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Hawaiian Haupia Coconut Custard

It was tempting to make a Hawaiian-inspired dessert using pineapples… but as I mentioned to you originally, we were instructed by our Guruji to only make one dish with pineapple for the Hawaiian Vegetarian Festival a few weeks ago.

To be honest… I liked the idea and the challenge, because as I have learned, Hawaiian cooking is much more than about the pineapple. And just by adding pineapple to something, doesn’t make it Hawaiian, right?? This was a Hawaiian Festival, not a pineapple festival.

A typical Hawaiian dessert is haupia… very similar to a Puerto Rican tembleque. To make sure the locals didn’t confuse this Hawaiian dessert with its local “braddah”, as they say in the islands, we added a nice little twist, of lime rind that is and a drizzle of carob syrup.

HAWAIIAN HAUPIA COCONUT CUSTARD

2 cans of coconut milk or one 25oz can

1 cup of water

6 tbs cornstarch

2/3 cups brown sugar

¼ tsp salt

2 pieces of lime rind

In a large saucepan or small pot at medium high heat, add the coconut milk. Feel free to use a larger pot than you think you might need so you’ll have enough space to stir the mix.
Add the sugar, salt and lime rinds and stir well with a wooden spoon.
Add 1 cup of water to the cans to “wash them” from any leftover coconut milk. Add the cornstarch to this water to create a slurry. Mix well with a small whisk and add to the pot on the stove.
Stir the mixture kinda constantly to avoid the cornstarch to fall to the bottom of the pot and create lumps. When the mixture feels it’s starting to thicken, lower the heat so the bottom doesn’t scorch. Continue stirring making a figure 8 until the mixture coats the back of the spoon and when you run your finger thru the coating the side do not come together again.
Transfer individual plastic cups for individual servings. Make sure you remove the lime rinds.
Allow to slightly cool for about 20 minutes on top of the kitchen counter. After that, transfer to the fridge to cool and set for about 2 hours. The final product will set but still be “jiggly” when you shake the mold or cup.
Garnish with a drizzle of carob syrup and a paper umbrella…

Tags: #karmafree, carob, coconut, coconut milk, custard, food, Hawaii, lime rind, Vegan, vegetarian

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Categories desserts

Lomi Tomato

9 May

Lomi Tomato is the vegetarian version of Lomi Salmon, without the salmon. This reminded me so much of when I used to order in Chinese restaurants Chicken with Cashew Nuts, without the Chicken. Somehow people would understand it better when explained like that.

This was the salad portion of our Hawaiian Vegetarian Festival at the Devanand Yoga Center a few weeks ago. To me it’s really important to include in a menu a salad, but I couldn’t find a typical salad in all the searches I did on Hawaiian cuisine. So I adapted a version of this very popular dish and made it vegetarian.

I have never tasted the original… to me it sounded very similar to a tartar or a ceviche, both of which I’ve had. But I thought that by adding macadamia nuts it could be made very interesting. The audience agreed… and you??

LOMI TOMATO

4 cups grape tomatoes, halved

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

½ cup fresh Italian leaf parsley, chopped finely

½ cup olive oil

1 tbs toasted sesame oil

The juice of 2 limes

Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper

A pinch of red pepper flakes, optional

Just place tomatoes, scallions, macadamias and parsley in a large bowl.
In a measuring cup combine the ingredients for the dressing – olive oil, sesame oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Whisk well to combine. Add over the tomato salad and toss to combine.
Allow flavors to marinate tomatoes for about 30 minutes before serving.

We served it over a bad of mixed greens… somehow, a salad is more of an salad when lettuces and something leafy is involved, no?

Tags: food, grape tomatoes, Hawaii, macadamia nuts, parsley, scallion, Vegan, vegetarian

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Categories appetizers, Salad

Top 10 Mom’s Favorite Recipes

7 May

I love my mom to death… we disagree on many things, we argue, but we also have tons in common. We both love to travel, to shop, to decorate, work on home projects, and we have also a mutual love for yoga, meditation and the spiritual lifestyle.

And what do you do to honor and celebrate someone who has giving you everything but also has everything she needs?? You cook for them… because everyone is bound to get hungry sometime and especially if they ask you for something in specific.

Sometimes, when my mom and I go to The Boys Farmer’s Market in Florida, she will see products/ingredients and tell me, “Madelyn… Why don’t you make this tonight?”

So to honor all my mom’s cravings I want to share some of her favorite recipes in KarmaFree Cooking. The ones she requests over and over and over again. Maybe YOUR Mom will enjoy them as well.

Spinach Pinwheels

Cottage Cheese Dip

Tofu with Snow Peas and Bean Sprouts

Quinoa Pasta with Fresh Baby Spinach and Lemon

White Lasagna with Spinach

Spinach-filled Mushrooms

Tomato Bruschetta

Asparagus Tart

Whole Wheat Bread Budín

Pumpkin Cuatro Leches

Apple Crisp

This is a list of 11… but the cottage cheese can’t be called a recipe, but believe me, If I have cottage cheese and chips and my mom passes by, she will undoubtedly stand guard in front of me and eat my stuff until I tell her to stop.

Tags: #karmafree, asparagus, cheese, cottage cheese, food, Goat Cheese, Mom, mother's day, mushroom, pasta, spinach, tomato, Vegan, vegetarian

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Categories appetizers, main courses, snacks

Vegan Longrice Soup

1 May

One of my friends on Facebook suggested this soup as something very traditional to Hawaii… And, coincidentally, it was one of the hits of the Hawaiian Vegetarian Festival at the Yoga Center.

It has quite a few ingredients, but it’s not a complicated recipe at all. It’s all about making a very flavorful broth to enjoy with some veggies and noodles. The cellophane noodles are great because they’re made from mung beans and are naturally gluten-free. This might not be traditional, but I suggest you break up the noodles a bit before adding them to the soup… I find that if you leave them whole, they’re a hassle to serve and eat. Don’t kill the messenger, but I also like shorter noodles of pasta… (ducks head in protection of potential tomatoes thrown her way).

I guess you could use only vegetable stock and avoid the hassle of boiling vegetables for the stock… but I like the idea and flavor the fresh veggies give to the stock. And the ginger needs some time to infuse its flavor into it too. Don’t be afraid at the amount of stock this needs… this recipe will serve about 10-12 people. You’ll need more stock than you’ll think you’ll need because the noodles soak up some and people will go back for seconds. Mark my words…

VEGAN LONGRICE SOUP

4 cups water

1 quart vegetable stock

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

1 large onion, quartered

6 cremini mushrooms, halved

2 bell peppers, seeded and halved or quartered

4 garlic cloves, smashed

Half of a bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley

A 6-inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 large carrots, grated coarsely

1 bunch of watercress leaves

2 packages of cellophane noodles

A bunch of scallions, sliced thinly

Salt and pepper to taste

Toasted Sesame Oil, optional

Toasted Sesame Seeds, optional

In a large stock pot, add the water, vegetable stock, bouillon cubes, onion, mushrooms, peppers, garlic cloves, parsley and ginger. Cover pot and bring stock to a boil and lower heat to medium to simmer for about 30-45 minutes for the veggies to release their flavors. After the stock is done, turn off the heat.
Remove the cooked pieces of onion, parsley, pepper, ginger and any loose garlic cloves you can find. The mushrooms will be so small that you can leave them in.
Add the shredded carrot and the cellophane noodles. Move the noodles around so they hydrate and loosen up.
Add the watercress leaves and sliced scallions. It will stay warm for about 1-2 hours. Garnish with extra scallions, toasted sesame seeds and a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, optional.