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The recipe for the above loaf is thanks to Donna Bocian Currie on her blog http://cookistry.blogspot.com/. Her recipe is milk and honey with saffron. I went a slightly different route using coconut milk, honey, & mint. I also used whole wheat flour instead of bread flour. I originally planned to follow the exact recipe, but I didn't have any milk, bread flour, or saffron at home and I didn't want to make a special trip to the grocery store. It made more sense to just use what I  had available.

I'd never had bread made with coconut milk, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it worked really well. It  also came out much better than I expected considering I had my oven on warm instead of bake.  The bottom formed a much harder crust than the top, but it was  nice and soft which is how I like my bread to be. Here's the link to the actual recipe - http://cookistry.blogspot.com/2010/09/botd-milk-and-honey-bread-with-saffron.html.
 
 
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I had a delicious soup on Friday morning that stayed on my mind all weekend - a fresh corn soup that was served cold. It was creamy, flavorful and delicious. I knew I had to recreate it for myself. I picked up some fresh white corn from my local farmers market on Saturday morning in anticipation of having corn soup the next day.

My version of the soup is a lot less richer that the version I had at the restaurant. Despite loving the soup, I found it a little richer than I would have preferred. In my recipe, I added coconut milk in place of cream. It was really easy to make. I cut come corn off the cob and threw it in a blender with some chopped leeks and coconut milk. At the last minute, I chopped a pear and threw it into the blender as well. After blending, I cooked the soup over medium heat for about 10 minutes. I served it at room temperature with some fresh chopped basil and tomatoes from my garden. It was really yummy!!! I've been craving sweets a lot lately, so this was a great way to enjoy something sweet.
 
 
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I discovered Peanut Flour at Trader Joe's last week . I love discovering new things to cook with. It is always so exciting! I made up my mind to use the flour in a dessert and in a savory dish. Of course, dessert came first.  I really wasn't sure how best to use the peanut flour, but I was open to experiment, which is what I love the most about cooking. I like to have an open mind and let the ingredients lead the way.  For the dessert, I settled on a shortbread cookie recipe I really like [flour (3/4 cup),  butter, (1 stick) ,raw cane sugar (1/3 cup), cinnamon, (1/4 tsp) cardamom (1/4 tsp), vanilla extract (1 tsp) & orange blossom water (1/4 tsp)], but replaced  1/4 cup of the flour with peanut flour. The peanut flour made the dough very soft, but I managed to press it  onto a mini-tart pan and filled up the pan with the dough. I like to make cookies this way, because I can cut the large cookie into wedges after baking.

The result was soooooo good! The raw can sugar also known as jaggery, which I got from an Indian grocery store, added a delicious and light maple-like flavor that I fell in love with. The peanut flour added a delicate texture with a burst in your mouth effect. It wasn't overwhelming either. There was just a hint of peanut flavor that complemented the jaggery and the spices really well. For a picture perfect look, I sprinkled some powdered sugar over the top.
 
 
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Wednesdays are my favorite days at work because its CSA veggies day. We get tons of veggies thanks to the Crown Heights CSA. To motivate my clients to try some of the vegetables they may not be familiar with, I make myself lunch with the veggies. Soon enough they start to poke their heads in the kitchen trying curious about the awesome aroma making its way around the building.

Today I made a stir-fry with Chinese broccoli, Leeks, and baby Bok choy seasoned with garlic powder, soy sauce, and fresh rosemary. Its definitely unusual to add rosemary to an Asian dish  but, hey it works! It looked and tasted amazing.
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