Friday Foodie Fix
This week’s Secret Ingredient for Friday Foodie Fix is coconut milk. It’s become a staple in our home after giving up dairy. Well, dairy gave up on me. I was never a fan of coconut and I’m still not a fan of shredded coconut that is really dried out. Fresh coconut is good. If you open my refrigerator you should find at least 2 cans in there chilling just in case there’s an emergency and I need to make ice cream, sherbet, whipped cream or some other frozen treat.
Interesting facts: A coconut tree will have a life span of approximately 70 years and produce thousands of coconuts. That’s a lot of potential great foods to eat. Coconut milk is made when you combine equal parts coconut meat and water. Bring it to a boil until it foams and then strain through a cheesecloth. This is one thing I don’t make but buy in a can. The unsweetened coconut milk I use is different from the cream of coconut that is sweetened and used in many drinks.
Coconut milk can be used to replace milk in most any recipe. It is often used in curried dishes, salad dressings and desserts. I have used it in Whipped Cream, Blueberry Ice Cream, Pumpkin Pudding, and I also use it when adding a breading like Onion Rings or Fritos Chicken Nuggets.
Whipped Cream on the Double Chocolate Clementine Vita-Mix Cake
Pumpkin Pudding for breakfast!
Blueberry Ice Cream ©Diane Eblin
I can’t wait to see how you are using coconut milk! Please share with Mr. Linky and in the comments. Check out all of the rules on the Friday Foodie Fix dedicated page. Remember it has to have the Secret Ingredient in the recipe or it will be deleted and I hate doing that.
I use coconut milk in a more traditional sense b/c it's so expensive compared to reg. milk and we dont' happen to have dairy allergies….but wow that ice cream looks awesome!!
Jenn- The coconut milk does add something special, especially when dairy is out. Thank you for sharing.
Your pumpkin pudding looks really good! (I keep cans of coconut in the fridge too, it makes life so much easier! :))
~Aubree Cherie
I always love the info you share on the FFF, Diane. I have learned a lot from you. (But, don't quiz me on any of it! LOL) I have loved using coconut milk since I first started using it! I've linked up several recipes and may come back later to link up more. I use coconut milk to make recipes dairy free for my dairy-free friends and sometimes just more luscious in general. 😉 Okay, everyone is ready to leave for Biltmore now … gotta run!
Hugs,
Shirley
Shirley- The quiz will be at the end of the year so I hope you are taking notes. 🙂
Thanks for the head's up via Twitter! Enjoy the smoothie–it's a great natural detox.
Aimee- Thank you for sharing!
Ok – just went through my blog to find recipes using coconut milk. I only had a few which is interesting because I use it every week in my cooking! Hmmm – must post more coconut milk recipes. Curry?
Looks like you have lots of coconut milk recipes here to browse. Yum! 🙂
Ali- Thank you for sharing!
I should have waaay more coconut milk posts on my site than I do. I must work on that.
Yes, you did leave me hanging 🙂
Alisa- Thank you for sharing!
I had to laugh when I read the part about keeping several cans of coconut milk in the frig. We are of like minds!
By the way, have you tried baking with coconut sugar yet? It's fabulous. You must try it!
~Ellen
http://www.Iamglutenfree.blogspot.com
Ellen- I have not tried coconut sugar yet but I would like to. It is the same level of sweetness as cane sugar?
Mmmm I love coconut milk! I can't wait to try all these new recipes!
What is the life expectancy of coconut cream after it has been opened?