SWEET AND SALTY COCONUT RICE!

I served with Asian Carrots and an Asian influenced hamburger.

My good friend, Debby Vis, served this Coconut Rice at a dinner party she had a while back. It is just as the name says; perfect combination of sweet and salty. I cannot remember where she got the recipe. You can easily cut the recipe in half, but why would you want to?? It reheats beautifully and is quite addicting!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups Jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
1 (14 oz.) can unsweetened coconut milk, full fat, not light
1 1/4 cups water (which can be measured using the coconut milk can-exactly 1 1/4 cups!)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

Preparation:
In a dry skillet toast the coconut over medium-high heat, stirring until lightly browned; about 4 to 5 minutes. Because of the high sugar content it "catches" quickly so watch to ensure you don't go from light brown to burned. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Do not leave in the pan as it may overcook. You can do this ahead of time and even the day before. The toasted coconut stores well on the counter in a glass container with tight lid.

In a saucepan combine rice, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to barely a simmer, cover and cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is done; about 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Re-cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with toasted coconut. So easy and such an incredibly wonderful combination of sweet, salty, crunchy and creamy. You will not want to stop eating it!

I served with hamburger patties that I marinated in a little soy sauce, Teriyaki, dried ginger, and garlic powder. Press about 2 Tbsp. per burger of sesame seeds into the meat, both sides. Grill to your preferred doneness. They are super juicy!

And finally served the dinner with Julienned Carrots cooked down with: 3 Tbsp. soy sauce, 3 Tbsp. Teriyaki sauce, 3 Tbsp. honey, 5 pieces candied ginger, sliced thinly, juice and zest of one clementine. Gently simmer, covered, on low heat for about 20 minutes. Remove cover and increase heat for the last 10 minutes to thicken the sauce. This also burns quickly. I made this a second time while also cooking some chicken on the grill and returned to the kitchen to find blackened carrots! Not so good!

WHAT ELSE IS COOKING?...

PIZZA!

Here's the funny story behind this pizza pie. My full-size oven is on the blink and because of Coronavirus I have hesitated to get a repair person in to check it out. I finally made an appointment and learned that the technician had Coronavirus so put the service off for another few weeks. I had been unable to buy yeast at the store, but finally found some with pizza in mind. My husband Jerry and I have been craving pizza so I put a meaty, cheesy pizza together. When I went to place the pizza pan in my little oven it did not fit. Fortunately I have a nice, big gas grill and the pan just barely fit in it. 

Here's the best news...the tech has fully recovered and will be down next week to fix my oven!

The pizza had a slightly smokey
taste like it just came from a pizza oven!

Click on this link to find the recipe for both red pizza sauce and Giada DeLaurentis's dough recipe. Keep scrolling all the way down to find the dough!
http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/search?q=pizza

THE ALTERNATIVE PIZZA...PORTOBELLO!

I would be lying if I said I like a Portobello Pizza as well as a real pizza, but they are a fairly good substitute if you are watching calories, which I always am! I grilled these, as well, on a piece of aluminum foil so the mushroom would not stick to the grill. Simply remove the stem from the Portobello, rinse and dry the mushroom thoroughly. Add a couple tablespoons of red sauce in bottom of the mushroom. Next add your favorite toppings-green pepper, onion, meat, alternating with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Add another tablespoon of sauce and then top with more cheese. Either bake in the oven at 400 degrees until mushroom is cooked and toppings are bubbly; about 15-20 minutes, or grill over high heat for about same time.

CHILLED CELERY SOUP!

These 100+ degree days call for a cold cup of soup. This one is very celery-forward so if celery is not your favorite veg you probably want to skip this recipe.

Ingredients:
14 stalks celery, divided 10 and 4
1 quart chicken stock
1/4 onion, rough chopped
Salt/Pepper to taste
Optional: Greek style yogurt or sour cream for serving

Preparation:
Roughly chop 10 stalks of celery and bring to boil with the onion in the chicken stock. Cover and reduce heat to simmer and cook for another 3 hours.  Taste for seasoning. Cool completely and blend until very smooth. Finely dice the last 4 stalks of celery and return to the blended soup. Cook until the celery is just barley tender. Serve with yogurt.

MORE FRUIT PARFAITS!

I continue to make fruit parfaits with fresh fruit and yogurt. Here is one made with cooked strawberries, which were left over from the Red/White/Blue cheesecake I made for 4th of July! Here is the original recipe, which I made 2 years ago in Ireland: http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/search?q=cheesecake.

I also used Mango puree in the parfait, which was left over from the Decadent Mango Pie I made recently--http://cookwithcindy.blogspot.com/search?q=decadent+mango+pie.

Some refer to me as the "Left-Over Queen"! I do not like to waste food!

THAT'S GOING TO DO IT FOR TODAY. 

WISHING YOU LOTS OF FUN ADVENTURES 

COOKING BOTH INSIDE AND OUT!

TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF...

WWW.COOKWITHCINDY.COM