Homemade Coconut Milk

The other day, my husband randomly wanted to buy a fresh coconut.  Ooookaaay, but what the heck are we going to do with it?  Based on my research online, it seems that most people either make homemade toasted coconut or coconut milk.  I went with the coconut milk route because it’s a great excuse to use my handy dandy new blender. Here are some easy tips on how to make homemade coconut milk using only 2 ingredients. Homemade Coconut Milk Recipe (Makes 16 ounces) Ingredients: 2 cups water 1 cup fresh coconut meat, chopped (see directions) Directions: Figure out how to break …

Continue Reading

Tomato Basil Baked Gnocchi

When I was younger my parents required that the entire family be together at dinner time.  We talked about our day or chatted about whatever we wanted.  As a kid, I just saw it as family time, but now I realize how important that time was to connect with one another.  Now as a married woman, I’ve kept the same tradition going.  No matter how busy we may get, my husband and I always know that we have dinnertime to together and that makes us happy.  We may have deep philosophical conversations or talk about the weather or anything in between.  There’s something …

Continue Reading

Light Fudgy Brownies

Do you know how the brownie came about?  I’ve made a lot of brownies (who hasn’t?), but after making this latest batch, I was curious.  Go go Google.  Here’s some Food History 101.  For the Chicago (Illinois, USA) 1893 World Fair, a woman by the name of Bertha Palmer requested a dessert for the ladies in attendance of the Fair.  She wanted someting that was cake-like but smaller in size.  A chef at Chicago’s Palmer House Hotel created what we all know now as a brownie. Since then a million bazillion brownie recipes have been invented.  (Yes, I counted.     😉 )  They can be fudgy or …

Continue Reading

Indian Chickpea Salad

I finally watched the movie, Frozen, and I love it!  Don’t worry, I won’t talk about it in detail to avoid spoilers for those who haven’t seen it yet.  Olaf is seriously the coolest snowman ever.  (I want one!)  It’s a great movie with several good songs in it, but the song “Let It Go” stands out as being the one that is stuck in my head.  You know a song is stuck in your head when you find yourself singing it in the shower and in the car even over the radio playing a different song.  Even if you haven’t …

Continue Reading

Eggplant And Asparagus Stacks

Is everyone in detox mode after overeating over the holidays?  After all, bathing suit season is right around the corner.  It’s been on my mind too and I thought you might feel the same.  I’m kicking the healthy lifestyle into high gear, including some healthy eats, like these eggplant and asparagus stacks. These roasted veggies are stacked with layers of a lemony ricotta cheese and topped with mozzarella cheese. Eggplant And Asparagus Stacks Recipe (About 4 servings) Ingredients: 1 large eggplant 16 asparagus spears (about 1 and 1/2 pounds) 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 container …

Continue Reading