Heidi's Coconut Macaroon Pancakes

These are glorious. I printed the recipe the moment I read it on 101 Cookbooks. They are something of a happy experiment for Heidi - and I can only hope she has more of them!

These aren't your light and fluffy pancakes, no sir. They are dense (yet delicate), sweet and chewy. They are everything that is wonderful about the coconut macaroon, but miraculously a pancake instead. Now, I am a big fan of the fluffy pancake, but these are certainly a treat. Dave didn't love them as much as I did, but that's because he has "texture issues" with coconut. I love him anyway.

The only real trick to these is the flipping. The shredded coconut doesn't spread as much as the batter as they cook, which means you'll have a bit of thin pancake around the periphery of the pancake... and it is a little daintier than the center - which makes it a little iffy on the flip. Take your time and you will be rewarded.

I chose not to syrup them - a little butter did me fine. With a side of bacon, these beauties made a wonderful mid-week dinner. (I even took some leftovers for lunch! Lucky me!)

Coconut Macaroon Pancakes
c/o Heidi at 101 Cookbooks
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/coconut-macaroon-pancakes-recipe.html

Look for shredded coconut where each thread is thin and at least 1/2-inch long. Not dusty or fleck-like. If you make the batter the night before, the batter will thicken up quite a bit. Give it a stir, but dont worry about it beyond that. Drop little scoops onto the griddle - they will flatten out when they come into contact with the heat. They go from golden to burnt in a flash, so stay attentive. I prefer to use whole wheat pastry flour for this recipe but you can substitute whatever you have on hand - all-purpose flour, or regular pastry flour. Lemon zest might be a great addition, as would ginger, and/or toasted, chopped macadamia nuts.

1 14-ounce can of coconut milk
2 tablespoons honey (or agave nectar)
1 /4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose or regular pastry flour)
3 cups unsweetened dried shredded coconut
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs. whisked in a medium bowl
1/4 cup brown sugar

In a small saucepan heat the coconut milk and honey, bring barely to a simmer.

In a separate large bowl combine the flour, coconut, salt and baking powder. Stir the coconut milk into the flour mixture.

Whisk about 1/3 cup of the coconut mixture into the eggs. Now quickly mix the eggs back into the large bowl of coconut batter. Stir until well combined. You can do this the night before if you like.

Heat your favorite non-stick (or very well-seasoned) skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. Test for the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts to dance, you are in the ballpark. Drop a heaping tablespoon into the skillet, sprinkle the top with a bit of brown sugar. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Makes dozens of silver dollar sized pancakes, or a dozen or so larger ones.

See the recipe...

Heidi's Caramelized Tofu Recipe

I made this back in February, but it would make a really nice Spring-time dinner. I actually made it within days of Heidi's posting about it, but because of that, I didn't want to chat about it while it was still fresh on her blog... and then it sat there and sat there... waiting patiently.

For those of you that shudder at the idea of tofu or Brussels sprouts, those that are quaking at the idea of both these ingredients together in one dinner, I beg you - suspend your disbelief and give this a try. The tofu-steaks are flavored nicely by the garlic, pecans and sugar, and the quick saute of the sprouts leaves them bright and crisp-tender. I promise you will not be disappointed.

I had great fun preparing this dinner. Not only was I able to break out my v-slicer to shred my sprouts, but I only dirtied up one pan during the cooking process! Sweet! The nice thing about the thinly sliced sprouts is that they don't need long in the pan to be cooked-through and caramelized. Only a few minutes to golden-up in parts, and you're good to go. Quick, easy, nutritious.

The varying textures were really nice, too. The soft-but-not-squishy tofu with the the crunch of the pecans atop the tender-but-not-squidgy sprouts... no uniform bites here! Try this. You'll like it.

Caramelized Tofu Recipe
c/o Heidi at 101 Cookbooks
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/caramelized-tofu-recipe.html

7 - 8 ounces extra-firm tofu cut into thin 1-inch segments (see photo)
a couple pinches of fine-grain sea salt
a couple splashes of olive or peanut oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 lb. brussels sprouts, washed and cut into 1/8-inch wide ribbons

Cook the tofu strips in large hot skillet (or pot) with a bit of salt and a splash of oil. Saute until slightly golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and pecans, and cook for another minute. Stir in sugar. Cook for another couple of minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Scrape the tofu out onto a plate and set aside while you cook the brussels sprouts.

In the same pan (no need to wash), add a touch more oil, another pinch of salt, and dial the heat up to medium-high. When the pan is nice and hot stir in the shredded brussels sprouts. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring a couple times (but not too often) until you get some golden bits, and the rest of the sprouts are bright and delicious.

Serves 2 - 3 as a main, 4 as a side

See the recipe...

Heidi Swanson's Madeleines Went Straight to My Belly

See all of those madeleines up there? See them? They are ALL GONE!! So delicious and addictive they were, that I made them Sunday afternoon and they were but mere crumbs-on-a-plate by last night. So. The Madeline Math here, if you will, is this: 24 madeleines gone in 24 hours, 8 hours asleep, 10 hours away at work = we consumed 24 madeleines in less than 6 hours!!!!! OMG!

What's really nice (and a bit scary) about these madeleines is that yah, we ate 'em.. but I never felt sick of them (or sick-sick of them). No belly ache, to being tired of eating them... I could eat a whole 'nother 24 of them over the next few days. I did have help, btw.

I clearly need to never make these again. Or, I need more than one madeleine pan, so I can make MORE of them FASTER!!!!!

Should you like to make some of Heidi Swanson's delicious little madeleine dream-boats, go check our her recipe! Make them! Do it! And I can personally vouch for her pouring-the-batter-from-a-glass trick. Worked like a charm. Just pour what you need into a glass and then pour into the pan. I got crazy and then refilled more than I needed while my pan was in the oven, in preparation for batch number two, and the batter started to separate. So I needed to pour it back in and whisk it up. So yah, just pour what you need at the time.

I'm having some girls over in a couple of weeks, so I might make these again soon... however, I'd need to share them with the girls... and I'm not sure I'm ready to do that. ;)

See the recipe...

Garlic Scape Soup

I am a little late to the Super Natural Cooking party, but I have to say, better late than never! :) I'd ordered Heidi Swanson's book over a month ago, but I'd gotten about 8 books at the time, so its taken me a while. I really love the easy style of the book, as though Heidi is right there with me in my kitchen and while I'm less familiar with some of her ingredients, the finished products look so amazing, I'm happy to seek them out.

Tonight's secret ingredient wasn't hard to come by. I received my first garlic scapes in my CSA box two weeks ago, and I've been hooked ever since. Anytime I saw them, I bought more. So many more, I'd amassed quite a pile!!! I was flipping through Super Natural Cooking and landed on the Garlic Scape Soup recipe and jackpot noises went off in my head (not in a creepy way).

This soup was flavorful and earthy and such a vibrant green (that my camera couldn't quite capture). The flavor of the scapes was delicate and friendly - I'd bee worried that it would be too garlicy, and thus a little scary. I was happily surprised and I'm thrilled we have lots of leftovers!!!

Garlic Scape Soup
From Super Natural Cooking, by Heidi Swanson
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Natural-Cooking-Incorporate-Ingredients/dp/1587612755/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6815521-7348005?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182220708&sr=8-1

2 tablespoons clarified butter or extra-virgin olive oil
2 dozen garlic scapes, flower buds discarded and green shoots chopped
3 large russet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into ½ inch dice
5 cups vegetable stock or water
2 large handfuls spinach leaves, stemmed
Juice of ½ lemon
½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup heavy cream (optional)
Chive blossoms, for garnish (optional)

Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the scapes and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and stock, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through and beginning to break down.

Remove from the heat, add the spinach, and puree using a hand blender. (If you must use a conventional blender, be careful; the hot liquid can burst out the top and make a huge, potentially painful mess. Try leaving the lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape. Cover the top with a kitchen towel and blend in batches at low speed.) Season with the lemon juice, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Whisk in the cream for a silkier texture. If the soup tastes flat, add salt a few big pinches at a time until the flavors really pop. Serve garnished with the chive blossoms.

Serves 4 to 6.

See the recipe...