I am not a big fan of lamb. Though I’ve tried it so many ways and have felt a little uncultured in not liking it, I don’t seem to have a taste for it. Now, I love gyros – but I guess since it’s mixed with beef and is supremely salty that doesn’t count. Or if it’s cooked in curry so spicy that it could just as well be goat, I like it; this may be because goat is one of my favourite meats.

On a recent visit to San Diego we ate in a fusion Japanese/Mediterranean restaurant in La Jolla, a seaside, ritzy suburb just north of town. San Diego is well known for sticking to its fusion style of cooking and possibly coming up with some combination you would have not expected. On the menu that night was minted spicy lamb. It was delicious, if not a little bit too oily. I liked the idea so I set about trying to determine the ingredients in the dish. The predominant flavours were mint, turmeric, and coriander. I love to cook quick dishes that pack a flavour punch like this one, so after arriving back in Houston I decided to recreate the dish. What I came up with was strikingly similar. So here’s my interpretation of the minty spicy lamb.

1 lb ground lamb
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 medium diced onions
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp red chili
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 bunch fresh mint leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet for 30 seconds, then add then sweat the onions until translucent. Next add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the turmeric, coriander, and chili powder. Cook for 1 minute. The coriander smell and taste will only develop if it’s heated before the meat is added.

Add the ground lamb and cook until almost completely browned. Sprinkle the salt and black pepper, stir, then turn the heat off. Add the mint leaves and stir in.

Serve this quick dish with rice or pita bread.

I love the taste of ube-macapuno, the Filipino sweet potato with young sweet green coconut. Problem is, it’s hard to find ube here. I became obsessed with ube and it purple colour right after trying a Goldilock’s ube cooler; a drink which is sort of a sweet smoothie but not as thick. Ube is purple yam (sweet potato for us Southerners), similar in texture to an orange sweet potato, more fibrous, but mellower;  It goes well with well with coconut – or at least coconut is not far behind when ube shows up. There’s a few places to get ube here in Houston, but I already had some purple sweet potatoes that I had picked up earlier in the day. The purple sweet potatoes that we use here are known as Okinawan sweet potatoes; they are actually from Hawaii (originally from Okinawa Japan). You can use the purple variety much in the same way that you use orange.  The purple’s taste is less like carrot and slightly tarter.

Okinawa Purple Sweet Yam

• Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Bake the yams for 45 minutes or until tender.
• Remove the yams from the oven, then allow to cool for about 15 minutes. While the yams are cooling off, bring the oven down to 350F.
• Remove the skins from the yam then add the filling to a bowl (I prefer to use a Kitchen-aid mixer).
• Add the coconut milk, sugar, and condensed milk. Combine ingredients on low speed for 1 minute.
• Add the mixture to the pie or tart shells. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, let cool, then top with toasted non-sweet shredded coconut.

Cashew Carrot Torte

I decided to try my hand at Brennan’s Cashew Carrot torte, which is described as a grown-up carrot cake. In my Brennan’s cookbook I found the ingredients to be fairly accurate, however the book has been short on instructions and technique. Reading through the cake recipe I realized that if you have not made a cake before you not be able to figure it out from this recipe. First up, I keep saying cake although this recipe is for a torte. In America, we rarely make the difference between the two. Bakers know that a torte will be 1 layer and richer than a cake; sometimes it will contain multiple layers separated by a thin layer of preserves or jelly, and often not topped with an icing. It is usually intended as a snack or for afternoon tea. A cake will have multiple layers and be buttery. It is usually topped with an icing or ganache and is intended for dessert or parties. This recipe is fairly time intensive so I had to make 2 cakes – well, in all truth I was giving one of the cakes to my daughters school so I needed make a tasting cake before the teachers got a hold of it. Since it came out well, I shared it with my co-workers and got a the thumbs up.

10 medium eggs
3.5 cups vegetable oil
6 cups grated carrots. Use a the middle grate on a box grater. Peel the carrots using a peeler before grating.
4 table spoons ginger. Use a the middle grate on a box grater.
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest. Note: I’ve also tried the recipe with 3 tbsp dried orange zest for more orange taste; can be found at Middle-Eastern markets
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
4.5 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3.5 cups chopped cashews. I used 2 cups cashews, 1 cup pecans, and, 1/2 cup walnuts
4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
5 teaspoons baking powder.
2 teaspoons kosher salt
rum sauce (see below)

I used a stand mixer for this cake. Once all the ingredients are in a bowl it will be difficult to stir. I toasted the nuts for 7 minutes on 350F, cooled, then placed them on the chop mode in a small food processor for a few seconds. After making cake several times, I believe the best texture for the nuts is a rough chop, however follow your preference. In a mixing bowl, add eggs (no need to beat ahead), oil, carrots, ginger, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla and almond extract. Fold in, until evenly distributed. Move the mixing bowl to the stand mixer and set to “Stir” for 1 minute.

Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nuts to the mixing bowl. Set the stand mixer on Stir for 3 minutes. The eggs will begin to emulsify with the oil.
In a separate dry bowl sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Then add to the mixing bowl and set to 3 for 2 minutes.
Pour the batter into the 2 prepared pans. Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes. After 45 minutes, rotate the pans 1/2 turn. Check the cake after 1 hour and 15 minutes. You should be able to insert a toothpick into the center and it will come out clean.

This recipe can be divided in half for 1 cake. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare two 10″ pans. Apply a thin coat of butter, then dust with flour.

For the rum sauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup dark 2 cup dark rum

Add the dark rum and lime juice to a saucepan. Cook on medium for 1 minute. Then add sugars and stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. then remove from heat and set aside to cool. Poke many small holes in the top of the cake with a fork (for the sauce to enter). Once the sauce cools it will thicken. You can reheat it in a microwave to thin it out right before serving.

We were looking for a fun and tasty Saturday baking adventure for our 3 year old. It had to be something quick since snack time was upon us. Muffins are easy and force you to be quick since once the dry ingredients are wet you need to get everything in the oven within 30 minutes. I am a fan of anything with coconut (as is the namesake of my site). I had recently done a coconut cake with chocolate ganache for my mothers birthday, so these flavors were on my mine already. Here is a recipe from The Ultimate Muffin book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough that I think you will enjoy.

Equipment:
Nonstick spray or paper muffin tins
2 mixing bowls – medium and large
wooden spoon

Ingredients
1½ cups unsweetened coconut flakes.
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups all-purpose flour
^_2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
^_1/2 teaspoon baking soda
^_1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
^_1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
5 ^_1/2 ounces coconut milk. Full cream will make for a more tender muffin.
^_1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line the muffin tins with paper liners. In a food processor grind 1 tablespoon brown sugar with 1/4 cup of the coconut flakes until coarsely ground. Add to a mixing bowl along with 4 tablespoons of the melted butter. Set Aside
2. Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips and salt until well combined. Stir in the remaining coconut flakes. Set Aside.
3. In the large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Then add the coconut milk, whole milk, lemon zest, and the remaining melted butter. Stir in the prepared flour mixture with a wooden spoon.
4. Add a chocolate chip or 2 to the bottom and top of the mixture. Fill the muffin tins three-quarters full. Bake for 25 minutes. The let cool 10 minutes.
5. Store muffins at room temperature for 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

It really is true what they say – there are as many adobo recipes as there are people who make it. I decided I would write down my recipe which I consider to be a very good version of a Filipino adobo. I like my adobo chicken crispy but not with too much oil. My secret for this is baking, then basting the chicken with coconut oil, and finally placing the chicken under the broiler. The recipe is finished by reducing the adobo sauce to a nape. Try this version of a traditional Filipino adobo and let me know your thoughts. I have provided all the techniques here to ensure your meal is delicious.

• 1 whole cut up chicken. I prefer to use skinless chicken with a mixture of dark and white meat
• 12 cloves garlic (minced)
• 4 Turkish bay leaves or 6 California bay leaves
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/3 cups cane vinegar. For sweeter adobo use coconut vinegar
• 2/3 cups light soy sauce. Do not use dark.
• 20 whole peppercorns
• 1 tsp. light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil

I prefer to use a cast iron pot with a heavy lid so that my chicken will remain tender after it is cooked. The heavy lid helps to keep the moisture and pressure in the pot so the chicken cooks quicker and stays tender. Add 8 cloves of garlic, bay leaves, chicken stock, vinegar, soy sauce, peppercorns, brown sugar, and chicken to the pot. Bring the pot to a boil with the lid off, then place the lid on the pot and reduce the heat to simmer Cook for 40 minutes. 30 minutes through cooking pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using a brush, apply a small amount of coconut onto a baking sheet. When the oven has reached temperature, remove all the chicken from the pot and place the chicken on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. While the chicken is baking turn the heat up on the pot to high (Note: For a stainless steel pot use medium high. Continue to reduce the sauce in the pot to nape (where it coats the back of a spoon). Remove the sauce from heat and set aside.

Cut up the remaining 4 cloves of garlic then quickly fry in the remaining coconut oil until golden. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken from the oven and brush lighty with coconut oil. Then broil the chicken on a high rack in the oven for 5 minutes at 450 degrees.
Remove the chicken from the broil, and pour
reduced sauce over chicken. Then add fried garlic atop chicken.

This is dedicated to Rio’s win of the 2016 games. Caipirinha is Brazil’s national drink; it is usually made using limes, which are somewhat sour. I was looking to do something a little different with the fruit from my calamasi trees this weekend. So calamansi is the perfect citrus fruit to give this traditional drink a little makeover. My calamansi trees have been growing very well this year and have given about 3 harvests each. Things slow down a little in the winter, but they do continue to grow.  Calamasi’s taste in between a kumquat and a tangerine. They are very sour with a subtle sweetness, so this drink has a good balance between sour and sweet without having any hint of syrupyness.

Cachaça is essential to the obtaining the correct flavour for this drink if you choose to add alcohol. If you do not have access to cachaça, rum is the closest substitute. However the difference is taste is noticeable. Cachaça is made is made directly from sugar cane, while rum is a by product of the sugar making process. For this mix drink use a clear cachaça as you would a clear rum. You will need

• 4 ounces water
• leaves from 1 sprig of mint
• 2 tsp. f granulated sugar
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. cachaça (optional)
• 3 tsp. calamansi juice
• 2 small ice cubes

Squeeze the calamasi juice into a small glass, then add the granulated sugar and mint leaves. Using a spoon mash the mint leaves into the sugar. This wil also help the sugar dissolve. Add the shot of cachaça, then the ice cubes. Next fill the glass with water and stir. Serve immediately.

Cachaca

I think I’ve picked the last longans (or longons) of the season here – well at least my plant does not have anymore to give. I was very happy that it survived the winter last year, so I can now look forward to an even bigger harvest next year. Now what to do with longans? They’re very similar in appearance to lychee but smaller and not as sweet.

Fresh Picked Longans

Their flavour is very similar to coconut water, so I decided to use them for something refreshing, something that would not destroy their subtle flavour. Here is a simple recipe for a longan refresher that will make your morning extra special. You can do it with or without alcohol. Be careful to peel your longans and remove the hard inedible seed in the middle. I encourage you to peel quickly, because you will find yourself eating the longans before you have enough to make the drink.

10 peeled and seeded longans

2 tsp sugar

6 ounces cold low sodium soda water or mineral water, soda is better.

1 tsp lemon

1 ounce anejo (optional)

Place the peeled and seeded longans into a glass and add the sugar. Use a spoon to crush the longans with the sugar. Add the lemon and anejo if you desire. Then add the cold soda or mineral water. Enjoy!

Lychees

Growing up, Sundays were reserved for homey meals – soul food, comfort food, family food. I like to the continue this tradition with my wife and kid. So every Sunday I try to make something a little extra special. Sundays are my day to use [uhmmm..] butter, oil or coconut milk. It’s my day not to count calories, but just to go for it. Curries are one of those foods. Good curries require oil and coconut milk. Low fat curries, while they can be excellent, always seem to lack that little something. While it helps tremendously, making a low-fat curry very spicy does not make up for the lack of fat.

This past Sunday, was our day to eat goat curry. Goat meat is regaining popularity in American especially Texas with its large Latino and Caribbean populations. I like to turn on a little reggae and make a hot pot of goat curry. I start preparing the goat early since the curry has to cook for 3 hours.

Recipe for Jamaican Goat Curry

Interestingly, curry goat was introduced to Jamaica by Indian immigrants to the island. If you hear “curry goat” it’s Caribbean. “Goat curry” would be Indian. You will need

2lbs. lean goat meat. Depending on where you live obtaining goat meat can be easy or not so. In Houston, many large supermarkets carry it as “goat meat” or “cabrito”. Checkout your local African, Middle Eastern, Indian, Pakistani, or Halal grocer. Or order some online http://www.goatmeats.com/

• 2 lbs cut up lean goat meat including bones divided into 4 batches. Trim fat away fat and any skin that has no meat on it
• 1 medium yellow onion (large dice)
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 4 cups goat or beef broth. Goat broth can be made by boiling your goat trimmings and bones in 6 cups of water for 30 minutes
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3/4 cup light coconut milk or 1/2 cup full cream coconut milk + 1/4 cup water
• 1 or 2 habaneros, depending on how spicy you like it. For the habanero taste without the spiciness, split the habanero and carefully remove  the seeds.
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus 1 tbsp for later.
• 2 tsp flour for later.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pot on medium high for 1 minute, then fry onions and garlic for 2 minutes. Then braise the goat so that it will be remain tender when it cooked, but not fall part or get mushy. Add the goat to the pot, such that it is not not overcrowded. Cook each batch of the goat,1 at a time until lightly browned. Remove each batch, then add the next. After all batches are cooked return all the goat to the pot.

Add the broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Add thyme, black pepper, and curry powder. Stir in, then bring heat down to a simmer. Set timer to 3 hours and cover the pot. Go watch a movie.

After the timer goes off, drain off 1/2 cup of the curry liquid into a separate bowl and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in saucepan on medium, add 2 tsp flour and stir in to make a roux (lightly browned flour). Add the curry liquid that was set aside, then stir in vigourously to prevent clumping. Then re-add the liquid to curry pot with the goat. Turn up heat to medium. Add coconut milk and stir in. Add habaneros. Then cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with fresh steamed rice.

Another great curry idea using fish

This is my version of a beautiful brunch salad that we prepared in a cooking class. It’s hearty enough to be served as a meal. What I really like about it is that it gives you so many wonderful flavours and textures while still be  very well balanced salad. Sourness from the cherries, savoury peppery tastes from the arugula, creaminess from the cheese, and meatiness and sweetness from the walnuts. It’s possible to prep the walnuts and vinaigrette a day before so that you spend less time in the kitchen. This scaled recipe serves 4.

Pinot Grigio Vinaigrette

1 shallot minced
1/4 cup pinot grigio
1 cup olive oil. Use a high quality extra virgin.
10 strands of thyme
8 strands fresh oregano
2 tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
dash of ground pepper

Directions
Finely chop the herbs and add to a bowl and set aside. Place shallots, honey, vinegar and run on medium speed of blender*, slowly add olive oil. (If you add the oil to fast it will not blend properly). Dressing should begin to emulsify.

Red Snapper is one of the most prized native fish to the Texas Gulf Coast region. It can be prepared in just about anyway. It’s my preferred fish for frying, baking, or broiling. I purchase the whole fish, then use the head to make a stock. The stock is later used for sauces or soups. The skin of a pan seared Red Snapper is well known as having very much the taste of bacon. Since Red Snapper is is delicious baked, I decided to make my version of  Pla Ped Pla with a Red Snapper that is first baked, then broiled. Note: This recipe calls for the use of krachai (a rhizome, similar to ginger, but sweeter and more aromatic). Krachai is critical to the development and taste of this dish. Ginger or galangal won’t quite get it. Try a local Thai supermarket or Asian market for krachai. If you don’t have a local market, check Thai Import Food. In this recipe is important to use a fresh fish otherwise the recipe comes off as an attempt to disguise a frozen fish with a great sauce.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut 3 diagonal slits on each side of the fish, lightly salt fish using kosher salt (do not use regular salt), and run a thin layer of vegetable oil on both sides. Then place into middle or lower rack of the oven for 20 minutes.

For the Sauce: Heat oil on medium, then cook krachai, garlic, onions, and ginger. Cook for 2 minutes. Add red curry and stir in, cook for 5 minutes for pre-packaged curry. Cook for 2 minutes for fresh curry. Add sugar, fish sauce and stir in. Let develop. Go by smell; you should smell the krachai. Maybe 3 minutes or so.

Lower heat, then add basil, chili, keffir lime, and peppercorns. cook for 5 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, turn broiler on at 450. Move fish to top rack and broil for 5-6 minutes.

Add coconut milk and water, then and change burner to lowest heat for 5 minute – add more water if too dry. Remove fish from oven, then pour the sauce over fish and serve with steamed rice.