thin with water by tablespoonfuls, as desired. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

For tamarind vinaigrette:
Combine tamarind and enough hot water to cover in medium bowl. Let stand until pulp softens, breaking apart occasionally with fork, about 1 hour. Using slotted spoon, transfer tamarind pulp to sieve set over bowl. Press pulp through sieve, leaving seeds behind. Measure 6 tablespoons pulp into medium bowl (discard remaining pulp). Whisk in remaining 4 ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

For pad thai:
Combine cabbage, cilantro, and lime juice in small bowl; toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and let stand 30 minutes.

Using small heavy knife, pry large pieces of soft coconut meat out of shells. Slice coconut very thinly into 2- to 3-inch-long strips.

Combine carrots, red bell pepper, bean sprouts, cucumber, and basil in large bowl. Toss with just enough almond-chile sauce to coat lightly.

Arrange 1/4 of cabbage mixture on each of 4 plates. Top with coconut and mixed vegetables. Drizzle tamarind vinaigrette and more almond-chile sauce over, if desired. Garnish with cilantro sprigs.

**Tamarind is a legume with large brown seedpods. The pulp is used in Indian, Thai, Caribbean, and Latin American cooking. The pulp is sold in block form and is available at Indian markets.

Makes 4 servings.

Bon Appétit
September 2003
chef Roxanne Klein

Creamy Corn Chowder

You can check out the recipe here.

Dang - I wished I'd read it. I didn't put in the red peppers this time.

Black Bean-Quinoa Burgers

1/2 cup dry quinoa

1 small onion finely chopped (1 cup)

6 oil packed sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp dried steak seasoning (I used McCormick)

Buns

Mix quinoa and 1.25 cups water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Add a bit of salt, cover and reduce heat to medium for about 20 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, cook onion and tomatoes in a skillet. Once onion is soft, 3-4 mins, add 3/4 cup of black beans, garlic, steak seasoning, and 1.5 cups of water. Summer until liquid has almost evaporated.

Transfer the bean/onion mixture to food processor and add 3/4 cup cooked quinoa. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and mix with remaining beans and quinoa.

Preheat oven to 350.

Take 1/2 cup of the mixture and form patties. Place on a well greased cookie sheet and bake 20 minutes. Flip patties and bake another 10.

My experience: This soo did not make 8 patties. I only got 6 from each batch. I used a burger maker from Tupperware and that was so much easier than forming by hand. This is very STICKY so rinse your hands or burger maker as you go. It took longer for them to cook enough to hold together to flip.

For CC: Everything is cooked and ready to go. Defrost burgers on baking sheet to rewarm or rewarm frozen burgers in the microwave.

Rhubarb Cake

Base:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup butter

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 beaten egg

Mix in a medium bowl except egg. Once everything else is well blended, add the egg - and it needs to be beaten first or it just never quite mixes in. Reserve 1 cup. Press the remainder into the bottom of a well greased 9x12 pan.

Filling:

1.5 cups of sugar

1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

4 cups chopped rhubarb

1/2 cup melted butter

Mix in order and spread on base.

Topping:

Reserved mixture from base

1 cup brown sugar (tho in a pinch I have used white - not quite as good, but ok)

3 tablespoons of cinnamon

Mix well and sprinkle on filling. Bake everything at 350 for 45 - 60 minutes.