Tag Archives: coconut

Soups

Coconut Lemongrass Soup

I have been missing and craving some coconut and lemongrass soup. When I worked at the Blockbuster in Blue Bell, PA, there was a little Thai restaurant named Thai Orchid. Here’s there menu.

https://thaiorchidbluebell.com/lunch-menu.html

They had the best soups ever. I think it was pretty much all I ever ordered besides their heavenly curry. I remember both their Tom Yum and their Tom Kah soups. I made my own version of both recipes kind of mashed together. It brought back some wonderful memories.  Not only was that my favorite job of all time, but I also worked with people that absolutely loved good food.

What do I need?

  • 1 block of firm or extra firm tofu; pressed
  • 1 cup of carrots cut into bite sized pieces
  • 2 lemongrass
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 green onions
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper depending on your heat tolerance and preference
  • 1 can of bean sprouts; drained
  • 1 lime cut into wedges to squeeze over finished soup
  • 1 cup of mushrooms (I roast mine first but you don’t have to)
  • 1/2-1 onion
  • 2 cans of coconut milk (don’t use that light shit)
  • 3 cups of veggie stock
  • 2 Tbsp of soy sauce or liquid aminos
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 tsp sugar

How do I make it?

  • Sauté onion, garlic, and chopped mushrooms for 2-3 minutes
  • add carrots, lemongrass, soy sauce, lemon zest, ginger. cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, veggie stock, and coconut milk
This is lemongrass. It smells absolutely heavenly when you are cutting it up OR cooking it.
  • boil for 15-20 minutes
  • add bean sprouts and tofu and boil for another 5 minutes to heat them through.
  • serve with lime wedge

I was almost in tears when I sat down to eat this soup. It tasted just like I wanted it to and pictured it in my head. It has been the best soup I have made to this day and it will definitely be hard to top this one.

Send me some recipe ideas for next time. Just remember, anything you can make I can probably make vegan!

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Cakes & Muffins

Blueberry Coconut Muffins

Ah yes, yet another muffin recipe! I am still doing the $20 per week challenge. You only get $20 per week for fresh stuff (non food items such as toilet paper and toothpaste do not count, only food items) and the rest MUST be from your pantry, fridge, or freezer (and garden if you are lucky enough to have one). This week we ended up getting some apples, pears, kale, zucchini, blueberries, cucumbers, and carrots, and 1 or 2 peppers. I have plenty of flour and sugar on hand so I can make muffins to my hearts content.

This time instead of making just plain blueberry muffins, I added a little bit of a coconut twist to it. Patrick wandered down the hallway this morning, eyes still closed, and walked right to the muffin container to start stuffing his face. He must have felt so deprived since I haven’t made muffins in about 7 days! They must have gone over well since I already had six muffin cups in my sink by the time I got home from work today.

I’ll count these as a win!

What do I need?

  • 1.5 cups of all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cups of sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1.5-2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or coconut oil for extra coconut taste)
  • 1/2 cup non dairy milk
  • 1/4 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened, your choice)
  • 6-8 oz of fresh blueberries (I’ve never tried it with frozen)

How do I make this?

  • Pre heat your oven for 350
  • Spray your silicone muffin cups while in the muffin pan and pre heat with your oven.
  • Mix all dry ingredients together either by hand or stand mixer
  • Mix in the wet ingredients
  • When the wet and dry ingredients are incorporated, fold in the blueberries. Pro tip: If you do not want your muffins to sink to the bottom of the muffin cups, toss them in some AP flour. I have never had that problem, but some people do and that is one way to avoid it.
  • Pour your muffin mix into the 12 muffin cups divided evenly. (I like to sprinkle some of the clear finishing sugar on the top so they come out with a slightly shiny top to them).
  • Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Test with a toothpick at 25 minutes. If it comes out clean, your muffins are done.

I love the way these muffins smelled while they were baking. In the oven, they smelled mostly of coconut, but once I got them out of the oven… mhmmm!

Send me some ideas for next time. Just remember, anything you can make, I can probably make vegan!

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