Scones

I haven't made scones in a long time. I saw some Double Cream at the grocery store and grabbed some, thinking it was a great time to make scones. I have been running around and so busy trying to stay afloat that I just haven't slowed down to enjoy simple things. Always in motion, trying to get the next thing done on my list. It's s simple but these scones gave me a breather. Making them. Enjoying them with a cup of tea, in an actual teacup, with a book. Simple. None of that will negate all I have on my plate right now, but it gave me a good respite. 

Three Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits

 

This was my first time using this recipe. It's from the White Lily Flour website. They were yummy though and tender. They also rose well. They were just a little too salty for me. I will try unsalted butter next time. If that doesn't help, I will go back to my other recipe. That recipe is HERE.

Rosemary Truffle Fries

 

These Rosemary Truffle Fries are more House fries  than a French fry style. They are so simple to make. I never have Black truffles so I layer on the flavor with Black Truffle oil, Black Truffle salt, and Black Truffle seasoning. Fresh garlic and rosemary pack a flavorful punch also.

Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies (Chewy)

Rich, flavorful, chewy with crispy edges. I love chocolate chip cookies and this recipe has all the elements I just mentioned. The browned butter and dark brown sugar give these cookies a butterscotch toffee flavor and the dark brown sugar makes them chewy. I do have quite a few other recipes on this blog.  I can't help it. This one, the Gideon cookies, the Kiss Me  Chocolate Chip Cookies, so many yummy ones. Just pick one, the Skillet Chocolate Chip cookie is the easiest.

As far as this recipe I will definitely make them again. With or without the Toffee chips. I would love to put nuts in them, but my child can't eat nuts. I use less chocolate and toffee in these than most people would but we love the cookie like this.

This is a great batter to customize.

Jeaow For Sour Fruits

This is one of my favorite snacks. It's sweet, spicy, and salty, the mangoes and fruits are tart. My mouth waters everytime I think about it. It makes me crave baby mangoes and sour fruits. My cousins when I used to visit them loved this. Julie used to make this sauce for us and we would go pick fruits like crab apples and other fruits around the neighborhood to snack on. So much fun.

Coconut Pandan Bread

Coconut and Pandan are one of my favorite baked good flavors. Coconut Pandan sponge cake is one of my top 3 favorite cakes. If you haven't had Pandan the aroma is sweet and floral like vanilla but it doesn't taste like vanilla at all. Pandan is used in many Southeast Asian desserts like you see vanilla used in the US. I use a Pandan extract for this recipe, you can find Pandan leaves in some Asian markets, I have some that I keep in the freezer. You can make your own extract with it. 

Coconut-Lime Bars, Lime Bars

Lime bars, and twist off of a yummy classic treat. During this shelter in place, my middle child has been baking up a storm. These Lime Bars are just one of the yummy treats she's baked. We have an abundance of limes, so I'll be freezing some of the juice also. We didn't add food coloring to these bars to make them green but the specks of lime zest against the yellow make them pretty. We also have used Natural Erythritol in place of the powdered sugar and it worked very well. I have two huge bags of this stuff that DH purchased. So if you want to make this with less cane sugar, you can use that.
The original recipe was for Lemon Bars, I'll post the Lime Bar recipe and then the Coconut-Lime Bar recipe below that. The Coconut-Lime Bars are a yummy twist. I used to make a coconut shortbread that is a favorite of ours.
Some tips:
Use a glass pan. Spray it with cooking spray then line it with parchment paper, then spray the parchment paper. The filling is a bit sticky and this will help you get your Lime Bars out of the pan.

Brownie Batter Cookies

Today I have two cookies to share. Both are easy to make and require minimal ingredients, they are very similar but one will yield a thinner cookie, the other a thicker cookie. There's an Italian place here that makes these amazing thin brownie batter cookies and I have been meaning to recreate them for a while now and like some people during this shelter in place I have a little more time at home. My first batch of cookies came out like the last photo. Thicker, a bit chewy on the edges, just not thin. They were still delicious though and we will make them again. I just wanted thin, chewy in the middle and a bit crispy like brownies from the edge of a pan. The result is the cookie you see in the first and second pictures.
Which cookie do you think you'd like better? I like both, and it just depends if I'm in the mood for a thicker chewy cookie or a thinner crisp-edged cookie.

Copycat Gideon's Bakehouse Cookies

I have so many Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes on this blog, but let's face it, sometimes you want them chewy, cakey, extra chocolatey. Mood. Right? For extra chocolate richness, this is the recipe you want. If you've ever been to Gideon's Bakehouse or the Polite Pig at Disney Springs you may know about these cookies. Voted the best cookie in Florida they are really yummy. There's rich chocolate, vanilla, and a tender cookie that's a little underbaked but not raw. They are in my top two favorite cookies at Disney Springs, the other being the Jammy Dodgers at Cookes.

Ajitsuke Tamago Ramen Eggs

 Ajitsuke Tamago Ramen Eggs.  We like these with Ramen bowls, on chilled noodle salads, with sticky rice, as a snack. They are very easy to make. I like the eggs soft boiled, my middle child likes the eggs medium set.  So, cook the eggs to your liking.

Play with the spices you add to the marinade as well. Try five spice, make them spicy, leave out all the spices. Also adjust the water to your liking. Less water, the eggs will be more salty. Time spent in the marinade will also determine how salty the eggs are.

It is not necessary to move the eggs around in the marinade as long as they are covered.  If you don't mind white spots on the eggs from where they are touching the sides of your container and each other just put them in the marinade and put them in the fridge. If the white spots will bother you, move the eggs around so they are evenly colored.

I make the eggs in the Instant Pot because it gives me consistent results. It doesn't matter how you cook your eggs, as long as they are cooled and peeled.

Test Track Cool Wash- Epcot

Here is another post from our Orlando trip! I am not going to do a separate blog post for every snack we had on our trip, I will try to put them in one post per park... maybe. This post just happens to be one I started while we were in Orlando. This fun place is by the Test Track in Epcot. It's called the Test Track Cool Wash. Right when you get off of the ride and go through the exit you walk straight and see it. It is fairly new I believe it opened just this month. You get to build your own slushie and add toppings, all nut free. The beauty of it is that cast members build it for you after you fill out a little form. Read: no sticky floor and mess from over filled cups by the public. No toppings all mixed in and dropped into other containers.

Khanom Dok Bua- Lotus Flower Cookies

 

This lotus flower cookie is called Khanom Dok Bua or Khanom Dok Jok. It's a crispy cookie that is deep fried, not baked. They are like Italian Rosettes. They are light and crispy. Not overly sweet, sesame seeds give them a great flavor, so does Pandan extract. The sesame seeds are what is more commonly used. I made these ones green and pink, Pandan and almond for our Christmas Cookie boxes in 2017. Which isn't really traditional, the almond flavoring that is.

Bunches of Berries in Bars

One of the fantastic things about our move is that I found a great wholesale fruit and vegetable source. I admit, typing that out it sounds lame. I'm okay with that though because this awesome place will have avocados by the case, 48 for $37.50, blueberries in 9 ounce packages 12 for $7-10, 12 ounce packages of raspberries 14 for $14, 10 artichokes for $8,  organic packs of produce that end up being $1 a pound. It's amazing and awesome. That's how these bars came about. We love fresh berries and were eating them by the handful. The kids were taking 14 ounce packs of raspberries for lunch.  I purchased 28 packs. Yes 28. In the end I had 3 packs that needed to be used up. We ate a bunch. I still have blueberries in my fridge that I can freeze for later also.

Maple Almond Bacon

I recently went to brunch and they have Maple Pecan bacon. It was so yummy. My oldest can not eat pecans so I thought I would recreate that bacon at home for her with a nut she can have. This is very simple to make. The salty sweet crunchy flavors and texture combined is satisfying, the almonds and bacon both get a little caramelized from the maple syrup.  This bacon is great for breakfast, brunch, on top of a salad, on top of a creamy soup, or served as hors d'oeuvres. 

Nam Vahn Sakoo- Tapioca Pudding with Taro Root

Nam Vahn Sakoo- Tapioca pudding with Taro root.

Nam Vahn Sakoo is a tapioca pudding in coconut milk with tender pieces of taro in it. I've seen it in Lao, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine. Nam Vahn Sakoo or Nam Van Sakoo is the Lao pronunciation. Generally this dessert is served warm with toppings like sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, or coconut flakes. I prefer it with no toppings, and will even eat it out of the fridge cold. This isn't an overly sweet dessert but you can add more sugar if you prefer it sweeter.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Coconut Pandan Waffles

You guys. These waffles are so good. I love Coconut Pandan Waffles anyway. I used to make batter and keep it in the fridge for snacks or a quick breakfast. While I don't have any gluten intolerance, or dairy intolerance I just finished a Whole30 and feel really good. I'm less bloated, sleeping better. So I try not to goo crazy with the things that do make me a little bloated, like wheat. I am finding that I sleep better if I don't have it for dinner or later in the day. I'm still narrowing it down and keeping mental notes, I should keep a food journal. But that is a whole other post. Back to these great waffles.  I'm literally not missing the wheat flour in my Coconut Pandan Waffles because of this recipe. I'm not missing the butter either. I wasn't sure how to change this recipe, originally I thought I would just try half rice flour and half tapioca, I figured it would work. Then I walked in my pantry and thought I'd try the oats because we do like oats in our pancakes and oats make cookies chewy. So I tried it, what could go wrong right? Nothing went wrong. It went right. The first time. So there was no need to try the just rice and tapioca flour.

Non-Dairy Creamer, Paleo Coffee Frappe

Non-Dairy Creamer that is Whole30 and Paleo compliant.

If you've been following my Instagram (@peasknees), you know that I recently finished my first round of Whole30. I had a whole month where I didn't drink any coffee. I drank tea twice with this "creamer" like this, and the rest of the time I drank my tea plain. I have to say I really missed my cups of tea in the afternoon with half and half and sweetener - which is normally one dehydrated Stevia leaf. I still miss sweetener but I found something I really enjoy in both coffee and tea. Cold or hot.  This doesn't taste dairy half and half. But it makes drinks creamy and adds flavor. It's really good.

Chicken Chicharrón

I'm not sure Crispy Chicken Chips, Chicken Chicharrón is a thing, but this is good and it now is a thing right here, right now. Like bacon good to me. Maybe better because it's so crispy. They are like Chicharron/Chicharrón but different animal. It's wrong, you say? Then I don't want to be right.

Bubble Tea, Boba, Tapioca Pearls

Tapioca Pearls.

I've already posted these tapioca pearls in the Instant Pot with my Mango Lassi post, but now that its close to spring time I thought I would repost them alone. That way we can get ready for warm weather drinks. Do you like Bubble tea? What is your favorite? Smoothies? Tea? Iced coffee?

Coconut Pandan Popovers

Coconut Pandan Popovers

I know, I'm on a Pandan kick lately. I can't help it, it's like the vanilla of Southeast Asia. These popovers are so yummy and the custard like center is so yum.  They are a fusion of Southeast Asian flavors and the American Popover which is almost like a Yorkshire pudding. It's a perfect fusion of flavors, texture, and culture.
We like these Coconut Pandan Popovers plain, drizzled with sweetened condensed milk, or with butter- plain, strawberry, or honey. I've made them for breakfast, brunch, a snack, to have with tea. I'm not even sure when people eat sweet popovers. We have no rules here apparently. I hope you'll try these though. They are so good