We'll see you tomorrow, and from all of us at Yankee Belle Cafe, may we wish you the happiest of Happy Thanksgivings!
God bless you! (And by the way, my table doesn't come CLOSE to looking like this! Oy!!!)
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Closed for Thanksgiving!
We've left the coffee pot on and there are a few sweet rolls on the counter, but we're not here today... We're home cooking and taking covered dishes or providing pies for parties... or the needy!
We'll see you tomorrow, and from all of us at Yankee Belle Cafe, may we wish you the happiest of Happy Thanksgivings!
God bless you! (And by the way, my table doesn't come CLOSE to looking like this! Oy!!!)
We'll see you tomorrow, and from all of us at Yankee Belle Cafe, may we wish you the happiest of Happy Thanksgivings!
God bless you! (And by the way, my table doesn't come CLOSE to looking like this! Oy!!!)
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Not for Thanksgiving, but My Favorite Sweet Potato and Pomegranate Recipe
I'm so sad as I type this.
For the past week I've been looking forward to sharing this repeat recipe with you because it is - hands down - my favorite holiday meal.
I've been practically salivating in anticipation of this goodness on Thursday.
But in conversation tonight, when I mentioned how much I was looking forward to it, my daughter - she that is the determiner of the menus - informed met, "It's on the Christmas menu, not Thanksgiving."
Cue the loud, messy tears.
But hey, who raised her? I get to make decisions to.
So, I'm going to make this recipe this weekend because I want it!
But today I'm going to share it so that any of you who want it can enjoy also.
Oh, yeah, she found the recipe so I guess I can forgive her menu authoritarianism.
So here you go -
My daughter found the recipe several years ago on this website - Keepin' It Kind.
I wouldn't want to steal credit for her recipe, so I'll just show you two quick photos of our batch in progress and then refer you back to her for the glorious finished photos.
Ingredients:
three large sweet potatoes cut into medallions, pomegranate arils, orange juice, maple syrup, sea salt, chopped pecans, coconut sugar or brown sugar, and ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
You may notice in the picture that my daughter chose an assortment of colored sweet potatoes. Who knew there were purple ones?
Sprinkle with pomegranate arils and shopped pecans.
Bake.
Enjoy.
Okay, go on over to the site and look at the glorious after photos taken by her husband. Pomegranate Orange Sweet Potato Bake. Kristy tells a lovely story too about getting recipes from her grandma. I love family stories like this, so I was sold even before I tasted the deliciousness.
For the past week I've been looking forward to sharing this repeat recipe with you because it is - hands down - my favorite holiday meal.
I've been practically salivating in anticipation of this goodness on Thursday.
But in conversation tonight, when I mentioned how much I was looking forward to it, my daughter - she that is the determiner of the menus - informed met, "It's on the Christmas menu, not Thanksgiving."
Cue the loud, messy tears.
But hey, who raised her? I get to make decisions to.
So, I'm going to make this recipe this weekend because I want it!
But today I'm going to share it so that any of you who want it can enjoy also.
Oh, yeah, she found the recipe so I guess I can forgive her menu authoritarianism.
So here you go -
My daughter found the recipe several years ago on this website - Keepin' It Kind.
I wouldn't want to steal credit for her recipe, so I'll just show you two quick photos of our batch in progress and then refer you back to her for the glorious finished photos.
Ingredients:
three large sweet potatoes cut into medallions, pomegranate arils, orange juice, maple syrup, sea salt, chopped pecans, coconut sugar or brown sugar, and ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.
You may notice in the picture that my daughter chose an assortment of colored sweet potatoes. Who knew there were purple ones?
Bake.
Enjoy.
Okay, go on over to the site and look at the glorious after photos taken by her husband. Pomegranate Orange Sweet Potato Bake. Kristy tells a lovely story too about getting recipes from her grandma. I love family stories like this, so I was sold even before I tasted the deliciousness.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Quick and Easy Pork Chops
Tex here, and I don’t know about you, but I am stoked for Thanksgiving.
The turkey, the dressing…
Definitely the dressing.
Oh, and I have a great idea
for leftover dressing that I will share with you next week. That is, if I remember to
take some pictures.
It’s AMAZING.
But leading up to the big day, it's all about quick meals here at the Obi house. Like the other night when I found myself with some pork chops, but not sure how to cook them.
I checked the pantry.
Cream of Mushroom soup.
Okay, what can I do with that besides simply pouring it over the pork chops?
Checked the fridge.
Half an onion, four mushrooms, butter...
Okay, now we're on to something.
First to address the soup. I didn't want just plain old mushroom soup. So I poured it into a large measuring cup, added some chicken broth (about 1/4 cup), some roasted garlic powder (regular garlic powder will work, too--1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon), some black pepper to taste and 1/2 tsp. dried thyme.
Whisk that all together until smooth and set aside.
Now for the pork chops. Season them lightly with your favorite seasoning (salt and pepper works just fine), then brown them in a hot skillet with 1-2 tablespoons melted butter.
When both sides are browned, remove from pan and set aside.
I sliced up my mushrooms and onion.
Melted another 2 tablespoons butter in the same pan and tossed them in, cooking just until they start to soften.
Now return the pork chops to the pan.
Pour the soup mixture over top.
Once soup comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for ten minutes.
Throw in some mashed potatoes, a veggie and dinner is served--in less than thirty minutes.
These pork chops are moist and delicious. People will think you slaved all day. But you didn't, which makes them even better.
Well, most of the kiddos and a couple of the grandkids will be dining with Grammy and Big Daddy for the big day. Of course, it doesn't matter how many we have, there's always more than enough food to go around. I'm looking forward to that first bite of pumpkin pie.
So what are you doing for turkey day? Are you guesting or hosting?
What dish do you look forward to most at Thanksgiving?
Monday, November 21, 2016
Homemade Dinner Rolls
by Jan Drexler (The Mid-Westerner)
Happy Thanksgiving week! Are you ready? Is your turkey thawing in the fridge? Have you rounded up extra tables and chairs for the extended family gathering? Have you planned your menu and done your grocery shopping?
The "experts" will tell you to take advantage of convenience foods for this yearly feast. After all, if you're the hostess of a big gathering, you don't want to be stressed about desserts!
But this expert is telling you to do something a bit different: to reduce the stress, let your guests cook and bring what they like, and reserve your favorite parts of the meal for your own preparation.
After all, for some of us cooking is our "love language." We love to cook and bake and shower the goodies on our loved ones. So when Thanksgiving comes, our house is open and I cook my favorites!
One of those is dinner rolls.
I had planned to share my favorite dinner roll recipe today, but then realized I already had! But we can all use a refresher, right?
I've revised a few things and added a couple pictures, but here's the recipe, just in time for Thanksgiving:
Yes, yes, I know this is homemade bread. But really - can it be that hard? After all, our grandmothers for generations back made bread every week, or maybe even every day if their family was large enough.
This is the recipe I cut my bread-making teeth on.
It started like this: Once upon a time (okay, it was the mid-70's) our family was visiting some friends, and our hostess served homemade dinner rolls. My dad took one bite, looked at me and said, "If you learn to make rolls like these, I'll double your allowance."
(By the way, I'm the only one who remembers him saying that...but I'm sure he did!)
I took him up on the challenge. I got the recipe from our hostess, followed the directions in Mom's old Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, and made rolls. Batch after batch. They turned out tasty and delicious. From there I branched out to using different flours, different methods, different recipes...but this one is still my favorite. :)
Jan's Dinner Rolls
Ingredients:
2 packages instant dry yeast (or 2 Tablespoons)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
4-6 cups all-purpose or bread flour
You can make this recipe completely by hand (like I did for years), or use a large capacity mixer (like I do now.)
First, heat the milk, sugar, butter and salt together. You can cheat and use the microwave, but I like to heat it up in a pan on the stove. But you don't want it to get too hot! Just warm enough to soften the butter.
Now, this is important! Before you do anything else, make sure your milk mixture isn't too hot. You want it to be lukewarm. You can stick a (clean!!!) pinky finger in to test it, or you can use a thermometer. If you do the finger test, it should feel slightly warm. If you use a thermometer, it should be between 110° and 115°.
(Does anyone know what happens if your liquid is too hot? It will kill the yeast. We don't like dead yeast. It makes hard, flat bread :( )
Pour this into a large bowl (or your mixer).
Add the two cups whole wheat flour, two eggs and 2 packages yeast. Whisk these ingredients together until smooth.
Let the batter rest for about twenty minutes.
Yes, I said rest. You want to wake up the yeast and let some of those flavors mingle.
After twenty minutes or so, add the rest of the flour a cup at a time, mixing each cup in completely before adding the next. If you're doing this by hand, use a large spoon, and stir it in until you can't stir the dough anymore. If you're using a mixer, use your kneading hook and add flour just until sides of your bowl no longer have dough sticking to them and the dough forms a ball.
BUT - be careful not to add too much flour. Too much will make your bread heavy and stiff. Too little will make it hard to handle. This is where practice comes in....
Now it's time to knead the dough.
If you're using a mixer, set your timer for seven minutes, and let the mixer work.
If you're kneading the dough by hand, sprinkle your clean counter or bread board with about a cup of flour, and then knead. Fold one side of the lump of dough over onto the other, and push down. Turn the lump a quarter turn and repeat. Do this until the dough is smooth and elastic - about five minutes or so.
After kneading, you need to let the dough rise. In a mixer, just cover the bowl and let it sit. If you're making it by hand, put the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel.
Wait for about forty-five minutes, or until the dough is doubled.
Now comes the fun part! Divide the dough into forty-eight balls - they'll each be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter - and put two balls in each part of a muffin tin. Be sure to grease your tins!
If you don't have two muffin tins, you can make thirty-six balls and space them out on a greased cookie sheet (with sides).
Cover the rolls, and let the dough rise another forty-five minutes or so.
Bake in a 350° oven for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. As soon as you remove them from the oven, brush melted butter onto the top of each roll (optional, but makes the crust softer).
Enjoy!
Of course, dinner rolls are only part of our Thanksgiving menu. I'm also making the turkey and dressing, and others are bringing potatoes, vegetables, salads, desserts... I'm getting hungry already!
We're expanding our table (and borrowing one from church) to fit our 15 to 20 family/extended family members. If this year is like other years, there will be some eating and a lot of visiting. And a lot of just sitting back and drinking in the love. :)
What are your Thanksgiving plans? Are you hosting, or are you going to someone else's house? Or are you spending your day volunteering to help others have a wonderful holiday?
Let us know!
Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.
Happy Thanksgiving week! Are you ready? Is your turkey thawing in the fridge? Have you rounded up extra tables and chairs for the extended family gathering? Have you planned your menu and done your grocery shopping?
The "experts" will tell you to take advantage of convenience foods for this yearly feast. After all, if you're the hostess of a big gathering, you don't want to be stressed about desserts!
But this expert is telling you to do something a bit different: to reduce the stress, let your guests cook and bring what they like, and reserve your favorite parts of the meal for your own preparation.
After all, for some of us cooking is our "love language." We love to cook and bake and shower the goodies on our loved ones. So when Thanksgiving comes, our house is open and I cook my favorites!
One of those is dinner rolls.
I had planned to share my favorite dinner roll recipe today, but then realized I already had! But we can all use a refresher, right?
I've revised a few things and added a couple pictures, but here's the recipe, just in time for Thanksgiving:
Dinner Rolls for Holidays...or any time!
Yes, yes, I know this is homemade bread. But really - can it be that hard? After all, our grandmothers for generations back made bread every week, or maybe even every day if their family was large enough.
This is the recipe I cut my bread-making teeth on.
It started like this: Once upon a time (okay, it was the mid-70's) our family was visiting some friends, and our hostess served homemade dinner rolls. My dad took one bite, looked at me and said, "If you learn to make rolls like these, I'll double your allowance."
 |
| This is the mid-70's me. Yes, Gunne Sax dress and all :) |
(By the way, I'm the only one who remembers him saying that...but I'm sure he did!)
Jan's Dinner Rolls
Ingredients:
2 packages instant dry yeast (or 2 Tablespoons)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
4-6 cups all-purpose or bread flour
You can make this recipe completely by hand (like I did for years), or use a large capacity mixer (like I do now.)
First, heat the milk, sugar, butter and salt together. You can cheat and use the microwave, but I like to heat it up in a pan on the stove. But you don't want it to get too hot! Just warm enough to soften the butter.
Now, this is important! Before you do anything else, make sure your milk mixture isn't too hot. You want it to be lukewarm. You can stick a (clean!!!) pinky finger in to test it, or you can use a thermometer. If you do the finger test, it should feel slightly warm. If you use a thermometer, it should be between 110° and 115°.
(Does anyone know what happens if your liquid is too hot? It will kill the yeast. We don't like dead yeast. It makes hard, flat bread :( )
Pour this into a large bowl (or your mixer).
 |
| Freshly ground wheat flour! Mmm-mm! |
Add the two cups whole wheat flour, two eggs and 2 packages yeast. Whisk these ingredients together until smooth.
Let the batter rest for about twenty minutes.
Yes, I said rest. You want to wake up the yeast and let some of those flavors mingle.
After twenty minutes or so, add the rest of the flour a cup at a time, mixing each cup in completely before adding the next. If you're doing this by hand, use a large spoon, and stir it in until you can't stir the dough anymore. If you're using a mixer, use your kneading hook and add flour just until sides of your bowl no longer have dough sticking to them and the dough forms a ball.
 |
| This dough is just right - the sides of the bowl are coming clean, and the dough is elastic. |
BUT - be careful not to add too much flour. Too much will make your bread heavy and stiff. Too little will make it hard to handle. This is where practice comes in....
Now it's time to knead the dough.
If you're using a mixer, set your timer for seven minutes, and let the mixer work.
If you're kneading the dough by hand, sprinkle your clean counter or bread board with about a cup of flour, and then knead. Fold one side of the lump of dough over onto the other, and push down. Turn the lump a quarter turn and repeat. Do this until the dough is smooth and elastic - about five minutes or so.
After kneading, you need to let the dough rise. In a mixer, just cover the bowl and let it sit. If you're making it by hand, put the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel.
Wait for about forty-five minutes, or until the dough is doubled.
Now comes the fun part! Divide the dough into forty-eight balls - they'll each be about 1 1/2 inches in diameter - and put two balls in each part of a muffin tin. Be sure to grease your tins!
If you don't have two muffin tins, you can make thirty-six balls and space them out on a greased cookie sheet (with sides).
Cover the rolls, and let the dough rise another forty-five minutes or so.
Bake in a 350° oven for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. As soon as you remove them from the oven, brush melted butter onto the top of each roll (optional, but makes the crust softer).
Enjoy!
Of course, dinner rolls are only part of our Thanksgiving menu. I'm also making the turkey and dressing, and others are bringing potatoes, vegetables, salads, desserts... I'm getting hungry already!
We're expanding our table (and borrowing one from church) to fit our 15 to 20 family/extended family members. If this year is like other years, there will be some eating and a lot of visiting. And a lot of just sitting back and drinking in the love. :)
What are your Thanksgiving plans? Are you hosting, or are you going to someone else's house? Or are you spending your day volunteering to help others have a wonderful holiday?
Let us know!
Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.
Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com
Saturday, November 19, 2016
Winter Comfort Food: Rice Pudding with a twist
Hello, everybody! The weather has taken a turn for the chilly here and we haven't seen the sun in days. We didn't even catch the super moon! So sad. But although winter is my favorite season, I do need some sustenance to make it through these long, cold nights.
First of all, KITTEHS. Aren't they adorable?? When they're not rocketing around the house shasing each other, they're snuggled up for a nap.
The picture above made us laugh because Koshka's tail looks like it's attached to Nevery's body, which makes him look like some kind of anime mutant raccoon.
So, back to the winter comfort food! I love to make rice pudding and the kids eat it up like nobody's business, but this time I tried something a little different. It all starts the same, though.
3 cups cold, cooked rice
3 cups milk
pinch of salt
sugar or honey to taste
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon (we like ours really cinnamon-y)
Bring to a boil on medium high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
3 eggs, beaten until frothy
Remove 1/2 cup of boiling liquid, let cool for five minutes, slowly add to egg mixture until incorporated. This will keep you from getting "fried eggs" in your pudding
Slowly reincorporate mixture to the pot.
I love raisins but nobody else in my house does so I didn't add any to the pot.
1/4 tsp espresso powder
sprinkle of cinnamon to the top
Sometimes we add brown sugar after this and bake it for about twenty minutes.
We really just wanted to eat it, so we skipped the baking and went straight to the secret ingredient. A friend made it for me this way and I've been hooked on it ever since!
A bit of espresso powder added to the individual bowls gives an incredible twist to the same old, same old rice pudding. I love coffee, so this is about how much I put in my bowl. Stir until completely combined. Some of the kids loved the way mine tasted and wanted it the same, some wanted none, some wanted just a bit of coffee flavor. (OH, this is decaf espresso, in case you think I'm insane. I really don't need caffeinated kids at 9PM at night.)
First of all, KITTEHS. Aren't they adorable?? When they're not rocketing around the house shasing each other, they're snuggled up for a nap.
So, back to the winter comfort food! I love to make rice pudding and the kids eat it up like nobody's business, but this time I tried something a little different. It all starts the same, though.
3 cups cold, cooked rice
3 cups milk
pinch of salt
sugar or honey to taste
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon (we like ours really cinnamon-y)
Bring to a boil on medium high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
3 eggs, beaten until frothy
Remove 1/2 cup of boiling liquid, let cool for five minutes, slowly add to egg mixture until incorporated. This will keep you from getting "fried eggs" in your pudding
Slowly reincorporate mixture to the pot.
I love raisins but nobody else in my house does so I didn't add any to the pot.
1/4 tsp espresso powder
sprinkle of cinnamon to the top
Sometimes we add brown sugar after this and bake it for about twenty minutes.
My oldest prefers hers chilled so she put it in the fridge and after an hour, added some clover honey. YUM.
So, that's all for now! Have a wonderful weekend! Be sure to stop by my author pages at Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael, or my blog at The Things That Last.
Friday, November 18, 2016
Shrimp and Grits--a Different Version
Missy Tippens (The Belle)
Shrimp and grits is an item seen frequently in restaurants in the south, and it's one of my favorites. Last week when I visited a Sprouts Farmers Market for the first time (I LOVED it!), I found large shrimp on sale and bought a pound. I started throwing together my own version of the dish based on ingredients on hand and on what I thought would taste good.
1 lb. cleaned and de-veined shrimp
1 cup grits (I prefer regular, long-cooking grits but only had quick-cook ones on hand)
1 cup Cream or half-and-half
3 cups water
1 package sliced baby bella mushrooms
about 3 TBS butter
About 1 cup red wine
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
If not already done, peel and de-vein the shrimp.
Bring milk and water to a simmer and stir in the grits. (Basically, follow package directions for 4 servings, however replace some of the water with milk/cream/half-and-half.)
In a skillet, heat some olive oil and about 3 TBS butter. Add the mushrooms and cook until softened.
Stir the shrimp in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and any spices you might like. I used kosher salt and pepper.
LOOK!! I attended a meeting of on Saturday at a church member's home. One of the guests brought a really, really cute arrangement as a hostess gift. I heard her say she got it at Sprouts. So when I saw them there that afternoon, I bought one for myself!
It has rosemary, sage and thyme! It's so pretty I hate to use it. But I do plan to snip some to use in my cooking. :)
 |
| Gobble, gobble. |
Add the shrimp and toss until cooked through. This only takes 3 or 4 minutes! Season the grits with salt and pepper. Top with the shrimp and mushrooms. YUM!
Please visit me at my website and sign up for my quarterly email newsletter!
www.missytippens.com
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Easy and Delicious Coconut Cake
Tina Radcliffe mentioned this cake a while back.
Oh my stars, I haven't forgotten it for these last two or more years and never got around to making it. But I kept thinking about it.
Always at a time when I didn't have the stuff or there wouldn't be anyone around to eat it.
Life with grown daughters/daughters-in-law/nieces/daycare moms is interesting... Someone is ALWAYS on a diet.
Sigh....
And I can't eat the whole thing myself!!! (Well, I can, but I shouldn't, right????)
So I went online and checked out the recipe... Made Dave buy Goya's "Cream of Coconut". They had one can in the store!!! Now that I know how good this cake is, we'll have to buy more.
And after reading opinions online, I started with a "Golden Vanilla" cake mix because most folks recommended a cake mix that had a fuller flavor than plain white or yellow... So the Golden Vanilla was in the cupboard and got the vote.
Mix and bake cake mix as directed. Bake in 13" x 9" pan until done... Let cake cool for about five - ten minutes. With a straw or a wide-pronged fork (like a meat fork, the big ones with thicker tines) poke holes all over the surface of the cake.
When you've peppered holes across the cake, then warm the coconut cream (which really looks like syrup with coconut oil on top).
Whisk it lightly to mix the coconut oil into the syrup as it heats... Drizzle over the cake, letting the coconut cream syrup sink into those lovely little holes...
The original recipe called for using a can of Sweetened Condensed milk AND the Cream of Coconut, but most opinions on the web disagree.
Using both would create a more "Tres Leches" coconut cake scenario, where the cake is literally drenched with milk syrups. By using the single can of coconut cream, the texture was perfect. Tender and moist and flavored like coconut, but with no sogginess.
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Frost with Cool Whip style whipped topping and garnish with fresh coconut.
(I love using real whipped cream in some recipes, but in this one I prefer the Cool Whip. It doesn't get funny tasting if refrigerated for a few days, and it holds up nicely against the sweet cake.)
This has become a favorite here with coconut lovers... of which I am one!
I'm finally getting a chance to clean a little! The farm season is pretty much over, and when I take a writing break, I can dust something.
Dusting is NOT inspirational, but it's necessary now and again (and we do have holidays coming up!!! Someone needs to dust something or wash something or... well, you get it!) And I like to do something that keeps me moving between scenes. That gets my brain going.
I have to say the house seems happier. That might be because the windows are clean and the light shines through. That would make any house happy, LOL!
Let me know what you think of this cake. And remember, if you're not a coconut lover, we can doll this cake up with pretty much any flavor (like the Jello "poke" cakes, remember?) and present it as a holiday fave with red and green Jello drizzled into the holes!
How fun would that be???
Until next week, thanks for being here... Leave your coffee order on the counter, and I'll get right to it!
Ruthy
Have fun with multi-published author Ruth Logan Herne at a bunch of venues.... and she'd love to have you try one of her nearly forty novels and novellas. With well over a million books in print, Ruthy is having the time of her life, doing what she loves best: writing sweet stories to make you smile... and sigh.
Website: http://ruthloganherne.com
Facebook: friend her at Ruth Logan Herne
Twitter: @RuthLoganHerne
Seekerville: Bossing people around at www.seekerville.blogspot.com
Oh my stars, I haven't forgotten it for these last two or more years and never got around to making it. But I kept thinking about it.
Always at a time when I didn't have the stuff or there wouldn't be anyone around to eat it.
Life with grown daughters/daughters-in-law/nieces/daycare moms is interesting... Someone is ALWAYS on a diet.
Sigh....
And I can't eat the whole thing myself!!! (Well, I can, but I shouldn't, right????)
So I went online and checked out the recipe... Made Dave buy Goya's "Cream of Coconut". They had one can in the store!!! Now that I know how good this cake is, we'll have to buy more.
And after reading opinions online, I started with a "Golden Vanilla" cake mix because most folks recommended a cake mix that had a fuller flavor than plain white or yellow... So the Golden Vanilla was in the cupboard and got the vote.
Mix and bake cake mix as directed. Bake in 13" x 9" pan until done... Let cake cool for about five - ten minutes. With a straw or a wide-pronged fork (like a meat fork, the big ones with thicker tines) poke holes all over the surface of the cake.
When you've peppered holes across the cake, then warm the coconut cream (which really looks like syrup with coconut oil on top).
Whisk it lightly to mix the coconut oil into the syrup as it heats... Drizzle over the cake, letting the coconut cream syrup sink into those lovely little holes...
The original recipe called for using a can of Sweetened Condensed milk AND the Cream of Coconut, but most opinions on the web disagree.
Using both would create a more "Tres Leches" coconut cake scenario, where the cake is literally drenched with milk syrups. By using the single can of coconut cream, the texture was perfect. Tender and moist and flavored like coconut, but with no sogginess.
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Frost with Cool Whip style whipped topping and garnish with fresh coconut.
(I love using real whipped cream in some recipes, but in this one I prefer the Cool Whip. It doesn't get funny tasting if refrigerated for a few days, and it holds up nicely against the sweet cake.)
This has become a favorite here with coconut lovers... of which I am one!
I'm finally getting a chance to clean a little! The farm season is pretty much over, and when I take a writing break, I can dust something.
Dusting is NOT inspirational, but it's necessary now and again (and we do have holidays coming up!!! Someone needs to dust something or wash something or... well, you get it!) And I like to do something that keeps me moving between scenes. That gets my brain going.
I have to say the house seems happier. That might be because the windows are clean and the light shines through. That would make any house happy, LOL!
Let me know what you think of this cake. And remember, if you're not a coconut lover, we can doll this cake up with pretty much any flavor (like the Jello "poke" cakes, remember?) and present it as a holiday fave with red and green Jello drizzled into the holes!
How fun would that be???
Until next week, thanks for being here... Leave your coffee order on the counter, and I'll get right to it!
Ruthy
Have fun with multi-published author Ruth Logan Herne at a bunch of venues.... and she'd love to have you try one of her nearly forty novels and novellas. With well over a million books in print, Ruthy is having the time of her life, doing what she loves best: writing sweet stories to make you smile... and sigh.
Website: http://ruthloganherne.com
Facebook: friend her at Ruth Logan Herne
Twitter: @RuthLoganHerne
Seekerville: Bossing people around at www.seekerville.blogspot.com
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