DF Coconut Tapioca Pudding -revised

O my!  I made this tonight so Vanessa would have a safe treat in her lunch tomorrow.  All I can say is Wow!!!  I love coconut, and I love Tapioca pudding...why I never thought to make the two as one I do not know...but this is a great way to do it!  It is easy and almost whole...just need to find a more "wholesome" way to sweeten this...

Ingredients:

        1/3 cup pearl tapioca

        2 (14 ounce) can coconut milk

        1/8 teaspoon salt (or just to taste)

        1/4 cup sucanat or turbanado sugar

         1 egg yolk

         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

         1/8 tsp. coconut extract

Directions:

     1.  Soak pearls in coconut milk for 30 min in a saucepan. 

     2.  Bring the tapioca, coconut milk, and salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat,

          stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes.

     3.  In separate small bowl, beat egg yolk. Add a large spoonful, or two to egg and whisk fairly 

         quickly to keep egg from cooking in globs.  Add egg mix to the rest of the mix in the saucepan. 

     4.  Stir in sugar and mix well. 
     5.  Remove from heat and add flavorings.  Serve warm or chilled.

  

I actually made this with homemade coconut milk using 3 cups of the milk.  I tasted it without the egg and it kind of lacked body.  It seemed to thicken just fine without it, but that yolk kind of adds a depth or richness to it.  I also used less than the 1/4 c sugar and it seemed to be plenty sweet.  Without any sweetener it was again lacking depth.  Someday I hope to be able to enjoy this kind of stuff without sweeteners of any kind...  Not sure that I will ever like an unsweetened Tapioca pudding but I definitely like it less sweet than I used to!

Peeps-DF and naturally colored

My kids love peeps.  They are loaded with food coloring and with HFCS and corn syrup etc.  I really wanted to try making some from scratch and was surprised how amazingly easy they were to make.  I will definitely make these again.  The beet powder worked the best, the blueberry...well...by the time I got enough into it, it would have been goo...so it looks more grey.  The powdered sugar was cute as well.

Ingredients and directions

1 packet Knox unflavored gelatin
1/4 c. water

Put into stand mixer or bowl to sit while cooking.

1/3 c. water
1 c. sugar

Put in small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Boil until temp on candy thermometer reaches about 230° F.
Add very hot mix to mixer and mix on medium/high speed for about 8 min or until it begins to form soft peaks.  Spoon mix into Pam sprayed silicone forms or sheet pan lined with sprayed parchment paper to use cookie cutters on. 

When set they will pop right out of silicone forms and roll in prepared sugar.

I used about 1/4-1/8 tsp. beet powder mixed with enough drops of water to make a paste.  Mix in enough sugar to make a pretty pink.  The blueberry made that grey color and would take so much blueberry that it would make it gooey...I haven't tried letting it dry first yet, but that  will be another day for sure. I would also like to work with some flavors.  They were really good alone but maybe with some almond flavoring or this butter/nut flavoring that I have...hm...
Needless to say, the girls loved them.  I bet they would make a great smore...

Symphony pie

Had this for Dessert at my friends house.  O my...

Ingredients:

1 6.8 oz Symphony Bar with toffee and almonds, melted
1 8 oz tub Cool Whip
1 Oreo Crust

Directions:
1. Melt Chocolate bar in micro for 30 sec at a time, stirring after each 30 seconds.
2. Fold melted chocolate into Cool Whip.
3. Pour into Oreo Crust.
4. Chill and enjoy.

Very simple pie that is oh so yummy!  Not diet friendly in any way shape or form but so easy and so delicious!  Thank you Sharon for sharing this recipe with me!!  I will have to delve into variations now but this is how it all started!

Fruit Cobbler Oatmeal-phase 3

1/4 c. steel cut oats, uncooked
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. fruit cobbler dried fruit
               (apples, cherries, rhubarb, blueberries, peaches)
1 dash cinnamon
1 dash nutmeg
couple drops vanilla extract
1/4 c. 1% milk

Directions:
1. Bring to boil oats and fruit.  Put lid on pot and reduce to low heat for 20 min.
2. Remove from heat and add spices and vanilla.  Mix well.
3. Pour milk on cereal and serve.

I need a camera...this stuff looked, smelled and tasted so good!  You can use any mix of fruits, this was a bag of mixed dried fruit from The Market at Anacortes that I had on hand.