Coming Up Roses

So, I found something on Pinterest.  Sigh.  Who doesn't find something on Pinterest?  I could take every day of my life and plan my outfit, meals, accessories, drinks and friends with Pinterest.  Problem is, who has all this money to do all these things?  Not I.  However, when I came across a pretty pink, rose petal adorned shake, I was smitten.  This went on the "trial" list right away.  It wasn't long before I got the opportunity.  Soon, there was milk, coconut ice cream and *gasp* rose water in my possession.

Before we get really REALLY excited, let's discuss one thing.  Rose water. Is. Delicious.  You can almost drink it right out of the bottle (and I have).   Rose EXTRACT is BITTER and is NOT drinkable and you will spit it everywhere in an attempt to taste it straight from the bottle.   I was able to purchase a bottle of Rose water from a seller on Amazon who imported it from France (still had the French label on it) and it was delicious.  Soft and fragrant whisking me away to the fields of south France while the winds of the Cote D'Azure carry all my worries away.  Although, when I think about it, I wonder if I could even remember any of the French I used to know and apply it to actually speaking with locals.  Hmmm.

Back to Pinterest.  This lovely concoction was calling to me and I fell for the bait.  A "Coconut Rose Shake" by Babble contributor Kathy Patalsky is the most refreshing, delicious and coconutty drink this side of an actual coconut shake.  Now, if you're having trouble remembering some of my coconut obsession, well, here's a link to help you out.  Her pictures are absolutely gorgeous and her recipe is 100% vegan.  Here's the link, go check it out.  (Mine has a vegan option too!)

Now, we all know, I cannot see a recipe and attack it without changing it in some way.  I'd love to be the simple, just have it how it is type person but that's not my style.  If you'd like to see what I changed... keep reading.  Also, if you'd like to see how it looks in a blender cup and not a beautiful ice cream glass, well you'll get that too!   Nothing like taking something absolutely gorgeous and turning it into regular kitchen work!  I strive for the best here!

It's NOT sugar free.  The ice cream has agave syrup in it.  If you need it sugar free, you can make your own ice cream from scratch to use in it.  That seems like a heck of a lot of work.  You CAN substitute a "low carb" version though such as Breyers sugar free, low carb vanilla and get pretty close to awesome with this.  Also, you  may notice I left out the pretty pink food coloring.  It's VERY nice to have it pink, but I didn't have any "natural" food coloring so wasn't going to use the chemical stuff I had left over from 10 years ago.


Rose Kissed Coconut Shake

1/2 cup  Coconut Bliss - Naked Coconut flavor (or your choice of sugar free vanilla)
1/2 cup whole milk or coconut milk -> (vegan option!)
2 tBsp  rose WATER (if you're using extract, you want about 4 drops)
1 tsp coconut extract/flavoring (optional but good if you're using vanilla ice cream)
3 tBsp of unsweetened shredded coconut
4 drops liquid stevia

I used a blender.  You don't have to.  In fact, if you just want to dump all this in a glass and stir, go for it.  However, I like a nice THICK shake.  Sometimes, I skimp on the milk a little and add a few more dollops of ice cream (you can try that if you want, it's delish).   If you're doing the glass thing, add all the liquid ingredients first, then add your ice cream and coconut and stir.  Otherwise, throw it all in the blender and hit go for about 20 sec.  Drink.  =D

How EASY was that!!!!!!

With all the snow still in the north, I'm sure some of you are thinking, "I'm not going to be sipping ice cream shakes anytime soon." BUT! You'll thank me in about 4 months when it's hot and I come here in July and say, "HEY EVERYONE! LET'S MAKE COCONUT ROSE SHAKES!"  Then it will rock!

Enjoy!

P.S - My birthday was last week, and I made a cake.  Don't worry, it was absolutely terrible and most of it ended up in the trash.  It looks kinda pretty...

My mom saved the day however with a cake she sent - made out of flowers!! It's very pretty!  And doesn't need icing or gf flour! 

Best. Monday. Ever.

Of course.  You knew this was coming.   You did.  And you knew the day it was here, my blog would explode in a veritable panic of musical happiness....

MATCHBOX 20 IS HEADED TO THE USA!

Ok. Ok.  Australia.  You can quit gloating now.   They went there first and my best friend and I were just crushed.  We could not believe one of our favorite bands was abandoning the U.S.  I mean, we totally understand, that Australia is beautiful and the people are awesome... but we want to go to the concerts too and can't afford to fly to Australia!  Well.  It's our turn now!

So, my food blog has just been overthrown by a musical rant.  We'll be seeing them in Baltimore in February, then Tampa and Orlando in March.  They say they are going to be doing more over the summer with the major cities, so perhaps we'll get exponentially lucky and get to see them again.  I'm in the market for front row seats, so all of you awesome people out there who are friends with MB20 and read my blog, just write anytime and hook me up!

Anytime now....

Still waiting....

=P

Anyway.  In celebration of more music awesomeness for this year (2011 was filled with Goo Goo Dolls and I have the pictures, video, audio, backstage passes, signed set lists, and stage paraphernalia to prove it!)
It's taken me almost an hour to write this post as my imagination pulls me to loud crowds, standing in line, being so excited I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest and chase the lead singer across the stage.  I'm lost in daydreams about what front row with MB20 would be like and if I'd survive the heart attack from being that close.   I have lofty goals of up close pictures of Rob Thomas.... sigh.  I probably need to get out more.

I would VERY MUCH love to give you the most awesome celebratory recipe today so we can all party on with MB20, however.  However.  I did something this weekend that would make everyone here completely drool on themselves.  It was THE best recipe I've come up with since probably a week ago.  I know I don't post all the time, but I'm constantly searching for ingredients, recipes, ideas, and inspirations for different things.  I like to test them a few times and then post.  I had a great idea once, tried it, and it flopped so badly, it left a bad taste in my mouth (lol literally) and I decided it wasn't such a great idea after all.  Glad I hadn't already just passed it onto you (since it LOOKED wildly successful!  It did NOT taste that way.)

I'll tone it down a bit from my near panic flailing excitement and talk about breakfast.

Do you struggle with breakfast food?  Eggs.  Check.   Eggs.  Check.   Egss with cheese.  Sigh.  Is there anything else for breakfast that's gluten free and sugar free?  Have you seen cereal lately?  It's packed with the rice flours and potato starches and SUGAR that we were talking about on Friday.  That is NOT a great way to start a great day.  I find a good breakfast needs protein obviously, but eggs have gotten old.

Here is a great morning starter, fairly easy to throw together, and if you wanted to, you could add any number of your favorite items to it.

Morning Burst Yogurt

1 cup plain, unsweeted organic yogurt (Greek works fine too, I can't remember the kind I usually buy, but use Stoneyfield regularly also)
1/4 cup almonds (salted roasted or raw, however you like them)
10 drops liquid stevia (14-18 for Greek if you like)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut (grated fresh, or dried)
OPTIONAL:  you can throw in a handful of berries if you like, or some craisins - REMEMBER!  Craisins have ADDED SUGAR!   Unless you buy the non sugared from Wholefoods, the ones at the regular stores do HAVE SUGAR.  Be really sparing with these.  Or do not use them.

Mix and enjoy!  I love to add a cup of hot white tea to my breakfast.  Give it a try!

(oops.  Ignore my school-laced, messy desk for this photo, it was morning.  You know what that means right?  My brain wasn't functioning yet.  I'm so proud of myself for having a clear picture that you can actually see the food.....)

Sneak Peek Monday - Return of the Coconuts!

Who doesn't love coconuts?   I could go into minute detail about every lovely thing about sweet coconut flesh, but then I'd have to ask everyone to get their heads out of the gutter and follow me to the kitchen.   My favorite is probably Thai (or young/green) coconuts.  Getting into these things is a lesson in machete wielding.  There is no easy way.  Lucky for us, there are plenty of YouTube videos to show us how to do it.  As you can see from Friday's post, I had a bit of trouble organizing the yogurt party, but do not worry, this week, I'm very focused on making it this week's achievement.  If any of you tried the pudding over the weekend, you'll know it was pretty heavenly, rich and definitely tropical.  When served cold, it's almost too rich to eat for breakfast... yep.  I had it for breakfast - or tried.

So this week, I doubt I will be buying any Thai coconuts, but I will be buying a lot of coconut milk, and stocking plenty of patience as I work with my thermometer and yogurt maker.  Be prepared for an explanation of epic proportions.  Also, you'll need some yogurt starter, or cultures, a little bit of sugar, and something to thicken.  Some people use corn starch, some use pectin, or agar flakes.  I tried gelatin last time and got nothing but I think my major mistake was sugar content.  I was trying to go easy on sugar, but when you do that - you starve the bacteria.  They need to grow to ferment correctly and without it, you get nothing.  By the time the fermentation is done, there should be little to no sugars left as the bacteria have eaten them.  Obviously, if you're here for the vegan aspect of this recipe, you'll not use gelatin.  I'll work on that perhaps another time.  I have corn starch but us sugar babies should steer away from this, corn is very carb heavy/sugary.

Coconut milk is healthy and tasty, not to mention a great low sugar addition to any diet.  It's better than cow's milk in the fact that there's no lactose (dairy sugars - which can be a double bad for some people) plus no worry about growth hormones, antibiotics or fair and humane treatment of animals.   It's definitely a vegan dream.  Here's your hint for the week!  {You're probably thinking, "Why do we need a hint, you just told us we're going to make yogurt!"}  Sure, we're going to try to make yogurt.  That is not a guarantee of success.  It's just this week's challenge which I hope to be posting a successful recipe by Friday.  I realize there are a lot of successful recipes on the internet, but so far, they are not working for me.  I will continue to experiment until I find one and then you can come here and try it for yourself.  The hint is:  if my yogurt fails again this week, I'll be posting a recipe for a super sweet sugar free treat that is easy, fun, perfect for summer and a coconut lover's dream.

See you Friday!