Can't get enough COCONUT?!! Homemade Puerto Rican Coconut Popsicles

Well, me either!! I have been hooked on this recipe since I first tried it!! I happened upon it just randomly searching for Puerto Rican recipes. The recipe is for Puerto Rican-style homemade popsicles called limbers. These tasty frozen treats come in flavors like pineapple, dulce de leche, banana, guava, cookies and cream, cheesecake (I am really looking forward to trying this one one day, and I'll be sure to report back on how it turns out), peanut butter (not sure which is better, coconut or peanut butter) coconut, and just about any other fruit flavor you can imagine. I have yet to go to Puerto Rico and have them for myself, but I hear it's the type of thing women make at home and sell to both neighborhood children and adults for something like a quarter or so.

Limbers [LEEM behr] are super easy to make and kill any store-purchased popsicle you've ever had. Here is my adaptation of the recipe I found (http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-587305-.html). I just add about two teaspoons vanilla in addition to what the recipe calls for. By the way, to make them, they're traditionally just frozen in small plastic cups and people get creative as far as how to eat them :). What has worked for me is to fill the cup half way so that you can squeeze around the sides to loosen it, then push it up to enjoy it and flip the popsicle around to catch the juice once the bottom starts to melt.

Limber de Coco (coconut Puerto Rican-style popsicles)

1 can coconut milk

1can coconut cream

1 can water (fill the can of coconut milk to measure)

1/4 tb cinnamon

you can also add grated coconut before freezing, if desired

sugar to taste (maybe about a 1/4 cup)

Mix it all up in the blender and taste it to be sure it's to your liking. Freeze and enjoy a yummy, fresh-tasting, creamy limber!

Tips:

You can cover the tops of the cups by pressing a piece of plastic wrap flat to the surface to delay the tops of the limbers getting that freezer taste. It happens sometimes, but the whole thing isn't ruined...you can rinse the top with hot water, if necessary or just flip it and eat it from the bottom first.

I've also added two baby bananas in the mix and it was sooo good!! You can add a half a regular banana as a sub.

And sorry this is a little out of season for most of the U.S., lol. Hey, it's still in the 80s here in Miami, lol. Nonetheless, I would probably still be eating them if I were at home because they're just that good :).

*Source of photos: http://www.bijlmakers.com/fruits/coconut/coconut_fruits.jpg, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoqiC3xKJKrYR4TehcG1gryKwq73qNdsyl-sQg78WFC5aZbhtRHOOQ9QgdS7Ks14oRQtiCV1kvHiYpa0j5YTJn-29CN65QSpwZYJh2eS74YrXC-pWQGxJpkPOU5i3P-x404JwYw1-zg/s400/coconut.jpg

Cambodian Food Part II! Banh Chao (Banh xeo)

So I made Banh chao today!! It turned out perfect!! I was soo happy!  Banh chao is the Cambodian version (different only in name) of the Vietnamese crepe called banh xeo (bahn say oh). In Vietnam and Cambodia, it is a common street food. I actually tried to make it once a while ago, but I had never actually seen anyone make it before, so I totally messed it up.  It just fell apart, and my boyfriend's mom laughed at me.

Here is a video for you to take a look at the technique. It's very important that you tilt the pan immediately to spread the batter evenly because the temperature is up so high that this makes a huge difference in the end result.  If you don't tilt the pan properly, part of your banh chao will be doughy.  The goal is to have a nice, thin and crispy texture.  Dark brown spots are actually a good thing in this case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zizi7X8zzGk

So the recipe is as follows:
1 pack Banh Xeo mix (Banh Xeo is the Vietnamese name--Banh Tsyow)

2 green onions thinly sliced

1 yellow onion thinly sliced (rings cut in half)

2 cloves of garlic (optional)

medium shrimp (2 per crepe)

thinly sliced pork loin(about 3 pieces per crepe)(you can buy thick-cut center-cut pork chops and slice it)

bean sprouts (2 bags from Asian market)

1 cup coconut milk (not cream)

3-1/2 cups water

about 1/4 cup oil for pan

Plating:
fresh basil
fresh mint
butter lettuce (also called bibb or Boston lettuce)
1 thinly sliced cucumber, seedless preferred
sweet fish sauce (http://www.khmerkromrecipes.com/recipes/recipe42.html)

Preparation:
After slicing, preseason all meat with salt, pepper, and garlic (fresh or powder).
Mix both portions of Banh Xeo mix according to pack (1 c coconut milk and 3-1/2 c water) and add green onions (not the yellow) and let sit for 15 minutes.

Heat a skillet to high and put enough oil so that an omelete won't stick, for example. As skillet is heating, add pork, shrimp, and yellow onions stirring constantly. Once the meat is cooked and skillet is fully up to high temperature, ladel batter into pan (least amount possible to cover pan, assisted by tilting pan side to side). Put a hand full of bean sprouts on one side and let crepe cook until edges turn up. Another indicator to confirm doneness is that bubbles will come close to the center.

 Once dark golden brown, fold crepe and plate with herbs and serve with small bowl of sauce. Remember, the key to this dish is the crispiness, so don't rush it. It is worth it to wait until the pan is nice and hot and the crepe becomes dark golden brown. It really should be darker even than the picture I showed.

How to eat:
This dish is eaten with your hands using lettuce to grab crepe along with herbs and cucumber. Dip what you grabbed with the lettuce into the fish sauce and enjoy!

Can be refrigerated for a couple of days and enjoyed later.  Just cover well and reheat in a hot pan.

This dish can be found at Mekong (where it is horribly greasy and I don't recommended it there) and at the place in the plaza beside Tan A Market (I forget the name) at the corner of West Broad and Horsepen. Theirs is good, but I can't say the same for their spring rolls because they put entirely too much overpowering basil.

Source of picture: http://kitchentoworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/banh_xeo-300x224.jpg,

Fish in Coconut sauce (Pescado con Coco)

I know it's been a while since I last posted, but I'm back! This one will definitely be well worth the wait. So my good friend and I were studying...or at least trying to, and we were terribly distracted because we were both really hungry. So I started looking around online to see what type of local international restaurants were good in Charlottesville, where I study. After looking at a few places, particularly a Korean place and a Central American/Caribbean fusion restaurant, I decided I wanted Dominican food. Lucky me, no real Dominican food in Charlottesville.  How sad. But lucky me again, I DO know how to make my own Dominican food. Despite the lack of Dominican markets in the area, there are a few dishes I can make using what's available in the regular grocery store.

My friend Justin had already taken out Tilapia to thaw, so I remembered I had a recipe for Pescado con Coco (fish in coconut sauce) from when I was in the Dominican Republic. I had never made it nor eaten it before, but I figured it was worth a try. There are very few Dominican dishes I don't like. So we went to the store and gave it a go. Let me say, it was DELICIOUS!! For those of you who are picky about anything beyond the typical American or have friends or family members like that, this is the meal for you. I can't imagine anyone not liking this, and I have some terribly picky eaters in my family. I will likely make this dish for Easter to get the feet of some of those people wet as far as the international food goes.

So let me get down to the nitty gritty. This dish is AMAZING! It's creamy and has a very slight sweetness, which is a nice contrast to the faint lime flavor and the nice dark oregano that ties it all together. This one is a MUST try!!! Here's the recipe! It's courtesy of a kind santiaguera in the Dominican Republic, one of my host mom's neighbors when I studied there. Many thanks to her!

 Enjoy!

Dominican Fish in Coconut Sauce


Ingredients:
6 pieces of fish is what I used. What you want is enough to cover a rectangular Pyrex
salt
pepper
dried oregano
Adobo spice mix (found in Latin foods isle of any grocer or in Latin market. Get the Goya brand with the blue top)
4-5 garlic cloves, mashed
1 onion (sliced into rings)
about 1/2 cubanelle pepper (light green pepper found in most grocery stores ( here's a pic
http://www.seedfest.co.uk/seeds/peppers/sweet/sweet.html) Be careful not to confuse with Hungarian
1 can coconut milk (NOT cream. They are different)
          This can be found at any grocery in the Asian section of the International aisle or in any
          Latin market or Asian market) If you have to get Thai kitchen brand because that's all
          you see, be aware that it will likely be completely separated when you open it. Don't
          worry, just scoop it all out and it will mix once you stir the sauce over the stove
2 TB tomato paste (NOT tomato sauce)
          be sure your paste is not seasoned/flavored - sometimes it is written small on the front
          and you may not notice it says basil flavor)
2 tsp cilantro
1-2 limes (NOT key lime)
flour - for battering the fish (don't do a cornmeal mix, just regular flour)
oil for frying

Preparation
Heat a frying pan with oil over medium heat. Heat another pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium low heat (# 3 or #4). Wash the fish with lime (rub lime juice all over the fish and do not rinse it off ). Salt and pepper the fish and further season with Adobo. Sprinkle lightly with oregano (don't overdo it. Maybe 5-6 pieces of oregano per side. you dont want a coating).

 Season the flour generously with Adobo, add salt and pepper, and add oregano). Place vegetables (garlic, onion, cubanelle) and tomato paste in pan with olive oil over low heat and sautee, mixing tomato paste in well and stirring occasionally to avoid sticking or burning of paste. Sautee until translucent. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

In the meantime, toss the fish in seasoned flour until well-coated. Fry fish until golden brown on both sides.  Drain oil with paper towel and place fish in Pyrex in a single layer.

 Shake can of coconut milk well and pour it into pan with sauteed vegetables (should be translucent at this point) and tomato paste. Stir until uniformly mixed and pour sauce over fried fish.

 Enjoy!! Ahi tiene tu pe'ca'ito con coco pa' chuparse lo' dedo' (There you have your finger-likin' good fish in coconut sauce)!

 Buen provecho!!