Lately I’ve been really craving Thai food, and it’s not the I haven’t been satisfying those cravings–I have!! Thai food every week for the lat month, yum!  But I realized, if I could make it myself it’ll probably be a) cheaper, b) have more of what I like, and c) fun! So, I made some Thai Red Curry with Chicken after this Red Duck Curry with Pineapple that is absolutely divine.

Since I didn’t have all the specific ingredients most recipe’s called for, I sort of innovated and added what I had on hand. So my curry has purple cauliflower, carrots (always good), tomatoes, and philipino mango with chicken.  Also, I didn’t have thai basil or any basil for that matter, so I went over to my neighbor–a Berkeley Co-op–and grabbed some of their basil leaves (thank you!).

Thai Red Curry: Chicken with Mango

• about 1/2 pound of chicken
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 2 large carrots, sliced
• 1 mango, peeled and cubed
• 5 basil leaves
• 1 tsp  brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salf
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1-2 cans water (I used the coconut can to measure)
• 3 tbsp red curry paste*

Preparation

First, cut up chicken into long slices, fry on pan with a bit of olive oil and let put to the side.

In a large pan or pot, combine the red curry paste and coconut milk and heat over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until the curry paste is completely combined. Add chicken and allow to cook some more. Add in the rest of the ingredients and allow to cook for 5 minutes.  Depending on how creamy you like your curry, add less than 1 can of water if very creamy and 2 cans if not that creamy.  Then turn heat up a little bit and allow to boil and remove from heat.

I based my recipe off this one for Roasted Duck Curry with Red Curry Paste: http://www.templeofthai.com/recipes/duck_curry.php

I was in a great mood, it was a sunny day and I was playing some Kanye West (Good Life feat. T-Pain) about to go pick some lemons from the lemon tree outside my house to make Lemon Poppy Seed muffins for a guy I’m dating.  I head out the door with my basket, my phone, and lock the door… and shit, I locked the door and my keys are inside my room.  Nooo! So, then I spent the next hour calling locksmiths and having one come and waiting for my room to be unlocked. Meanwhile, my friends find out and laugh at me… locking myself out of my room seems to be a trend. If I had a dollar for every time I locked myself out of my room, I’d be a rich (wo)man.  Seriously.  I should have known… it’s the poppy seeds. They’re out to get me.

Anyway, without further adieu here is the recipe for (cursed) Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (1/2-cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white granulated sugar
finely grated zest from 2 lemons
2 large eggs
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sift together all dry ingredients including poppy seeds.  Melt butter, add in sour cream, eggs one at a time, and lemon juice.   Then slowly mix in wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.

Evenly distrubute into 12 muffin tins.  Bake for 25 minutes or until golden on top.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes or more.

When I made this recipe, it acutally made 13 muffins plus some becauseI ate some of the batter.  Before I made the muffins, I couldn’t remember if it was blueberry or lemon poppy seed muffins that he liked.  I dislike both, so I just lump them together, so I guess that’s why I got confused… it turns out he likes blueberry muffins, not lemon poppy seed. Ekk!

I based this recipe off the one from this site: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2010/02/lemon-poppy-seed-muffins-what-delcious.html

Lemon Ginger Honey Tea

about 2 cups water
1 inch of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
juice of 1 large lemon
about 2 tbsp. honey

Place the water and ginger in a pot and boil.  Once boiled you should be able to smell the ginger, add the lemon juice and honey.  Stir, pour and enjoy!

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake (originally from Hershey’s)

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two 9-inch cake rounds or one 13×9×2-inch baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the first six ingredients (sugar through salt); add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin); pour into prepared pan(s) and bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes our clean. If baking cake rounds, allow rounds to cool slightly before turning out onto wire racks to cool completely. If using rectangular baking pan, allow cake to cool completely before icing.

Chocolate Frosting

• 6 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 & 2/3 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream + 1-3 tbsp. more if needed
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium-sized bowl, mix and beat all ingredients using an electric mixer. If icing seems too thick, add a touch more heavy cream until desired consistency is reached, taking care not to over-thin the icing. I have found these amounts enough to frost the top and center layer of two, stacked, 9-inch cake rounds (but not the sides) or the top of a 13×9×2-inch rectangular cake. If you are looking to frost the sides of the stacked cake rounds as well, consider doubling these amounts.

Note: I halved the recipe and since I didn’t have a cake pan I baked it in this bundt-like cake pan.  It was maybe 10″ in diameter. Also, I didn’t frost the sides of the cake and I don’t think the sides need frosting.

THIS IS REALLY GOOD! SUPER GOOD! So moist and delicious!  The crumb was perfect.  I think the cake without the frosting would still be good with maybe just a light dusting of powdered sugar, but I think the frosting is wonderful, so personally I would add it.

I originially got this recipe from http://dineanddish.net/2009/10/dealing-with-postpartum-depression-recipe-deep-dark-chocolate-cake/.

1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup brown sugar
about 1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups coconut flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
about 3/4 cup chocolate chunks (give or take)

Melt the coconut oil, either in a boiler or by the microwave. I microwaved the coconut oil for 9 seconds less than 2 minutes.  Add the agave nectar to the coconut oil.  Then pour into a bowl and add brown sugar.  Stir until mixed (it will be separated).  Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, until fully incorportated.  Add coconut flour, baking powder and soda and salt.  While half mixed-in, add the chocolate chunks and mix until fully incorporated.

Wrap in plastic and form into logs.  When you want to bake them, preheat to 375 degrees Farhenheit.  Bake 10 minutes or until firm to the touch.

(I haven’t baked my yet. They are sitting in my fridge so I’ll post on here once I bake some!) Enjoy!

PS. The batter is pretty good.

Okay, I’ve baked some.  They are not so good. I mean, they’re okay but you’ll be left with the feeling that you should have just made good ol’ regular chocolate chip cookies.  You can distinctly taste the coconut flavor of the coconut flour which may or may not be good. I can’t decide.

But back to Moroccann Mint Tea! The dinner celebration was held at a wonderful resturant called, Zatar (here’s their website: http://www.zatarrestaurant.com/) and following a wonderful and delicious dinner, one of the drinkable options for dessert was moroccann mint tea.  It was so wonderful I downed at least 2 cups worth which in their tea cups was 6 tea cups! Little did I know that this tea has caffiene it in, so be warned! Here’s the recipe (that I found myself):

water
2 bags of gunpowder green tea
a few sprigs of frest mint
1/2 to 1 cup of sugar

In a tea pot, boil the water (maybe 4-5 cups worth).  Once boiled, add the sugar and mint leave by playing them in the pot and then add the bags of green tea.  Allow the teapot to again boil, and once boiled. Taste.

Depedning on how sweet (or not sweet) you like your tea, add sugar accordingly. Apparently, in the middle east they like their tea very sweet so they add a lot of sugar.

Thai Soup

6 cups good-quality chicken stock
half a soft shell crab (makes about 1/2 cup worth of soft-shell crab meat)
1 lemongrass stalk
4 kaffir limes leaves (fresh or frozen)*
1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced*
1 thumb-size piece ginger, minced (or galangal)
3 fresh red chilies, minced (to taste)
3/4 can of  good-quality coconut milk
2 Tbsp. lime juice (about 1 1/2 limes)
2+ Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. brown sugar (optional, according to taste)
handful fresh cilantro (optional)
handful fresh basil leaves (optional)
3 spring (green) onions, sliced

*I didn’t have kaffir lime leaves so I didn’t add them.  Also, I don’t like mushrooms so I substituted half a small green cabbage, 1 carrot sliced, and 1 celery stick sliced. Also, I added the green onion with the vegetables instead of waiting to place fresh green onion on the soup with cilantro.

Slice and mince the lower portion of the lemongrass stalk**. Retain the upper stalk for the soup pot (I didn’t do this).

Place chicken broth in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. If you have leftover chicken or turkey bones, add those too. Bring to a boil.

Add the crab, chicken and large slices of carrot. Also add the prepared lemongrass (including upper stalk pieces), plus kaffir lime leaves and fresh chili. Boil 5-8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.

Turn heat down to medium. Add the ginger, half the can of coconut milk, fish sauce, and extra vegetables. Stir well. Simmer gently 1-2 minutes.

Turn heat down to minimum. Add lime juice and stir.

Do a taste test. Look for a balance between spicy, sour, salty, and sweet flavors. Start with salty, adding more fish sauce if not salty or flavorful enough (1 tbsp. at a time). If too sour, add the sugar plus a little more if you need it. If too spicy, or if you’d like it creamier, add more coconut milk. If not spicy enough, add more chili.

Ladle soup into serving bowls. Sprinkle a little cilantro, basil, and green onion over each bowl.

**Refer to this site about how to deal with your lemongrass stalk: All About Lemongrass Guide

Before you try it, I must warn you: this is SPICY!!! But good spicy!

I based my recipe off this one: http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaisnacks/r/TomKaKaisoup.htm

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Now I have tried (and my Mom) to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe and these are definitely up there.  Now I am not going to go around claiming these are the best because everyone likes their cookies different.  Some like their cookies thick and chewy, other thin and crispy, and still others gooey in the middle and barely cooked! A single recipe can’t be all those things and so a single recipe simply cannot be the best, but can only be some people’s version of the best.  Without further adieu, here is the recipie slightly modified:

1 stick of butter
1/4 c. + 3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. + 1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. + 1/2 tbsp.  all purpose flour
1/4 tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tbsp. vanilla extract
8 oz. slivered, chopped dark chocolate*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper (or aluminum foil if you don’t have any).

Cream butter and sugars together.  Add egg and vanilla and mix on “high” at least 1 minute by hand. Add flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder only slightly mixing, then add in the chopped chocolate and combine thoroughly.

Drop onto cookie sheet in about 1 inch balls spread about 1-2 inches apart.  Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!

*Torres says to use chocolate that is at least 60% cocoa content.  I ended up using Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate pound bar and since I didn’t have a scale, I guesstimated which ended up being 10 squares minus some being munched on.

Important to note, I made some mistakes while making these… First, I was taking butter straight from the freezer, so I decided to microwave it to soften the butter.  Well, I melted it! Opps.  But then I threw the melted butter the in the freezer for a few minutes and then added the sugars, which ended up turning out fine! Also I slightly over baked my cookies… Don’t do this!! It will make them a little tough. I think if you sprinkled a little bit of sea salt over ever cookie pre-baking, it will really give it a nice little zing!

Hope you enjoy the cookies!

Here is the original recipe: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/091crex.html

I was inspiried to make these after coming across this blogger’s post on Tastespotting! http://www.theparsleythief.com/2009/12/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookie.html

Just to give you a little intro, I love sweets.  In fact, I eat so many sweets a friend of mine once told me, in middle school, that I was going to get diabetes from eating too much sugar! At the time I thought, giving up sweets or getting diabetes and living a life without cookies, cakes, and all things baked… diabetes here I come! Now, I’m about a decade older and in college at UC Berkeley (whoo!!), and have a slightly different attitude about sugar.  While it’s wonderful in baked goods, it is really beneficial to your health and general well-being to limit your sugar intake.  Which in turn, is partly the reason I have started using light Blue Agave Nectar Syrup, and also partly because I am currently living in Berkeley and well, can you say prevalent hippie culture?  But! That’s not a bad thing, there are so many things available in Berkeley in terms of food: you can buy tons of raw food, vegan food, gluten-free food, imported food, it’s crazy what Berkeley has to offer throughout its different stores.  (Just to clarify, I’m still a meat eater.)  Anywho, I thought what a better way to start this food blog, than with everyone’s favorite: Brownies!

Warm, Gooey Dense Brownies that are healthy?

But these aren’t just any brownies.  These are, dare I say, healthy brownies! But as some of my housemates stated, healthy brownies is an oxymoron, which I must agree with.  At least these aren’t as terrible for you as regular brownies! Okay, so here is the recipe:

1 c. coconut flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Organic)*
2/3 c. cocoa powder
¼ + 2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tbsp. baking powder
¾ c. virgin coconut oil*
1/4 c. olive oil
3 large eggs
1 c. lukewarm water, minus 1 tbsp.
2 and ½  tbsp. vanilla extract
¾ c. agave syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Butter a 8×8 inch pan or spray with an oil spray.

Melt the coconut oil in the microwave, 2 minutes  on HIGH should do the trick. Add 1/4 cup chocolate chips and microwave some more to melt chocolate chips, then stir until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.

Combine agave nectar syrup and eggs, mixing in eggs one at a time.  Then add vanilla and oil.  Stir in chocolate oil mixture.

Add all dry ingredients, coconut flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. While mixing the dry ingredients in, add in water in about 1/3 cup amounts, stirring until completely mixed in, then add more water, etc. until all the water is in the mixture.  Stir in the rest of the chocolate chips.

Pour into pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top of the brownies are dry to the touch, and if you dip in a knife, a small amount of batter comes up. (I like my brownies gooey!)  Remove from the oven and let cool at least 5 minutes.  Then, dig in!  Or you could wait until they are completely cool… I don’t know how that is possible though if warm, gooey chocolate brownies are sitting in your kitchen.  You must be loco! Or not like chocolate.

Hope you enjoy them! They are wonderful! All my housemates enjoyed them, as did I.

WARNING: Super tasty and addictive!

*I bought the coconut flour, virgin coconut oil and light agave nectar syrup from Whole Foods Market. The coconut flour and oil are pretty hard to find in most towns, but the agave nectar is gaining popularity and should be at your local (health-minded) grocery store.

You might be wondering, why coconut flour and coconut oil?  Why agave nectar? All good questions. About a year ago I would have wondered the same thing.  A friend from back home who is a healthy and fitness specialist, highly recommends turning away from trans fat and such, and also many wheat products.  His philosophy is to mimic the lifestyle and diet of our ancient ancestors, to reap maximum health benefits and lead a healthy lifestyle.  Thus, turning to coconut flour which is both are gluten (and wheat free) is a smart choice, as it also has many healthy fats for you, a significant amount of fiber and protein!  Virgin Coconut Oil is also a very healthy choice as its fat content is almost all saturated (good) fat, lots vitamin E, and other benefits. Agave Nectar is a natural sweetener (like honey) which is low-glycemic meaning it won’t cause a huge spike in your blood sugar levels! It also happens to have anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties.  Apparently, the Aztecs used to use it to treat wounds because of its antibacterial properties!

Also, important to note, I based this off another food blogger’s website! Thanks! http://www.alwaysorderdessert.com/2008/08/midnight-cravings-fudgy-coconut-flour.html