Category: food

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, time to try baking with the Earth Balance coconut spread. Chocolate chip cookies are always a good idea. This is just the standard recipe you’ll find on the back of a bag of chips. I substituted the Earth Balance for the butter and flax eggs for the eggs.

The day they were made these were perfect. But the next day they already seemed to start getting stale. Just a little. And that level of staleness stayed that way for a few days then they started getting drier. It may be that with the coconut oil, the fat is just too solid at room temperature and is giving this stale effect. Hitting them for 10 or 15 seconds in the microwave might revive them. I’ll try that today.

 

 

First Silver Comet Trail ride

Usually I don’t like to drive my bike somewhere to ride it. It just seems a little wrong. But there’s only so far I can ride to ride. So Monday I packed up the bike and drove up to the beginning of the Silver Comet Trail in Smyrna. After looking at the maps and mileage online, I decided to go for the Rambo trail access, 22.22 miles away. Yeah, that’s right, RAMBO. Okay, I didn’t pick it because of the name but because the next one was another 11 miles which would’ve put me over 60 miles. That’s a bit too ambitious. Nick came with me despite repeated warnings about how slow I am.

When I do rides like this, I like to go mostly without stopping to the halfway mark, then if I want to take pictures, do it on the way back. And that’s how it worked this time except in this one place. We headed onto a bridge over a railroad track just as a train was approaching. We stopped to watch it pass under and they give us a couple of honks and they pass under. Yay!

See, Rambo Trailhead. Not even making that up.

The trail is downright luxurious compared to the crappy city streets I’m used to. Okay, driving to ride has its merits. We were lucky in that it was overcast which kept the temperatures down, but the trail is largely shaded too.

After 44.4 miles, it’s time for victory pizza at Maddio’s!

Coconut Cream Pie

I’d probably be content smearing the Earth Balance coconut spread on various baked goods, but they sent a nice little pamphlet full of recipes that sound tasty, so it was time to dive in. Okay, I did cheat a little and bought the crust. If you’re looking for a cool, easy summer dessert, this one is nice. There’s only a bit of the coconut spread in the filling, but it adds an extra creaminess. Also, since it uses light coconut milk, it isn’t all that bad for you, 249 calories a serving.

Coconut Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Crust

13 graham crackers (to make 1 1/2 cups crushed)
3 Tbs raw cane sugar
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup melted Earth Balance Coconut Spread

Topping

1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 7oz can vegan whipped topping

Filling

2 1/2 cups unsweetened light coconut milk
1/2 cup raw cane sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
2 Tbs Earth Balance Coconut Spread
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coconut extract

Preheat oven to 350℉ .

Place graham crackers in a plastic ziplock bag and crush using a rolling pin.

Place crushed graham crackers in a bowl and stir in sugar, salt and melted Earth Balance Coconut Spread.

Press graham cracker mixture into a 9-inch pie pan, making sure the bottom and sides are covered. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Keep oven and 350℉.

Place flaked coconut for the topping on a baking sheet and toast in oven 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

Whisk together coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn down to a simmer, stirring continuously until the mixture begins to thicken, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Once the mixture is thick, stir in shredded coconut, Earth Balance Coconut Spread, vanilla extract and coconut extract.

Spoon filling into cooled pie crust, cover with foil and chill for at least one hour.

Top the pie with vegan whipped topping and toasted coconut.

Recipe from Earth Balance Cooking with Coconut pamphlet.

 

 

Thai House and the Symphony

You’d think with my job I’d have access to all kinds of cool free tickets. Not so much. But occasionally something comes along. This Saturday I had tickets for Cirque de la Symphony with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Since we had to travel way up to Alpharetta, a stop at Thai House for dinner was in order.

The sizzling rice soup, every time.

They have two sorts of fake meats: a chickeny one called su gai and a fishy one called su yi. I like the su yi and it’s different than the fake meats anyone else uses so I usually get that. Here it is in green curry form.

And on a bed of rice.

The symphony was okay but the sound wasn’t that great at the amphitheatre. I’d like to see them again at Symphony Hall. The acrobats were amazing, especially the final act. The things they did just were not possible.