coconut rice « Putney Farm

Breathe. Relax. Read a book.

Well, we are back. Or at least settled. We are now at our “home-away-from-home” on the east end of Long Island. One of our favorite places in the world. I guess you can call it a “home” because we have plenty of friends and family here, and we pretty much know where everything is. That may seem simplistic, but part of being comfortable is familiarity. We cooked in three different kitchens in the last thee days but pretty much knew where everything was. Other people’s kitchens are a tough place to cook, but we know our way around. We can get back to business. But before we cooked, the first business was meeting the two newest members of our extended family. Beautiful babies and happy, if somewhat tired, parents. We can almost field a football team with all the cousins- which is very, very cool. We are so blessed and lucky, and the babies give us a reminder of just how good life is. And they are cute, too.

Radishes are in season here, and very tasty.

And we did get back to cooking. In many of our posts, we mention that certain dishes and drinks are good for a crowd. Well, we put a few to the test already. Most meals over the weekend fed groups of 15-20. So far, so good- but we do have a few notes and revisions. And, happily, mostly to the good. As for the actual food, we tend to have simply prepared fish and shellfish as our main courses. Seared ahi tuna, roasted striped bass, sea scallops and steamed clams made it to the table over the weekend, and will be part of almost every dinner this week. Most were caught within the last day or so. The fish is so fresh you don’t need to do much (just don’t screw them up), so we focused on sides that highlight the seafood or feature the local produce.

The coconut rice goes well with the local fish. A big hit- we will make this throughout the trip.

Firstly, we had fresh local radishes and served them with butter and salt. Always easy, always good. (My Dad also makes kick-ass guacamole every day, but that is another post). The biggest hit so far is the coconut rice. The rice went very well with the seared, rare ahi tuna (steaks almost 2 inches thick and sooo good). Served with a dash of soy and some cilantro chutney (working on that recipe), it was a perfect fit. A table of 16 were all very happy. One note here, we made the coconut rice with “Light” coconut milk, as the store was out of regular coconut milk. If anything, the light coconut milk gave the dish plenty of flavor, but perhaps a slightly lighter texture. Good to know that we can make a lower-calorie version of the original.

We added fresh corn kernels to the Red Cat zucchini- it was great.

Another surprise was how well the coconut rice went with the Red Cat zucchini. The dish comes from here, so everyone enjoyed it (the zucchini was right from the CSA), but as the dish is more Mediterranean, we are surprised how well the flavors meshed. Another note here- we added some fresh corn kernels to the zucchini and they added lovely texture and sweetness. If you have corn, give this a try. The next day we took the leftover coconut rice and combined it with the zucchini and corn. It made a delightful cold summer salad.

As for the cocktails, we made fresh Tommy’s-style margaritas every day (2 oz. blanco tequila, 1 oz. gave nectar, 1 oz. lime juice). But the big hit was the Lani Honi. As predicted, everyone thought of it as a lemony summer punch with a little extra depth. We served a pitcher alongside the margaritas and the Lani Honi held its own. We had requests for more the next day. Very good.

As expected, a perfect drink to make for a crowd.

Lastly we made a punch-sized batch of the Nouvelle Fleur. The drink was a success, but did need some tweaking. In the original recipe we used ruby-red grapefruit and the flavors meshed very well. Out here, we used white grapefruit and the drink was way too sour. Happily, a little extra St. Germain and some agave nectar did the trick and the Nouvelle Fleur was a success, particularly with grapefruit fans. But a quick reminder that it pays to taste your drinks and adjust as necessary.

A great punch, but we needed to adjust for more sour white greapefruit.

Today we are off to the CSA garden and then looking for corn and stone fruits. And just wait until we start talking about the pies…oh my. We have new photos and recipes coming all week! It’s good to be back.

Coconut – Curry Cabbage (putneyfarm.com)
sticky coconut rice with fresh ananas (simpleandchicblog.com)
Coconut & Lime Rice (itstarajane.wordpress.com)

Coconut rice with toasted coconut and lime garnish

Well, our trip to Hawaii not only yielded some good tiki drinks, we found a really great side dish- coconut rice. You may be familiar with coconut rice, as it is often served with Thai and Indian dishes, but it is a side that can (and we think should) be made as a regular side-dish at home. Coconut rice simply combines jasmine rice, coconut milk, water, oil, salt and some shredded coconut. Coconut rice, as you would expect, is a bit sweet but it is by no means cloying. The sweetness actually creates a nice match with main dishes that are a bit spicy, sour and/or acidic- so the coconut rice turns out to be a very versatile dish. So if you are making curry, fish or shellfish, a spicy stir-fry or even a roast chicken , the coconut rice will be a great side, and certainly a nice break from potatoes. (And most kids love the sweet rice).

Coconut rice is also easy to make and you can find most of the ingredients in any supermarket. To make the rice, simply oil a medium pot then, over medium-high heat, add the remaining ingredients and bring to a slow boil. Stir regularly for the first few minutes to avoid sticking. We also use extra shredded coconut to toast for garnish- but this is optional. Once you reach a boil, add a lid to the pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until most of the coconut milk is gone. Then remove the pot from the heat, but keep the lid on for 10 minutes. After 10 minutres check the rice for seasoning (add salt of needed), garnish with toasted coconut and/or a lime wedge (if you like) and serve.