Coco Nutty Goodness

[FoxersArtist]

This has been an amazing week for discovering the newest, latest & greatest in the world of cooking. With great sadness, I had figured that surely there could not be any more shocking discoveries of how to cook allergy free foods. The cookies, the breads, the lamb, the buffaloaf and finally, the corn free marshmallow blob of goodness. (By the way...I ordered some cornfree marshmallow creme online just to compare it to what I made and I tell you - it was sub standard but it might have been acceptable in a pinch if I could have actually gotten it out of the container. No joke - I pryed and pryed at it with a spoon to try to remove it from it's plastic tub with absolutely 0% success. They surely expected the plastic tub to be edible too, I suppose.) Anyway, I should have known that there must be more discoveries out there waiting for me - but I had already learned so many amazing ways to create alternative foods.

A few weeks ago, I decided to make a second batch of goat's milk fudge to sell to people in the community. I had a few people interested in buying it and felt proud to know that MY corn free, cows milk free, soy free, gluten free fudge was extra special. Unfortunately, I did not cook this batch long enough to allow all the sugar to desolve and the fudge was mildly crunchy. Not only that but I also neglected to add vanilla extract at the end. This is a critical part of cooking with red palm oil shortening (that and butter flavoring), because even as it is better for you than butter, it kind of causes a void of flavor, similar in size to the giant pits that can be found on Earth's moon, and will make whatever you are eating taste much more like nothing than something. Some food fanciers use the term "cardboard" to classify this lack of explosive flavor whereas others who have a more refined tasting system would prefer to use the term "foot." I quickly added vanilla extract to my fudge as soon as I realized I had left it out, and before the fudge had time to cool, but then realized in dismay that after the initial (extra, extra) burst of vanilla flavor had exploded onto the tongue, that foot void was still lurking in the background. Dissapointing.

Or was it? Messing up 5 lbs of fudge meant that I would have to buckle down and endure eating it myself since clearly it was not suitable for sale. I think I could close shop on those discriminating taste buds for a little while and enjoy my mistake so that no one else would have to "suffer" the dissapointment of crunchy vanilla fudge with a waxy after flavor.

So - even though I had gone to a lot of trouble to make special goat's milk fudge for my community to enjoy, it was not as enjoyable as the first batch I had made and ranted and raved about. I was just plotting to create a new batch, one of which I would be sure to boil much longer, when hubby came to me with some horrifying news. The goat's milk he had been eating was starting to upset his stomach. I had just perfected this recipe so that we would have something special to share at Christmas time (and whenever my sugar/chocolate addict was flairing up - shhh, don't tell). I could still make the goat's milk fudge to sell...but what good would that be without gracing your wonderful partner with a taste of your creation. I guess I would have to modify the recipe again but I felt like I was running low on options.

The creamy factor in fudge, in my opinion, is what will make or break a good treat. I have had fudge that claims to be fudge but the cold hard facts are that this cannot be fudge unless it's creamy and soft. No cream, no amazing moistness, no fudge. No one wants to eat a dry, crumbling, chocolate brick and pretend they are really eating delicious, melty, rich fudgy goodness. This is a boundary that the brain and imagination simply refuse to compromise on. In fact, I am sure that it must be a requirement for humanity and if it isn't, well, it just should be.

It wan't but several days later that I had a fantastic idea. Yes, yes, I know. My brain takes just a LITTLE time to warm up, but hur-rah, I got there eventually! I opened up the cupboard and noticed a little can of coconut milk in the pantry with the canned fruit. I purchased it quite a while ago because it said it might be good in stir fry. I was making a lot of rice noodle stir fry at the time but soon stopped when I learned that I would no longer be able to use those little baby corns anymore, unless I wanted my husband to suffer road rage for a week following the meal. Stir fry just wouldn't be the same without those little corns, so I mourned my losses and cut ties with my noodle dish and moved on, feeling very smart for not having purchased a $150 wok I had been eyeing at the store.

My first thoughts regarding this new dairy replacement option went back to my childhood. (Doesn't everything seem to go there?) Mom and dad would buy a coconut from the store a few times a year and it was a real treat. The best part was the coconut milk we would get from drilling a hole in the shell and allowing the sweet clear stuff to drain into a glass. I would lean over the counter and watch the milk run out and down the side of the glass like a hazey miniature waterfall. I would watch, keeping my eyes fixed on the stream until suddenly:

Drip, drip, drip!!!! drip, drip! drip.

drip, drip.

drip.

Will this thing ever stop draining?! It truely seemed like an endless process and I was alway torn down the middle. The more that drips out of the nut, the more milk I will get to enjoy. But, the more milk that drips out, the longer it will take and my patience may not survive this adventure long enough to get any milk at all. Milk. Milk seemed like a funny word to me, considering this stuff was clear and not white. It looked like sugar water enhanced with little bits of brown protien floaties that bobbed up and down in the top of the glass. I always expected it to be sweet but the explosion of milky flavor always took me off gaurd. It really did taste creamy like any milk should and it was always the very best part of the coconut.

So back to present day. I had never opened up a can of coconut milk before but I expected it be similar to my childhood experience with the hazey waterfall and floaties. To my utter amazement, I peeked into the can after hacking at the lid with our semi-usable can opener only to see a thick river of pure white. Now THAT'S milk. My very first round with this stuff ended with a steaming cup of creamy chia latte tea, and boy was it ever creamy! I gave Andy a sip and he hugged me, telling me he had feared he would never taste anything creamy again. After this little ego stroke, I had a brilliant, mind blowing thought. Someone, somewhere must have thought of this before us and what if there was coconut milk ICE CREAM!?! AHHH! That would be nothing less than amazing. 5 minutes later Google had shared a whole new world of "Coconut Bliss" ice cream with us and the best part? They sold some in Santa Fe!!! Santa Fe? That's where Andy's new job is! What's even funnier is that Andy drove to pick some up after work the very next day. Oh boy, what a hit! Mmmm. In fact, I'm enjoying the thought so much that I may have to visit my freezer in a brief moment to remind myself of what it tastes like.

So this new milk worked in chia tea, and it worked to make ice cream. It also made a mean banana cream mush that was a delightful after dinner treat. I decided it was time to go for the gold and prepared to make another batch of fudge. The only thing is that my recipe called for evaporated milk and coconut milk had not already become condensed. It was a tad bit thicker, but I didn't want to risk spoiling the recipe, so I boiled a can until there was only about 75% left. The fudge looked questionable until the marshmallow cream and dairy free chocolate chips were added and then I took a deep breath to make sure it would thicken. It worked beautifully and the fudge is soft and creamy just as it should be. It is true dairy free fudge and I have been nibbling on it all week without feeling guilty for cheating.

My next adventure will be to try to make pumpkin pie for thanksgiving and we'll see how that works out. I'm so glad I have found such a cool alternative. It may be higher in saturated fats than regular milk, but for the first time, I don't feel tempted to cheat when I am offered things with dairy in them. Coconut milk is awesome! Thank you celiac disease for opening my eyes to amazing and tasty new wonders!

-Anna

[ShayFL]

Anna....congrats on the fudge!!

And I can tell you with absolute certainty that the coconut milk makes a delicious pumpkin pie.