Coconut Curry Tempeh with Coconut Quinoa

I love coconut.

Sprinkling little flakes on top of oatmeal makes me happy. Watching virgin coconut oil melt in a pan, allowing its lovely scent to perfume my kitchen is heavenly. Digging into the meat of a young Thai coconut makes all my raw dessert dreams come true.

And then there's coconut milk. It's creamy, luscious, and a perfect complement to curry powder and garam masala. It makes me swoon. My senses*, particularly smell, go into overdrive. I feel almost exotic, even with my Irish skin and gray blue eyes.





* Except for sight. I apologize for my recent penchant for similar color schemes in food.

This dish explodes with just enough coconut to mellow the aroma and heat of my homemade curry powder and the tinge of heat from cayenne pepper. The quinoa almost melts away, posing a perfect texture contrast to nutty chunks of tempeh and crisp green beans. Top with just a touch of roasted cashews and cilantro, and you have a trip to a far away, Exotic land in your mouth.


Coconut curry tempeh
Ingredients
- 1 block tempeh, cut into cubes
- 1/2lb green beans, cut into inch pieces
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1T coconut oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 2t curry powder
- 1/2t cayenne pepper
- 1/2t ground ginger
- 1t garam masala
- 1/4t sea salt

Instructions
- Melt coconut oil in a large saute pan. Add curry, cayenne, ginger, and garlic and toast on medium heat, stirring constantly, until spices are a shade darker (make sure not to cook them for too long - they burn easily). Add coconut oil and stir to combine. Once heated, add the tempeh and green beans and toss until everything is thoroughly coated. Cook on medium heat for around 10 minutes. Add cooked coconut quinoa, stir until combined, and serve with a garnish of chopped cashews and cilantro.

Coconut quinoa
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water
- Pinch of sea salt


Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer (covered) for 15 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff.

Serves 2

Coconutty

After yesterday's dinner featured a green smoothie, I was craving nothing but a SIAB. In fact, I think I dreamt about it a little. I came up with this combination somewhere in the depths of my foodie slumber, and it's definitely my best to date.


In the mix
- 1 banana
- 2 frozen strawberries
- 1 handful kale
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp flax
- 1 tbsp each rice + hemp protein powder
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Topped with
- 1/3 cup Nature's Path hemp granola
- Shredded coconut
- Coconut oil shell!! Try it out, it's awesome. I promise it's not weird biting into crunchy bits of oil.




It's like magic! Rich, healthy fat filled, crunchy magic.

I'm positively nutty over coconut.

'roonies

The Kuntrageous Vegan was correct, the cookie from my previous post is indeed a macaroon. I hesitate to call them raw because they aren't 100% raw, but they're as close as I can come without a dehydrator. So, I suppose I'll call them (mostly) raw macaroons.


Makes 12-15
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut
- 3/4 cup raw almonds, finely ground
- 1/2 cup agave
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 tbsp cacao powder (opt)

Instructions
- Preheat oven to the lowest setting (mine was 120).
- Grind almonds in a food processor until they become a flour-like consistency. Set in a large bowl.
- Add remaining ingredients and combine with your hands. I added 1 tbsp cacao powder to half the mixture, but feel free to omit or add it to the entire mixture. Mixture is perfect when it sticks together but isn't overly greasy. Basically, it shouldn't be too wet or crumbly.
- Using an ice cream scoop or tablespoon, lay out macaroon balls on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- If using an oven, leave the door open just slightly. They should be done in about 4 hours or until the outside is crispy and firm. If using a dehydrator, dehydrate at 115 for 6-8 hours. Enjoy!




Pre-oven



These are, simply put, amazing cookies. They taste fresh and are packed with nutrients. Tney're a nice combination of crispy and chewy, and the cacao added a touch of richness which I really enjoy.


When ebony and ivory get together...


They make adorable speckled macaroon babies. I ate this one immediately after taking the picture. T'was marvelous. Crispy, coconutty goodness. I just couldn't resist eating one until my nighttime snack. Don't worry, I'll be eating more later. I can tell I'm going to be loony for macaroonies. Okay, that was cheesy.