coconut balls

for book club our most recent read was super sad true love story by gary shteyngart. now i don't know about other book clubs but ours is as much about the food that everyone brings as much as it is about the books we read. for each book we choose a food relevant theme and since one theme in this book was trying to live forever it only seemed appropriate that we all bring our most healthy creations. i feel that dessert is always important so i set upon making a healthy sweet. i remembered getting an email from the vegnews recipe club awhile back for these dried fruit coconut balls and figured now would be a perfect time* to give them a shot. sometimes when i get home from work i have trouble getting a dish together in time for book club but these are super quick and easy. everyone seemed to enjoy them and two comments i remember are that they 1. taste like christmas and 2. taste like a lara bar...but better (of course). so that gives you a little idea of what you're getting.

i stuck to the recipe except that i used dried cranberries instead of raisins because i don't like raisins much and while i'm sure they're fine all mixed up with the others in here the store didn't have any in the bulk bins and i surely was not about to buy a big bag of those suckers. speaking of the bulk bins, if you buy all of this stuff in bulk it's pretty cheap to get all the ingredients.

coconut balls
ingredients:
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup raw walnuts
3/4 cup dates, pitted
3/4 cup dried apricots
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons orange juice
zest of 1 orange
shredded coconut, for coating

in a food processor, pulverize cranberries, walnuts, dates and apricots for 1 to 2 minutes until finely chopped (or mere seconds if you have a brand new food processor!!!) add coconut, orange juice and zest. process for an additional 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture comes together to form a ball.

place some coconut on a plate. dampen hands with water, form mixture into one inch balls and roll in shredded coconut.

eat away!

i've been storing the leftovers in the fridge and they're pretty tasty cold as well. and they firm up a bit too if you keep them in there.

-d

*not only because they fit the theme but also because kris got me a big food processor(!) for my birthday and i am in love (with it and also with him).

coconut bacon

i don't normally repost recipes that i make from other blogs but i must share this one because if you have not heard about the magic of coconut bacon you are really missing out! sure, tempeh bacon is good stuff but this! this is amazing. the flavor is similar but it has a crunch that i have never been able to get from tempeh bacon. and sometimes maybe you just want to lay off the soy and switch things up a bit. well coconut bacon to the rescue!

the blog i found this on is called good good things. i made mine much the same way as she did - soy sauce, liquid smoke, maple syrup (and i added apple cider vinegar) in a bowl to taste. you can search for a recipe if you want but this isn't a science and i think it would be pretty hard to mess up. into that mixture add a bunch of large, unsweetened flaked coconut (i found mine at the bulk store in my neighborhood). toss it around to cover all of the coconut and let it sit for a bit while the oven heats up to 350. spread it out on a baking sheet, good good things recommends 10 minutes then stir it around and keep a close eye, checking and stirring every minute. good advice. when it's done take it out and let it cool for a minute and it should be nice and crisp crisp crisp. it does retain a slight coconut flavor and that is not a bad thing. trust me.

first we made blt's (obviously) and they were yummy. but this morning was when the amazingness happened. vegan jackson crooks for breakfast. for those not in the know a jackson crook is a bagel sandwich from bagel rising in boston. i have never had one myself but kris loved them back in the day and many argue that they are the best bagel sandwich there is. so that's what you see pictured at the top of this post: bagel (garlic here), coconut bacon, red onion and tomato. i cheated and went open faced. kris made a proper one sandwich style.


-d

coconut green beans

this is a recipe that i ripped out of a magazine oh i'd say....nine months ago (at least) and promptly stuck on the fridge. i've been dying to make it since the minute i saw it (well....obviously not if it's taken me this long) but whenever i thought of it i was always missing one ingredient. most recently that ingredient was mustard seeds which i actually remembered to buy this past weekend. then while strolling the farmers market yesterday i saw green beans and it was on!

i'm a big fan of simply prepared green beans - steamed until just tender and tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and maybe some sauteed garlic - but man, if you're looking to dress them up this recipe is the way to go. they are crisp, mustard-y, a bit spicy and have the most delicious toasted flavors from both the coconut and the cashews. kris and i gobbled them down and they are definitely going in the rotation.

coconut green beans
(a padma lakshmi recipe)
ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 tablespoons cashew pieces
4 whole dried red chilies
1 1/2 lbs. green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
salt, to taste

heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. add the mustard seeds. when the seeds start to pop, add the cashews and chilies.

once the cashews are toasted, add green beans and stir. cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. add coconut and salt.

cook another 8-10 minutes (mine only took about 5 minutes) while stirring. when green beans are cooked through but still crisp, remove from heat and serve.