Cute Streak

Uber-cute, portion-controlled lunch. bacon and stir-fried Taiwanese bitter greens. looks great. feels hungry. 

Organic tart frozen yogurt on a giant bed of shaved ice. strawberries, kiwi, mandarin oranges, and mochi bits. BLUSH - Original Shaved Ice (Choice of four toppings included).

Cute may not be the right word, but it was free and delicious. RED RIBBON BAKESHOP - Pandan Macapuno Chiffon Cake.

Luna and Larry: Coconut Bliss Bar

I spotted a new item tag on this box of frozen dessert bars at Whole Foods a couple months ago.

I remembered being partial to Edy's/Dryer's Creamy Coconut Fruit Bars during undergrad, so I was willing to try it. After all, it said it was made with real coconut milk.

It wasn't till I took the box to the office that I read the fine print. I was not really into the touchy-feely branding, but the box looked pretty and I didn't have anything against a good vegan, gluten-free treat now and then... so I bought a box.

These bars are creamy and have a really luscious mouth-feel. Not as creamy as a true super premium dairy-based ice cream, but definitely more than a Rice Dream bar. I immediately wondered if Luna & Larry tasted better than what Art Smith made for the Zoe Deschanel episode of Top Chef Masters.

I liked 'em. They're just lightly sweetened and are pretty satisfying. I'm not entirely a fan of the bits of frozen coconut, but I don't think anything much beats real fresh young coconut or freshly toasted coconut. Perhaps if I were ever to have a restaurant with a Man Vs. Food-worthy spicy food challenge, I'd use Coconut Bliss Bars as the wuss-out relief popsicles.

Vegan Coconut Gelatain

I needed something to do with my hands while listening/watching the vice presidential debate last night. What to do? Make Vegan Coconut Gelatin. What makes this gelatin vegan? Well, apparently the real jiggly-making substance is made from *******. My gelatin is made from seaweed - my family has always called it agar-agar (Malay word for jelly). It's not as "jiggly" as Jell-O, but it's still soft and is just slightly sweet. We'd eat it in multi-layered colors or piled high with canned fruit cocktail.

There are plenty of recipes online, but I took my inspiration by tweaking a recipe in my copy of The Spice Merchant's Daughter by Christina Arokiasamy.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups boiling water
1/3 c agave syrup (Available at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods - or substitute 1/2 cup sugar)
1 can (14 oz) Light Coconut Milk (I used Trader Joe's)
1 ts vanilla extract
***
21 grams of powdered Agar-Agar (I used three 7 gram pouches - it's a scant 1/4 cup)
1/4 cups hot water
***
(Optional) food coloring

Assembly Required

Step 1. Bring water to a gentle boil, add in agave, coconut milk, and vanilla. Return to a boil and take off heat.

Step 2. Dissolve agar-agar in the 1/4 cup of hot water making a smooth paste.

Step 3. Slowly whisk your hot coconut milk mixture into the dissolved agar-agar paste.

Step 4. Pour into a large 13" x 9" Pyrex, bundt, or other molds you have on hand. Let the mixture cool on a counter. As it cools, it will start to set.

Step 5. Cover the cooled agar-agar in its mold and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Cube them into little parallelepipeds(?). Serve with fresh fruit, canned fruit cocktail, or use it as a base in a shaved-ice dessert.