Cooking with coconut

All the eating out in the last post makes it sound like I’ve given up cooking. On the contrary, coming home renews the joy of cooking. After eating out so much on holiday and being out of our routines, we all seem to crave a basic, home-cooked meal. Sometimes I just want a bowl of steamed broccoli. All it needs is a smattering of salt. 

I had the next best thing when we returned from New York - tofu and veges. After a few hours unpacking and sleeping, we hadn't made it to the supermarket before our bellies were rumbling. Perfect excuse to get a fix of Vietnamese food.  A Melbourne homecoming at Sapa Hills, Footscray!

But back to cooking. A visit to A. Bongiovanni and Son in Seddon provided the perfect inspiration. While we were away, Lauren at the Footscray Food Blog posted about this wonderful new gourmet grocer (see post here) and shared the good news that they are stocking Coyo, one of her favourite yoghurts. Coyo is a natural, coconut milk yoghurt (dairy and gluten free) with the apt tagline “Heaven in a mouthful”.  I bought it thinking of desserts, but after tasting it I was inspired to cook lots of comforting winter meals. One ingredient inspired my cooking for a week. What a find - I dolloped it on everything!

First came the roast pumpkin and coconut soup, served with a dollop of Coyo in place of cream.  I found a great recipe in the Marie Claire Seasonal Kitchen book that wasn't too far from a traditional pumpkin soup but with an extra zing from the addition of coconut milk and a small red chilli (sorry, I can’t find a link online but there are lots of similar ones around if you don't have the book). 

Pic via Taste.com

Next was pan-fried fish with Thai sauce from Taste.com (recipe here). The fish marinated in sweet chilli, soy, fish sauce and lime juice was simple and tasty served on jasmine rice with broccoli. For the piece de resistance, I mixed the Coyo into my cooked jasmine rice. D-licious! 

Pic via Donna Hay

Finally, I made a Donna Hay thai chicken and bean curry for friends (recipe here). The cherry tomatoes and basil add a lovely freshness to this cozy classic. I'll leave you to guess what I dolloped on top!

I love how one great ingredient can inspire a whole host of dishes. Next time I buy Coyo, I think I'll see how it works in sweet dishes. Just need some inspiration. Raspberries? Toasted coconut? White chocolate? Send your suggestions my way! 

Space and time

Dead tree that caught my eye near Horsham, Victoria

How sweet are holidays? I’m back at work this week after a hectic festive period travelling around country Victoria. The memory of snatching a snippet or two of that dreamy holiday feeling is still fresh in my mind. To me, holidays are about being away from your own environment in quiet locations, preferably with copious amounts of fresh, country air. Limited mobile reception, intermittent news reports and no alarms or awareness of the date and time can be difficult to get used to initially but I find that these are the elements that ultimately allow me to feel disconnected from the everyday. I love the other-worldliness of being disconnected and banishing the routine. Having the space and time to let my mind dream and wander is a luxury that I don’t feel I often have and I wish I could bottle it. It takes me back to my late teens and early twenties when I dreamed of what I would do, who I’d become and all I could achieve. Why do we get so caught up rushing about doing our thing? Is it all this talk of living in the present? Reflection and engaging the imagination seem to me to be key to planning and setting goals for your life. I spent many an hour over my 10 day break driving long distances and gazing out the window dreaming of our new home. Grand plans and room themes manifested in my head. So I may have got a little carried away, and I’m yet to find out if they become a reality, but I do believe you have to have vision. Here are a few iPhone snaps that capture my time way from the office.

View from by big brother's new abode over the Wimmera River.

Old shed doors.

Old books found on a lovely day out with my sister-in-law in Castlemaine. There were many to choose from so we had to be savvy in our selection. The rules were: no more than $3 each, colours should coordinate and the title should be somewhat interesting to us. Admittedly, we weren't buying them to read so the title wasn't much of a concern. I might be onto a new style before I read them! The mini dresser was found propped up against a charity bin in the carpark of Safeway Moonee Ponds (I hope that's not classified as stealing).