The Pajama Chef

SRC: Apple Rubies in Coconut Milk

March 9, 2014August 28, 2014 Sarah

Welcome to another edition of SRC! [Insert shameless plug for my photo canvas giveaway, now through 3/15/14]. Hope you’re all adjusting to that time change. Boo to losing an hour! I grew up without daylight savings time [most of the state of Indiana abstained until I was in college] so this is a semi-new thing for me. Falling back is great…but springing forward? Not so much. But enough about the time… a fun new dessert is calling your name!

My Secret Recipe Club blog this month was Inquiring Chef, written by Jess, an American currently living in Thailand with her husband. She’s pregnant with twin girls! How fun! Jess has a huge repertoire of recipes on her blog–from Thai dishes like Shrimp Bites with Peanut Lime Dipping Sauce, Red Curry Salmon with Coconut Brown Rice, or Pad See Ew, to more traditional dishes like Pimento Cheese, Bagels, and Potato Pancakes. I wanted to make everything!! In the end, I realized I had to go with a Thai dish. How could I not? Instead of a noodle creation, I landed on this unique dessert–Apple Rubies in Coconut Milk. I have seriously never heard of anything like this before…and let me tell you–it is fabulous!

Jess describes this dish so well that I am going to borrow her description: “Each bite is all at once crunchy, creamy, chewy, cold… almost impossible to describe.” Basically, what you have here is are apples soaked in juice, coated with tapioca flour, and then boiled to create a gelatinous coating. These sweet nuggets are served in a bowl with creamy, luscious coconut milk and crushed ice to create a fun taste and texture experience. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but whatever you have in your mind… this is even better! It’s sweet, but not overly so. If apples aren’t your thing, don’t be dismayed: Jess decided to use apples after the traditional “rubies” ingredient [water chestnuts] weren’t to her liking. And it’s genius! Be sure to check out Jess’ post for tips on preparing this dish [hint: use large pots and bowls, and have everything prepped ahead of time]. Thanks, Jess, for a great dish!

one year ago: Quick Chocolate Pudding
two years ago: Quinoa Pancakes
three years ago: Lemon Blueberry Bread

Apple Rubies in Coconut Milk [from Inquiring Chef]
click to print

Ingredients:

2 crisp apples, cored, peeled, and cut into small pieces [Fiji, McIntosh, Pink Lady, Gala as well as any other crisp type would work well]
2 cups red juice [I used grape; Jess used pomegranate]
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups coconut milk
crushed ice, for topping

Directions:

Place apples and juice in a small bowl to soak, making sure apples are completely covered. Soak for 20 minutes.

While apples soak, bring a large pot of water to boil. Set a medium bowl of ice water next to stove to use as an ice bath.

In another bowl, stir together tapioca flour and sugar. After apples are drained, pour apples into tapioca mixture, tossing evenly to coat. Shake off extra tapioca mixture and gently drop coated apples into boiling water. Boil for 5 minutes, until coating is transparent. Remove from water and place in ice bath.

Drain apples and divide between 4 small bowls. Top each bowl with 1/2 cup coconut milk and a serving of crushed ice. Serve immediately.

Time: 40 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings.

Notes: This dish is traditionally made with water chestnuts so those could be used in place of the apples if you wish.

Check out all the other SRC recipes for this month below!

Linked up with Weekend Potluck.

Menu Plans

Menu Plan

March 8, 2014 Sarah

Week of March 10

Monday: African Peanut Pineapple Stew
Tuesday: Tortellini Soup
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: lentil tacos
Friday: out to eat
Saturday: spaghetti
Sunday: French Dip Sandwiches

Giveaways

Printcopia Review & Giveaway

March 7, 2014March 17, 2014 Sarah

In January, I entered a giveaway for a Printcopia canvas on Jenna’s fabulous blog, aptly named Jenna’s Everything Blog. I sadly didn’t win, but just a few days later received an email from August at Printcopia offering ME a complimentary 8×10 inch canvas to review and then a second one to giveaway to one of YOU! Of course, I jumped at the chance.

We are still decorating our Nashville apartment and have [more than] a few bare walls. Decorating isn’t really my forte–cooking is. 🙂 Ben and I lamented for days to decide what photo we should have printed on our canvas, and in the end chose one from our vacation a few summers ago to Vail, Colorado. So, we ordered it and waited… and shortly after received the print in the mail. You guys. I was SO impressed with the quality of Printcopia’s work. The canvas is sturdy and the photo quality is excellent. It was packed really well for shipping too. Please do not judge the quality of these canvases by my photography. We ended up hanging the canvas in our bedroom, next to my dresser, and that room just doesn’t have much natural light.

One neat thing about Printcopia’s process is that you have several options for the wraparound portion of the canvas. These canvases do not come framed, so you can choose a solid color for the edges, or have several ways to orient your photo to mirror or continue around the edges. I chose the mirroring option because I thought it enhanced the photo the best. Aside from canvases, Printcopia also produces acrylic prints, panoramic photos, framed prints, decals, signs, and more. Their website was very easy to use and shipping was fast. Thank you SO much, August and the team at Printcopia. You are a great company to work with, and I am grateful that you reached out to me. I am happy that one of you will get to experience the magic of Printcopia in your own home. 🙂

I know there are lots of DIY options online for canvases or photo artwork, but frankly, I don’t always enjoy that process and the results are not always high quality. Printcopia advertises themselves as gallery quality, and I believe it. I know bloggers always say this sort of thing, but I mean it: I will be ordering more canvas prints from this wonderful company. They integrate with Facebook and Instagram and I have all sorts of fun ideas of my next canvas to make. But now it’s your turn!

There are three entries available for this giveaway, and the winner will receive a free 8×10 inch canvas print thanks to the team at Printcopia. Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry so it is properly counted.

Here’s how to enter:

Mandatory entry: leave a comment telling me what photograph you would like to have made into a canvas.
Optional entry: Like my blog on Facebook, and come back and tell me in a separate comment that you did [entries will be verified].
Optional entry: Follow me on Pinterest, pin a recipe from my blog, and come back here to leave the link in another comment [entries will be verified].

Entries will be accepted until Saturday, March 15 2014 at midnight Central Time. One [1] winner will be selected randomly through Random.org and will be contacted via email soon after. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before an alternate winner will be chosen.

Giveaway open only to residents of the United States.

Thanks and good luck!

Disclosure: I received a complimentary photo canvas from Printcopia to design and review, and a second copy to giveaway to a blog reader. I was not compensated for my time or to publish positive comments. My opinions are my own.

Breakfast, Recipes, Spreads

Strawberry Yogurt

March 5, 2014March 3, 2014 Sarah

Ben and I are yogurt-a-holics. Seriously, at any given time we have about half a shelf of our fridge full of yogurt. Tubs of plain or vanilla. Individual cartons of sundry flavors. It is insane! For awhile, I even made our own yogurt in the crockpot, then strained it out to make homemade Greek yogurt. While that stuff was good, it was time consuming and I fell out of the habit. But our other habit [buying a bazillion flavors at the store] is expensive. What’s a girl to do? Make my own toppings, of course!

Back in the days of homemade yogurt I purchased multiple flavors of jam to stir into homemade yogurt. That was easy, but pricy, and took up tons of valuable fridge space. This time, I had some frozen fruit for smoothies and made up a quick strawberry puree with just a bit of sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Hardly a recipe, yobut this sauce is a perfect addition to those store bought tubs of plain yogurt and I thought some of you may enjoy it too! Lately I’ve been prepping mason jars of strawberry yogurt on the weekend and enjoying them at work all week long. For an extra treat, add some homemade granola or a few mini chocolate chips! Yum!

one year ago: Cumin-Scented Cabbage Salad
two years ago: Extraordinary Grilled Cheese
three years ago: The Best Egg Salad I’ve Ever Had

Strawberry Yogurt
click to print

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen strawberries
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
32 ounces plain yogurt [regular or greek]

Directions:

In a nonreactive saucepan, combine strawberries, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon. Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to let berries defrost, then set over low heat, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and berries begin to break down. Gently break larger berries apart with a wooden spoon. Pour into a small bowl to cool.

Meanwhile, divide yogurt between 6 containers [1 cup/8 ounces each]. When strawberry sauce has cooled, top yogurt with 2-3 tablespoons strawberry sauce. You may have a little sauce leftover. Cover and refrigerate until ready to enjoy.

Time: 60 minutes [10 minutes active].
Yield: 6 servings yogurt, approximately 1 cup strawberry sauce.

Reviews

Book Review: The Dancing Master

March 3, 2014March 2, 2014 Sarah

Happy Monday! Need a book to read during this March snowy/icy week? How about Julie Klassen’s The Dancing Master? It is a fun read that I’m excited to share with you today. I was sent a free copy of this novel as part of Bethany House Publishers‘ book review program.

Here is a description of the book from the publisher:

Finding himself the man of the family, London dancing master Alec Valcourt moves his mother and sister to remote Devonshire, hoping to start over. But he is stunned to learn the village matriarch has prohibited all dancing, for reasons buried deep in her past.

Alec finds an unlikely ally in the matriarch’s daughter. Though he’s initially wary of Julia Midwinter’s reckless flirtation, he comes to realize her bold exterior disguises a vulnerable soul–and hidden sorrows of her own.

Julia is quickly attracted to the handsome dancing master–a man her mother would never approve of–but she cannot imagine why Mr. Valcourt would leave London, or why he evades questions about his past. With Alec’s help, can Julia uncover old secrets and restore life to her somber village. . .and to her mother’s tattered heart?

Filled with mystery and romance, The Dancing Master brings to life the intriguing profession of those who taught essential social graces for ladies and gentlemen hoping to make a “good match” in Regency England.

And as usual, my five point review:

I use Goodreads to help me find new books. [Follow me!] Sometimes before beginning a new book, I’ll peruse the reviews before I begin reading [non-spoiler ones, that is] and one of the first ones I saw was that this book is “Footloose in Regency England!” How fun, I thought–and it was. An all around fun read.
My biggest gripe about The Dancing Master was that everything was soooooo drawwwwwn outttttt. Writing like that reminds me of my sister, circa 2007. But seriously, it takes forever to learn WHY dancing has been all but outlawed in this tiny town, and even then, it’s a pretty outlandish reason. Maybe it wouldn’t have been outlandish back in Regency times but it seemed sort of silly today.
There were lots of secrets in this book, and I liked that the reader didn’t learn secrets before the characters do. Many good books are set up that way, but sometimes it is fun to try to figure out the mysterious events as the characters do.
Speaking of characters, many times I like the main female leads in these cheesy romances. This time? Not so much. I think Julia learns a lot throughout the events in the novel, but something about her rubbed me the wrong way. It wasn’t that she was super spoiled or selfish; she’s just annoying at times. She has a few good friends though [including Alec’s sister] that I would really like to know better. A spinoff perhaps? Alec was very likeable. I enjoyed hearing a lot of the story from his point of view–a bit unusual, the male perspective, but very good.
All in all, this was a good book. Fun. Exciting. Unpredictable [well, as much as romances are]. I enjoyed the setting and the history lesson about the upperclass social graces of the time. Dancing masters also taught fencing, so it was fun to read about Alec fencing too. Hope you enjoy this book like I did!

What are you reading lately?

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers. However, I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts expressed above are entirely my own. Thanks to Bethany House for the chance to read this great book!