Pandan Pie

Today is my favorite day of the year… Pi(e) Day! A few weeks ago, I had a pandan latte at a Vietnamese coffee shop. It was heavenly. Pandan is a leaf used commonly in Southeast Asian cuisine, and the best way I can describe its flavor is like an herbaceous vanilla. One of my friends…

Coconut Ice Cream with Passion Fruit Swirl

This coconut ice cream with a swirl of passion fruit butter is a tropical treat in a bowl. What more is there to say? Guessipe Spread the coconut on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F until golden (about 5 minutes), stirring halfway through. Remove from the baking sheet and set aside. Bring…

Quick Stewed Eggplant with Coconut

Cookbook Club – Holiday Year in Review 2021 Our December Cookbook Club is traditionally a year in review event where we pick recipes from any of the cookbooks we’ve used that year. But because of COVID we were only able to gather for about half the year. That meant we had fewer cookbooks to choose…

Sweet Pea Soup with Coconut and Ginger

Cookbook Club – In Bibi’s Kitchen In October we used Hawa Hassan’s cookbook In Bibi’s Kitchen for Cookbook Club. Hassan gathered the stories and recipes of bibis (grandmothers) from eight African nations: Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Madagascar, and Comoros. To get a taste of the foods we tried from these bibis’ kitchens,…

Coconut Mango Dessert Soup

I know a dessert soup sounds weird and maybe not that appetizing, but that’s probably because it has a better name that I don’t know. I once had something like this at a Chinese banquet dinner and loved it so much that I went around to all the people who looked like they weren’t eating…

Tom Kha Gai (Thai coconut soup)

This coconut soup is one of my favorite Thai foods. Tom Kha Gai is a great accompaniment to other Thai dishes, but its rich and warming broth makes it hearty enough to eat as a main dish as well, especially with a side of rice. Making Tom Kha Gai is a simple 3-step process –…

Panang Curry

Panang curry is my favorite Thai curry. Panang curry paste has peanuts blended into it so that it has a nuttiness that mellows the spiciness a little. Combined with some coconut milk and sugar, it is a salty sweet treat that’s perfect over a bowl of rice. You can put whatever meats and vegetables you…

Thai Curry

When I think of Thai food, the coconut-y curry is the first thing that comes to mind. Once I’ve made this for people, I get repeat requests to make it again. The great thing about this Guessipe is it’s super flexible – pick whichever curry paste you like best – panang, green, red, yellow, etc….

Sweet Potato Bebinca

Cookbook Club – Friendsgiving Instead of choosing a cookbook for November, we had a Friendsgiving celebration where everyone brought either a favorite Thanksgiving dish or one they’ve been wanting to try. It was a fun and food-filled way to gather together before the busy holiday season really gets going. Go to my Cookbook Club site…

Kismet Restaurant Review

Gold Dig #66 On Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurant’s list, Kismet is referred to as a “neo-Middle Eastern bistro”. The all-day eatery (open 10am-11pm) has the sleek, modern feel recognizable in Jon and Vinny establishments. Located in Los Feliz, it was a long trek for me from the west side, but I talked a friend…

Carrot Coconut Curry Pasta

We were doing a pasta party, and all of the standard sauce bases were covered – tomato, vodka, bolognese. So I wanted to experiment with something different. When I was recovering from knee surgery, my cousin had made me a big batch of carrot coconut curry soup, and I remembered thinking those flavors might be…

Mexican Hot Chocolate Pot de Creme

My family decided to do Iron Chef Christmas – special ingredient: Cinnamon (go here to check out the fierce competition)! Each dish would be judged on flavor, presentation, and creativity. Cinnamon immediately made me think of Mexican hot chocolate, which I adore for its dark spicy sweetness. But just making Mexican hot chocolate seemed boring,…