Vegan Coconut Lime Rice Pudding

I'm not a vegan and I won't even post a vegan recipe just for its veganiness That said, I often post a delicious recipe that also happens to be vegan. Truth be told, I didn't even realize this recipe was vegan at first. I was just experimenting with a coconut lime rice, and there it was. (I should also note that it is also completely gluten-free, so I'm pretty sure I'm not assured a spot in heaven.)

This recipe is also really really easy. In fact, you can make the base rice for this recipe to eat with any Thai or Asian meal, and then re-purpose it for dessert (should you choose; or you can just start with dessert; no one's judging here).

And while we're talking about re-purposing, you can absolutely eat this for breakfast. Make it with brown or black rice and you don't even have to feel the tiniest little bit guilty eating it for breakfast. Guys--it will be vegan, gluten-free, and whole grain. Not to mention that powerhouse in trendy nutrition: coconut milk. I'm just saying that you're probably a bad person if you don't do it. But, you know, no judgment.

Also, since this is rice based, it is so absurdly cheap for a dessert, well, I just can't help but love it. It comes in at about $.25/serving.

And did I mention that the hands-on preparation for this is less than five minutes...

Vegan Coconut Lime Rice Pudding
serves 8
coconut rice from Ahead of Thyme
Prep and cook time: 25 minutes
Cost: $2.10 (that's about $.25/serving)
rice: .25, coconut milk: 1.50, lime: .25, sugar: .10

2 C jasmine rice (any other type of rice works as well, but jasmine is my favorite)
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 C water
1 lime
1/2 C sugar (regular will do, but if you're a real vegan, raw or natural sugars work too)
raisins (optional and I know they sound weird, but I liked them)

To prepare rice, put rice, coconut milk, and water into a saucepan. Stir it a bit to get rid of any large lumps in the coconut milk (alternately, if you have some foresight about lumps as opposed to myself, you can put the coconut milk and water in the pot and stir first, then add it to the rice). COVER with a lid and set to medium heat. Bring to boiling, reduce to LOW heat. Let cook until rice has absorbed all of the liquids, about 20 minutes. (If you don't cook this on low heat, you risk having the coconut milk burn/brown on the bottom of the pot.)

Remove from heat and let cool (you can leave a bit warm depending on whether you like your rice pudding warm or cold).

Add the juice from the lime. Add the sugar. Add a bit of lime zest if desired. Note: The truth is that the measurements for the lime and the sugar are COMPLETELY arbitrary (you heard me). You can make this as sweet or as tart as you like. I made it with several different levels of lime and sugar and found I pretty much liked it all ways. So start with a little of each, keep tasting and add more if you want.

Mix sugar and lime together with the rice.

Enjoy.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Coconut Cream Brownies

Happy Halloween friends! I realize that I'm getting to this late, so now you're all probably passed out on the floor in a candy coma. So, uh, sorry about that. I should have gotten this to you before all the Halloween parties... Because it's pretty much like a Mounds Bar on steroids. But don't worry because there are still plenty of festivities coming up in the next few months and I think these would be a beautiful little addition for your Christmas cookie plate this year.

I actually made them for our book club. We read by Brandon Sanderson and so I made us some chalkling brownies. I don't have a great picture of those since it was night and I was rushing getting things ready for book club.

And then, between book club and my family (and, uh, my own snitching of these amazing brownies) I only had one lonely soldier left when I did get around to getting some decent pictures. At least he posed well for the camera.

This is a fancy-looking brownie, but pretty easy to make. You do need to have your regular brownies cooled first, so be prepared for that time-wise.

To make them, use THIS RECIPE for brownies.

Then THIS RECIPE for the coconut cream and ganache.

Now, go on and enjoy that sugar coma.

Vegan Valentine--Chocolate Coconut Mousse

No, I'm not a vegan. But I have deep, passionate feelings for coconut cream/milk. What better inspiration for Valentine's Day than some good food love. If you are vegan or just a lover of creamy coconut, then this is the perfect food for you on the day of love and chocolate (or any other day).

This mousse is also super simple and comes together extremely quickly.

Chocolate Coconut Mousse
adapted from Cafe Delights
Makes 4 small (shot sized) servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cost:$2.50
Coconut milk: 1.90, sugar: .05, cocoa: .10, dark chocolate: .45

Note: You'll notice there's a big range with the amount of sugar for these. The original recipe called for the small amount. This leaves you with a mousse that has barely any sweetness at all. That totally works for some people--they just want the creamy, coconuty flavor of this mousse. However, if you're expecting/wanting the more traditional sweetness of a more traditional mousse, then you'll need to use more sugar. So mix in and taste as you go, then decide how sweet you want it. The chocolate shavings will add a bit of sweetness, but not a significant amount.

1 can coconut cream or coconut milk (just the thick creamy parts)
1-4 Tbsp powdered sugar
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 oz dark chocolate, chopped or shaved (optional)

Whip the coconut cream (or the thick part of your coconut milk) in a bowl. Add the cocoa powder, then the milk.

Chop your dark chocolate and then fold it in.

PRINTABLE RECIPE