Witchy Kitchen

Tag: coconut milk

  • Roasted Green Pepper Soup

    Roasted Green Pepper Soup

    Red peppers get all the love but the humble green pepper is fresh and unexpected. I had posted a green pepper soup recipe here years ago and it was one of my most popular; I’ve tweaked it slightly and taken terribly lit moody new photos.

    While not as sweet as red peppers, deeply roasting green ones does bring out a bit of sweetness, though their overall flavor is more grassy and herbal. In this soup the grassiness is enhanced by ground coriander, deepened by cumin, and mellowed and richened by coconut milk. It’s light enough that I’d like to try it chilled in the summer, but right now in the winter it’s the perfect cheap and green dish for your New Year.

    Roasted Green Pepper Soup

    • 3 green peppers
    • 1-2 tablespoons coconut oil, or a flavorless oil
    • 1 onion, chopped
    • 2 garlic cloves, grated
    • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
    • salt & pepper to taste
    • 4 cups vegetable broth, divided
    • 1 can coconut milk, left in the fridge overnight to separate into water and cream

    Heat oven to 450° and roast green peppers by placing on the rack and turning with tongs as they blacken (place a cookie sheet on the rack underneath to catch any drips). When blackened, place in a bowl and cover with a plate or plastic wrap to steam and make easier to peel.

    Meanwhile in a soup pot heat coconut oil and saute onion until just beginning to turn golden, being careful not to burn. Add garlic and cook for a minute or so, then add coriander, cumin, salt (start with a scant teaspoon) and generous black pepper. Cook, stirring, for another minute, and add about a cup of the vegetable broth. Move mixture to a blender.

    Peel and deseed the green peppers and place in the blender with the soupy mixture and blend until smooth, adding more vegetable broth if necessary. Return to the pot and heat through.

    Open the can of coconut milk and reserve several spoons of the cream for garnish. Add the rest to the soup and heat through well, and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve with a dollop of coconut cream.

  • Orange Jubilee

    Orange Jubilee

    Hey mutants! This month’s Fandom Foodies theme is #Xmenu, all X-Men inspired recipes hosted by Food ‘n’ Flix!

    Most of my X-Men familiarity comes from the 90s animated series. My favorite was Rogue, but I love a spunky orphan, so Jubilee was a close second. She’s the truest of mall rats; she ran away from an orphanage to hide out in the Hollywood Mall.

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    Jubilee by one of my favorite illustrators Heather Mahler

    When brainstorming a recipe, I settled on a remix of one of the most iconic mall foods, the Orange Julius. I gave it some energetic personality by using coconut milk, then frozen pineapple as yellow and frozen OJ concentrate as dated as her signature jacket (just kidding, that jacket’s on point). Fire up those energy plasmoids, or your blender, and you have a drink as fun and girly and cool as our underrated heroine.

    Later I tried topping it with some sparkly orange seltzer – gave it that little bit of fireworks.

    Orange Jubilee

    • 12 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1 cup frozen pineapple
    • 1/2 cup ice
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 2 cups coconut milk (the beverage kind in the carton, not the kind in the can)
    • orange seltzer, optional

    In a blender, combine orange juice concentrate, sugar, pineapple, ice, vanilla extract and coconut milk, blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and top with orange seltzer (optional), enjoy!

    WHAT, Jubilee gets turned into a vampire?! I may have to investigate this further.

    I’ve not seen Logan yet, so the most recent movie I’ve seen is X-Men: Apocalypse, which I think we can all agree was ok at best. However, there were two pieces of perfection, including my girl Sophie Turner who can do no wrong as Jean Grey, and this amazing mall montage with plentiful Jubilee which didn’t even make the final cut.

  • Hara Masala Coconut Rice

    Hara Masala Coconut Rice

    This rice dish is the perfect side for all your summer barbecues – it pairs perfectly with all kinds of grilled veggies, fish and meat, and particularly well with Caribbean, Southeast Asian, or desi menus. I would describe it as intensely pleasant. The flavors aren’t huge and bold, and it’s not exactly the star of the table, but it’s a fantastic supporting actor; for whatever reason it was the leftovers I was most excited to eat again!

    Hara Masala Coconut Rice

    For the hara masala:

    • 1/2 bunch mint
    • 1/2 bunch cilantro
    • handful basil
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
    • 2 green chilis, optional (I left out for kids)
    • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

    Combine mint, cilantro, basil, garlic, ginger, chilis if using and turmeric in a food processor.

    For the rice:

    • 3 cups basmati rice, rinsed well and soaked for half an hour
    • 3 tablespoons ghee, use oil to make a vegan dish
    • 1 onion, thinly sliced
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • 4 cloves
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • pinch black pepper
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 1/2 cups (1 can) full-fat coconut milk
    • 1 1/2 cups water
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    • green masala (above)
    • toasted coconut and chopped green onions or herbs for serving

    Heat ghee (I did the onion and spices in a wok then transferred to a pot, you can do that or just do everything in the pot) and fry onion, stirring, until VERY golden brown – un-goldened onion ends up as slimy strips in your rice, so make sure to cook thoroughly! Add cinnamon, cloves, cumin and black pepper and stir for a moment or two. Transfer everything to the pot (if you’re not there already), and add bayleaf, coconut milk, water and salt, and bring to a boil. Turn on another eye of the stove to low, you’ll move the pot here in a minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

    Stir in the hara masala, cover the pot with a tea towel first with the top over that. Transfer to the other eye on low, and let steam for 20 minutes.

    To serve, transfer to a serving dish and top with toasted coconut, green onions or herbs. Serve hot!

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