Fresh Coconut

Coconut seems to be one of those "love it or hate it" foods.  I'm on the "love it" side of the fence.  The sweetened flakes most of us grew up with aren't necessarily my favorite, but they have their uses.  My favorite is fresh coconut cracked from the shell.  I've shared some at work, and apparently my coworkers are pretty fond of it as well. 

Mango Tres Leches Cupcakes - Maybe

Several years ago I came across Michael Chiarello's recipe for Mango Dos Leches.  I had printed it off thinking I would try it, stuck it in a folder and promptly forgot about it.  When the 2011 Ice Cream Cupcake Contest was announced, I started thinking about it again, determined that eventually I would try this recipe.  Today is eventually.  And of course, I made modifications to the recipe.  Right now, I'm not sure how that's going to work out for me. 

The cake is a typical genoise of which, in and of itself, I'm not particularly fond.  To make half of the original recipe, I started with 3 room temperature eggs, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt (I didn't reduce the salt).  This gets whisked at high speed until tripled in volume.

1 minutes

I started on low speed and worked my way up to high just so I wouldn't sling egg and sugar all over the walls.  (I need to invest in a pour/splatter shield for the 4 quart mixer.)  Once at high speed, I whisked for 3 minutes although I don't think it would hurt if you went a bit longer.  Some of it will depend on your mixer and ambient temperature.

2 minutes

3 minutes

Three minutes seemed to do the trick.  I really thought it was going to take longer, but I think I was recalling the days of making genoise in the 20 quart mixers at school.  Big difference!

At this point it's time for my least favorite part:  folding in the flour.  I sifted in 1 cup of flour plus 1/32 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in three additions, folding gently after each.  The folding is my least favorite part because I'm always concerned about not getting all of the flour mixed in without deflating the eggs. 

As you can see, I found streaks.  This was actually part of a huge pocket of flour that was trying to hide from me.  I think I eventually got it all, but I won't place any bets on that. 

I scooped the batter in the foil lined cupcake pans and baked at 350F for 14 minutes.  Originally, I set the timer for 18 minutes, but I could smell the cupcakes at 12 so I started checking them after that.  Again, baking time will depend on individual ovens.

It's kind of hard to tell from the photo, but all of the cupcakes sank when they came out of the oven.  I didn't mind so much since it would help keep the milk mixture from pouring down the sides. 

While I let these cool for a bit, I heated 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup coconut milk in the microwave in two 1 minute intervals.  To that I added 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (I omitted the almond extract from the original recipe.)  When the milks were well combined, I added 2/3 cup of mango puree and mixed well.

Using my basic math skills, I figured I had about 2 cups (16 fl ounces) of milk/mango mixture and 16 cupcakes so each cupcake should get 1 ounce (2 tablespoons). 

After poking holes in the cupcakes with a bamboo skewer, I began spooning the milk/mango mixture over the top.  Here's where the problem began.  It appears as though the acid in the mango is sufficient to curdle the milk, making the mixture extremely thick.  The cupcakes are not absorbing it.  So far I have one tablespoon of the milk/mango mixture that's been sitting on the cupcakes for about an hour now.  It's not looking promising.  There may need to be a Plan B involved.

How Does My Garden Grow?

It's growing quite well.  The plants seem to be flowering quite nicely.  How it's fruiting is another story.

The two tomato plants (both Brandywine - one red, one pink) flowered like crazy.  I was quite excited at the thought of having beau coup tomatoes at my disposal in the future.  Apparently, it's not to be.  The pink Brandywine continues to have blossoms set, only to wither and drop before the fruit can be formed.  The red one started out a bit better and has two small fruits on it, but now appears to be suffering the same affliction.  I believe a call to Dad is in order, though I'm not sure if they can be salvaged at this point or not.  Dad will know.

Most of the peppers - sweet and hot - are doing better, with the exception of the red bell.  It seems to be content with its lone fruit.  While it's disappointing, I honestly can't be too surprised given that I have no idea how long this soil has been in these planter boxes and it may be long past its usefulness.  I need to run by the Neighborhood Co-op and see if I can find some organic fertilizer.  What I've seen so far isn't really organic when you read the label. 


Speaking of reading labels, this is something I need to start doing a bit more.  Last week I attempted to make something called latik, which is basically coconut milk cooked down until it separates into solids and coconut oil.  The "coconut milk" I attempted this with was anything but coconut milk.  I had picked up a brand I don't ordinarily buy without reading the label.  When I noticed the latik didn't seem to be working the way it should, I fished the label out of the recycle and proceeded to be disappointed:  coconut extract, water, guar gum, polysorbate something and a couple of other things I couldn't pronounce.  Obviously, it didn't work correctly.

My second lack of attentive label reading was in regard to oatmeal.  I like to keep a box of instant oatmeal around for mornings when I'm in a hurry, but need something rather substantial for breakfast (or occasionally a snack on a chilly evening).  My favorite is maple and brown sugar, which is what I thought I was buying.  While I actually looked at the box of maple and brown sugar, I grabbed the box of cinnamon swirl.  Not my favorite.  So now what do I do with the rest of the box?  Make instant oatmeal cookies.  A lot of them.  My daddy will be getting some more cookies this week.  And they were even good enough that the hubs ate a some.

Instant Oatmeal Cookies

This makes a lot of cookies.  If you don’t have a six quart mixer, I recommend cutting the recipe in half.

1 cup dried currants (or raisins)

2 cups (6 packets) instant oatmeal

2 cups all purpose flour

1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Line a baking sheet with a silicon baking mat.  (I tried using my tried and true parchment paper, but these cookies stuck to the parchment even after cooling.)  Use multiple baking sheets/silicon mats if you have them.

Place the currants in a small bowl and cover with hot water.  Cover the bowl and allow to steep 10 – 15 minutes, then drain.

Combine the instant oatmeal, flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.

Cream the butter and sugar on medium high for 3 – 5 minutes, scraping the bowl and paddle occasionally.  Lower the speed to medium and gradually drizzle in the beaten egg, no more than a tablespoon at a time, allowing each addition to become fully incorporated.  Stop and scrape the bowl and paddle about halfway through.  Add the vanilla and the drained currants. 

On low speed, gradually add the dry ingredients.  Mix only until combined.  Make sure to scrape down to the bottom of the bowl to make sure all dry ingredients are fully incorporated. 

Scoop the dough on to the prepared baking sheet with a cookie scoop or two tablespoons, spacing about two inches apart.  Bake 10 – 11 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.  Allow to cool 1 – 2 minutes on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  If necessary, let the baking sheet cool slightly before reusing.  Store baked cookies in an airtight container with a piece of parchment between layers of cookies.