Things I've Made Lately

Lest you think I've only been making things with sourdough, I wanted to share a few really good things I've made recently, and share links to the original posts!

1. Chili Crisp Salmon - I was listening to an episode of The Sporkful Podcast and heard a description of chili crisp, and decided it was worth a try. So we bought some, and I've been putting it on just about everything, from eggs, to ramen, leftover spaghetti marinara, and this glazed salmon from LittleSpiceJar.

2. Crispy Shawarma Wings from Peal with Zeal - I was cleaning out the spice rack and remembered I had gotten some shawarma seasoning from our local market (and promptly forgot about it).  The Hubs was craving wings, so we tried this recipe.  This was the first time I'd done a dry rub with baking powder and it made the skin extra crispy.

2. Beef Tallow Roasted Potatoes - The Hubs was smoking a brisket and we had several pounds of fat trimmings, so I decided to attempt to melt it down. I'm pretty sure I didn't do it quite right, but it still made these potatoes taste AMAZING.

4. Alton Brown's Coconut Balls - I have often joked that Alton Brown's recipes all have too many steps, which is a deterrent from trying them.  But then this one...had only 2 steps!  Must be super easy!  Not true.  It seems simple at the surface, but the coconut filling is SUPER sticky and makes these really messy to make, and then they kept trying to fall apart as I was coating them in chocolate.  It was an ordeal, but the final result was very tasty, and made for good gifts to my coworkers.

5. Oven Roasted Marinara - Our neighbors shared this recipe from The Wooden Skillet with us last fall, so I had to bust it out again this fall when we found ourselves with a surplus of end-of-season tomatoes and basil.  So easy, SO GOOD. We served it with Italian sausage & cascatelli.

Sourdough Discard Chocolate Chip, Coconut, Carrot & Zucchini Bread

After a couple busy weeks without much baking, I had a LOT of discard to use up.  I also had this random bag of frozen "zoodles" in the freezer that we bought quite a while ago. I've used them in recipes a few different times...but they don't thaw well and become mush.  So, I thought maybe a zucchini bread might be a better option to use them up. And in an effort to sneak some extra veggies into my kids diet, I decided to shred up some carrot as well (but include chocolate chips to guarantee that he ate it--he's been known to turn up his nose at several of my sourdough concoctions). And coconut...for me. Because I like it.

INGREDIENTS (Makes 1 Loaf):

• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 125g sourdough discard
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut  oil (melted)
• 175g shredded zucchini (or about 1/2 bag of thawed chopped zoodles) after removing excess moisture [Note: I made two loaves to use up all of the zoodles]
• 75g grated carrot (I used a pretty fine grate)
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix together the sugar, eggs, discard, vanilla, and coconut oil until smooth.
3. Add in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinamon, and mix until just combined.  Then fold in the zucchini, carrot, chocolate chips, and coconut.
4. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and pour in the batter.
5. Bake for ~60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
6. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, and then transfer onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for 1 hour.

This was a really nice option to have for breakfast in the morning with a cup of coffee, or as an afternoon snack with some tea! If you wanted, you could definitely include some pecans or walnuts

Thirsty Thursday: Pina Colada Smoothie or Daiquiri

With the weather warming up, I feel like I should be at the beach.  But alas, I am 12-14 hours from anything even slightly beachy (assuming rocky shores along lakes don't count, and they DON'T).  When temps creep above 70, all I really want is to be by the water with my toes in the sand, a cold drink in my hand, and to hear the lapping of waves in the distance.

Thankfully, this recipe takes care of one of those things.  We developed this smoothie in our second year of The Scoop, and it was a huge hit.  It has a very tropical feel to it, and can very easily convert into a tasty adult beverage with the addition of just a bit of coconut rum.

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz frozen pineapple chunks
2 tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 cup Vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tbsp coconut syrup
1 tsp toasted coconut to top

To Make Daquiri:
Add your preferred coconut rum (Malibu, Cruzan, Parrot Bay, etc) to desired strength--you can replace part of the orange juice or yogurt if you want to maintain a nice semi-thick texture. A friend gifted me with some pineapple honey vodka that is also great in this.

DIRECTIONS:
Blend the first 5 ingredients (plus booze, if you're making the daiquiri version) on High until well combined and no large chunks remain.  Then top with the toasted coconut*.

* to make toasted coconut, spread sweetened or unsweetened coconut flakes on a cookie pan, then place in a 350F oven for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.

The most delicious “healthy” bread EVAR: Chocolate Chip Coconut Pumpkin Bread

Yeah…pumpkin. So obviously these pics have been in the archive for a leeetle while waiting to be posted.  But I’ve been craving it, so I think it’s high time to share this deliciosity w/y’all.

A while back we bought a can of coconut milk for some Asian cuisine and then…then…then there was a half can of coconut milk sitting in my fridge.  And I had no idea what to do with it.  Until I found this recipe.

Of course, this recipe didn’t use up the half-can, but it definitely helped, and it was truly delicious.  The coconut milk makes it unbelievably moist.  We’ve lowered the fat content by replacing oil with applesauce, and cut the sugar a little by using Splenda Baking Blend instead of white sugar.  (if you have the Splenda brown sugar substitute, you can use that as well—I’ve always gotten good results with it in my baking.)

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1.75 cups AP flour (or wheat flour if you feel so inclined)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup Splenda baking blend

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp nutmeg

1.5 tsp cinnamon

1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling)

1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce

1/3 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup coconut flakes

 

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350F; then grease and flour an 8x4 loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, spices; mix well.  Then add in the pumpkin, applesauce, and coconut milk and mix until well combined.  Then fold in the coconut flakes and the chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared baking dish; bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

This stuff is seriously heavenly.  The outside is slightly crisp & crunchy, and the inside is incredibly moist.  The pumpkin and the coconut really highlight each other.

NutriFacts: (Makes 10 servings—slice into five segments then cut once longways)

Calories 230.5

  Total Fat 4.0 g

  Saturated Fat 2.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.1 g

  Cholesterol 0.0 mg

  Sodium 112.5 mg

  Potassium 70.5 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 53.4 g

  Dietary Fiber 3.2 g

  Sugars 38.7 g

  Protein 2.9 g

Oreo Coconut Cream French Silk Pie (Quick, No Bake)

Yeah.  It would be hard to cram much more awesomeness into a single pie.  This was originally concocted by the amazing Miss Dorothy over at Crazy for Crust.  She made hers from scratch, but I saw in this the potential for a quick & easy and UH-MAZING dessert to bring with me for one of our Thanksgiving family dinners.  We had to bring two or three things to EACH of the family dinners we were going to, so quick & easy was an absolute MUST on my list.  But all the same…as a food blogger, people always want to know what new recipes you’ve been trying out.  So you sorta HAVE to show off a LEETLE bit.

After a crazy short week at work and with only last minute time allowance for “cooking”, this fit the bill perfectly.  So Dorothy, I hope I did your pie justice, because even with all the shortcuts, it was AMAZING!

In the words of my brother in law, “the only problem I have with it is that you didn’t make enough.”

It was SO true.  We downed that pie in under 30 minutes.  I think the next time I make it, I’ll make the Oreo crust from scratch using Dorothy’s recipe, but in a 9 x 13 pan.

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 pre-made Oreo pie crusts

1 box sugar free chocolate pudding mix

1 box coconut cream pudding mix

28 ounces low-fat milk, divided (14 oz per pudding mix)

1 cup coconut + 2 tbsp coconut for toasting

1 container fat free Cool Whip

 

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350F.  When heated, spread the 2 tbsp of coconut on a small cookie sheet, and then bake for 10-15 minutes, checking on it every 5 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn. Once it’s a light golden, remove from oven & let cool. (FYI—feel free to toast a bit extra.  Toasted coconut is delicious on/in SO many things.)

Using a stand or hand mixer, blend the coconut cream pudding mix & 14 oz of milk for 2-3 minutes (depending on your box directions).  Then mix in the 1 cup of coconut.  Pour 1/2 of the coconut mixture into each Oreo pie shell & smooth out evenly. 

 

Then rinse your bowl (so we don’t dirty too many dishes), and make your chocolate pudding mix w/ the other 14 oz of milk (whip for about 1 minute, then let rest for 3-5 minutes to set).  Pour that over the coconut cream layer, & spread evenly.

Don’t mix up these steps—your coconut cream filling is more dense than the chocolate, so you want to have the lighter filling on top.

When you’re ready to serve, spread the Cool Whip on top, and sprinkle with the toasted coconut.

Cut into 8 slices, serve, and then sit back, and watch the compliments roll in.

Not as perfect a cross-section as I would have liked, but you get the idea!

Seriously…how can you resist that???

NutriFacts: (makes 2 pies, 8 servings each)

Calories 190.5

  Total Fat 8.0 g

  Saturated Fat 4.6 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 2.1 g

  Cholesterol 1.3 mg

  Sodium 258.1 mg

  Potassium 121.3 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 22.1 g

  Dietary Fiber 1.0 g

  Sugars 13.4 g

  Protein 3.4 g