Coconut Milk

Why marinate? For added zing, flavor, punch and tenderness. You can marinate almost anything. Fish, steaks, prime rib, shrimp, mushrooms, chicken (of course), pork chops, pork roasts, lamb chops, onions, elk. The original thought behind marinating was to tenderize tough meat, making it palatable enough to eat. The acids, such as vinegar and lemon juice, break down the protein fibers. Were you faddish in the "natural" '70s, using papaya seeds in your marinade instead of Adolph's Meat Tenderizer?

On busy weeknights, we take our dinner shortcuts wherever we can find them. But this doesn't require sacrificing healthy home cooking. Make smart choices - as in this recipe for red curry potatoes and chickpeas - and you can have a great from-scratch dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. For deep, lush, and totally effortless flavor, I use canned coconut milk for the liquid. Looking to cut fat? Don't hesitate to use low-fat coconut milk. It won't be quite so lush, but the flavors will still be great.

From time to time, cooks run across recipes that call for coconut milk. It's easy to buy coconut milk in cans, but fresh coconut milk is much more flavorful and is easy to make. Contrary to many cookbooks' advice, coconut milk is not the liquid found inside the coconut. That is coconut water. The milk is extracted from the flesh of the coconut. There are various methods for soaking coconut flesh in hot water and then straining it, but I find that the following procedure, suggested in Caribbean Cooking (HPBooks, 1989)

An excerpt from the blog "My Daughter's Kitchen. " I know the last recipe for Thai lettuce cups sent my daughter in search of unfamiliar ingredients, namely lemongrass and fish sauce. So in the interest of thrift, not to mention continuing to expand her horizons, I offer a second recipe to use up those ingredients while they are still fresh: Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup. It seems a perfect restorative for these March days, when the weather can't make up its mind.

Cumin, cayenne, and coconut milk are among the diverse flavors of Brazil, where immigrants from Japan, Africa, and Europe brought their cultures and cuisines. They are featured in this sauteed chicken dish served over quinoa, an ancient grain indigenous to the Andes Mountains. Green beans can be substituted for okra. Add them to the chicken after it has simmered 10 minutes. Brazilian-Style Chicken Over Quinoa Makes 2 servings 1. Mix cumin and cayenne and rub over chicken.

Amid the hustle-bustle of busy Baltimore Avenue, Touch of Siam restaurant offers quiet, elegant sanctuary with splendid food, gracious service and civilized surroundings. The gorgeous Thai restaurant in East Lansdowne has only 14 tables, each prettily set with pink napkins and tablecloths, fresh purple orchids in beautiful Thai ceramic flower vases, a candle in cut-glass holder, delicate pink-and-gray dishes and graceful black lacquered chairs with mauve seats. Walls with classy cream-colored wallpaper are decorated with Thai fans painted with colorful country scenes and small aqua parasols painted with flowers; recessed windows are filled with potted plants, and dinner music plays quietly in the background.

Rice is the perfect accompaniment for a variety of wonderfully spicy foods, stews or soups. But even this perfect plain food needs a little zest every now and then. Lucky for the desperate cook, rice is easy to alter. A little change here and a small addition there, and we've got a whole new recipe to enjoy. In today's recipe, we've used a flavorful combination of reduced-fat coconut milk and water with chicken bouillon crystals and allspice for zip. Instant (5-minute) rice makes a quickie pilaf even faster, since it only has to steam for five minutes.

When it comes to grace and delicacy, there's little to match Thai cuisine. Unfortunately, Thai dishes generally are not available in New Jersey; but with the opening last July of a little storefront restaurant named Siam in Lambertville, we at long last can get a taste of this civilized style of cooking. The family-run restaurant is owned by Thai-born Timmy Tangtakul, chef at Hotel du Village in New Hope, and his American-born wife, Dency. A Thai husband and wife who do the cooking at the Siam have mastered the refined essence of this beautiful cuisine.

Here's an exotic recipe - courtesy of World Cafe Live chef Matthew Babbage - to go with those new ingredients in your pantry. BANANA FLOWER SALAD 1 banana flower 1 pound chicken breast 3 large shrimp 1 cup coconut milk 1 tablespoon fried, slivered shallot 1 tablespoon fried, sliced garlic 1 teaspoon torn cilantro, stems and leaves, washed well to remove grit 1/4 cup roasted cashews 1 heaping tablespoon Thai...

1 can regular coconut milk (13.5 oz.) 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons agave syrup 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon sea salt 1. Whisk ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Let chill in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight. 2. Add to ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions. When done, transfer to container and let freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving. From Ross Olchvary, Sprig & Vine Per serving: 334 calories, 2 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams sugar, 23 grams fat, no cholesterol, 98 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fibers

An excerpt from the blog "My Daughter's Kitchen. " I know the last recipe for Thai lettuce cups sent my daughter in search of unfamiliar ingredients, namely lemongrass and fish sauce. So in the interest of thrift, not to mention continuing to expand her horizons, I offer a second recipe to use up those ingredients while they are still fresh: Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup. It seems a perfect restorative for these March days, when the weather can't make up its mind.

On busy weeknights, we take our dinner shortcuts wherever we can find them. But this doesn't require sacrificing healthy home cooking. Make smart choices - as in this recipe for red curry potatoes and chickpeas - and you can have a great from-scratch dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. For deep, lush, and totally effortless flavor, I use canned coconut milk for the liquid. Looking to cut fat? Don't hesitate to use low-fat coconut milk. It won't be quite so lush, but the flavors will still be great.

A 10-day visit to the island of Penang in Malaysia introduced my husband and me to a remarkable variety of cultures and peoples. In Georgetown, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site that has Chinese, Indian, and Malay sections, we parked outside the Gurney Mall, where cars were washed away in the 2004 tsunami. My Chinese hostess treated me to "fish spa therapy," which involved placing my washed feet into a series of tanks with successively larger "doctor fish," which specialize in nibbling away dead skin.

While natural foods stores are seeing an uptick in customer interest in coconut products, it's not because the products are new. "People are just discovering [coconut products] on our shelves," said Ed Mitinger, a manager at Essene Market. "Coconut products are traditional natural food staples, and though they're becoming popularized now, they do spike our sales periodically. " Here are a few ways to get coconut in your diet. Water Coconut water, the clear liquid in the center of young coconuts, is a "refreshing energy drink" prized for its electrolytes, including potassium, magnesium and calcium, Mitinger said.

Kate Jacoby vowed she would not try to recreate classic egg/dairy treats such as cheesecake or crème brûlée when she became dessert chef at Horizons vegan restaurant in South Philly. But she found herself tinkering with those very recipes to create vegan versions that satisfied her demanding tastes. Here are two of her desserts, including the crème brûlée. That cheesecake? It's still a secret. TAHITIAN VANILLA CRÈME BRÛLÉE Four 13-ounce cans coconut milk 1/2 vanilla bean 1 tablespoon vanilla extract Dash salt 1 tablespoon agar 1/2 cup agave syrup About 1/4 cup white cane sugar 1/2 pineapple, chopped Combine all ingredients except the cane sugar and pineapple in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.

Cumin, cayenne, and coconut milk are among the diverse flavors of Brazil, where immigrants from Japan, Africa, and Europe brought their cultures and cuisines. They are featured in this sauteed chicken dish served over quinoa, an ancient grain indigenous to the Andes Mountains. Green beans can be substituted for okra. Add them to the chicken after it has simmered 10 minutes. Brazilian-Style Chicken Over Quinoa Makes 2 servings 1. Mix cumin and cayenne and rub over chicken.

Every year the pumpkin parade arrives earlier - before Labor Day, even, the fluffy pumpkin lattes and baseball mitt-size pumpkin muffins emerge on cue from behind coffee bar counters. Limited-edition pumpkin ales follow, along with sweet-smelling doughnuts and seasonally confusing ice creams. And before long, chunky cans of purees are lining supermarket aisle-end displays, seductively promising smooth-as-silk pies. Yet for all of our pumpkin fetishizing, we tend to take this humble cucurbit for granted, forgetting that it is also real food.

Here's an exotic recipe - courtesy of World Cafe Live chef Matthew Babbage - to go with those new ingredients in your pantry. BANANA FLOWER SALAD 1 banana flower 1 pound chicken breast 3 large shrimp 1 cup coconut milk 1 tablespoon fried, slivered shallot 1 tablespoon fried, sliced garlic 1 teaspoon torn cilantro, stems and leaves, washed well to remove grit 1/4 cup roasted cashews 1 heaping tablespoon Thai...

Foodie blogs have been hot on Hardena, an authentic Indonesian restaurant on Hicks Street near Morris, in South Philly. It's described as a veritable hole-in-the-wall with an atmosphere that makes you feel as if you are in someone's Indonesian home. I decided to give it a try. But first, I wanted to make a related stop a little farther south, on Snyder near 17th, for the new Indonesia Restaurant. After several years of operation in Chinatown, Indonesia relocated to its present location.