Thai Coconut Sticky Rice and Mango ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง

For most Asian families, it is common to have fruits at the end of a meal as desert. I grew up eating fruits as desert often and this is one my favorite Asian sweet treats with fruit! Being Asian and a rice lover, I can't get enough of this simple Thai desert consists of yummy sticky rice soaked with sweet aromatic coconut milk, and topped with a very tropical fruit, mango. What a Genius idea to put all the very common ingredients of the tropical South East Asia together in a sweet way.

The recipe I use is below and it is easy to follow. It is also from one of my favorite Thai food blogs so check it out!

Recipe:

Author: Leela  from shesimmers.com

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  1 hour

Total time:  1 hour 15 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• ½ cup raw Thai sticky rice (no substitute), soaked for 10 minutes, drained, and rinsed to get rid of excess starch ( I soak my rice for at least 2 hours)
• ½ cup good coconut milk
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• One perfectly ripe good mango (preferably Ataulfo), peeled and cut into thick slices

Directions

1. Put the rice in a heatproof bowl and steam in a steamer, over medium heat, for about 20 minutes (based on one half cup of rice). The rice should be cooked through with no hard, raw bits in the middle of the grains. You can also cook the sticky rice without a steamer, using the splatter guard method.
2. Turn off the heat and let the rice stay in the steamer, with the lid on, while you prepare the coconut milk.
3. In a heatproof bowl, heat the coconut milk, sugar, and salt in the microwave on high for 2 minutes. The sugar should completely dissolve and the mixture should be very hot.
4. Take the sticky rice out of the steamer. Pour the hot coconut mixture on top of the rice and gently stir. (It may look like your rice is drowned in coconut water, but the liquid will all be absorbed.) Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the mixture stand at room temperature, undisturbed, for half an hour.
5. The coconut sticky rice is to be served at room temperature along with fresh mango. The sesame seeds are optional.
6. The rice can be refrigerated and reheated in the microwave, but the texture of reheated sticky rice isn’t as good as it is when freshly made. Freezing sticky rice is not recommended.

It is really best served warm after making it rather than re heated.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

This is such an easy dish to make. My family loves it and I love making it for them. I also have a huge bush of rosemary which makes it easier for me. No brining needed and it is juicy and delicious. I made two tonight since my family needs more than one!
Please feel free to try out the recipe below and let me know how it turns out for you.

Ingredients

1( 3-4 lb) chicken (fresh, never been frozen)

1 lemon

4-6 sprigs of fresh rosemary

4 cloves of garlic, peeled 

1-2 TBS olive oil

salt and peeper to taste (or you can use lemon pepper)

1/4 C water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Finely dice about 1 TBS rosemary and save the rest.

In a small bowl, squeeze 1 lemon (save the rind), add olive oil and diced rosemary. Mix well.

Rub the whole chicken with salt and pepper (or lemon pepper). Then rub again with lemon oil mixture.

Insert whats left of the lemon (the rind) inside the chicken cavity along with some rosemary sprigs and a garlic clove. Then place the rest of the rosemary sprigs and garlic in various parts of the chicken such as under the wings etc.

Place the chicken in a pan with 1/4 C water and bake uncovered for 1 hour 15 min, breast side down. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes before eating the whole thing!!

Valentine Cupcakes ( Lemon cupcakes)

Cupcakes:

1 box Duncan Hine's lemon supreme cake mix
1 (3.4 oz) box lemon pudding
4 large eggs
1 1/3 C water
1/3 C vegetable oil

Mix all the ingredients together till well combined ( I used a hand mixer). Divide the cake batter among cupcake liners ( I made 18 large ones by filling 3/4 of the liners). Bake at 350• C for 18 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool.

Lemon Buttercream  Frosting

Adapted from C.Taylor at food.com under the title Lemon Buttercream Frosting (From the Famous Sprinkles Cupcakes)

1 lemon zest and juice
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Combine butter, salt and sugar well. Then add lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Beat till fluffy for about 3 minutes.

Bacardi Rum Cake

Rum cake is one my family's favorite cakes and I always use this recipe from about.com. This recipe is very easy to follow and uses 1 cup of RUM!! We don't just drink rum... we put it in our cake too! Delicious and it's always a crowd pleaser at potlucks. This cake is made from a cake mix and most people can't believe it's not from scratch. Be sure to use gold rum and not the silver rum. You can really taste the rum but it's not too strong either to get you tipsy! 
Here is the recipe:

Golden Rum Cake

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 45-60 min

Total Time: 1 hour, 25 min

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 cup chopped, toasted pecans or walnuts

• 1 18-1/2 ounce yellow cake mix

• 1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

• 4 eggs

• 1/2 cup cold milk

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum

Preparation:

Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle nuts on bottom of pan. Combine all cake ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan.

Glaze

• 1/2 cup butter

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum (use the gold rum)

Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Note: The rum will cause steam. Be careful not to burn yourself.

Poke holes all over the cake and drizzle the glaze over top of Bacardi Rum Cake while it is still the Bundt pan.


 The last step above is what I do different than the original recipe because this way I don’t lose the glaze to the bottom of the cake and keeps the cake whole moister. I let the cake soak up all the glaze for about 30 minutes before inverting it on a platter. I also save a couple table spoons of the glaze and drizzle more after inverting it on the serving platter.

ENJOY!!

Easy Butter Pecan cake

Ingredients:
1 box Butter Pecan Cake Mix
1 can condensed milk
1 tub cool whip
 Heath toffee bits to sprinkle on top

Directions:
Make the cake in a 9 x13 pan according to the box instructions.
Let cool for 15 min and then poke holes (I used chop sticks)
Pour the condensed milk over.
Top with cool whip and sprinkle toffee bits on top (or chopped pecans)

Marinated Cheese

Look how pretty and colorful this easy dish is! The name sounds interesting as well. This simple appetizer was introduced to me at a holiday party a few years ago and my friend was nice enough to share the recipe. This yummy recipe is a keeper for certain and I am sharing it with you for you and family or friends to enjoy!


Ingredients


1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1 (2 ounce) bottle diced pimento, drained

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 tablespoons minced green onions

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (8 ounce) package Cheddar cheese

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cold

Directions

In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the olive oil, wine vinegar, pimento, parsley, green onion, garlic, sugar, basil, salt and pepper. Shake vigorously to blend. Set aside.

Cut the block of Cheddar cheese in half lengthwise. Cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices to form squares. Repeat with cream cheese. Arrange cheese squares alternately in a shallow baking dish with slices standing on edge. You can arrange in a single long row, or 2 parallel rows depending on the size of your dish. Pour the marinade from the jar over the cheese slices, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

To serve, remove slices to a serving platter so they are still arranged in an alternating pattern. Spoon some of the extra marinade over the cheese, and serve with crackers.

Mini Rum Cakes

Awhile ago, I received a really nice gift of a mini Bundt cake pan which makes six small cakes. I put that into use this weekend and made the cutest mini rum cakes. I used the Bacardi Golden Rum Cake recipe from about.com but omitted the pecans since I didn’t have them that day and shortened the baking time since they were so small. This recipe is from 1 box of cake mix and makes one regular size (12 cup) Bundt cake (see my Bacardi rum cake post )or 10-12 mini bundt cakes as seen in my pictures.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 min
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 min

Ingredients:

Cake
• 1 18-1/2 ounce yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup cold milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum

Glaze
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum

Preparation:

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Combine all cake ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes on high with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in pan. Poke holes all over the cake and drizzle the glaze over top of Bacardi Rum Cake while it is still the Bundt pan. (This is what I do different than the original recipe because this way I don’t lose the glaze to the bottom of the cake and keeps the whole cake moister. I let the cake soak up all the glaze for about 30 minutes before inverting it on a platter.)

Glaze: Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in rum. Note: The rum will cause steam. Be careful not to burn yourself.