I made this pie last week thinking it was the recipe for the week for TWD.  Not that it got wasted (I just missed posting the correct recipe–LOL!) since we had it for dessert when our grandkids were over for a BBQ.  This recipe was chosen by Spike of spike.bakes and can be found on page 350 of Dorie’s book Baking From My Home to Yours. The coconut crust was heavenly and the banana flavor mixed in the ice cream truly made this a wonderful dessert with a hint of tropical flavor.  I tweaked the recipe to add ground almonds in the crust. I also used neapolitan ice cream since we couldn’t decide what flavor we want.  I wanted to layer them with the banana flavor mixed with the chocolate but in the end, we just mixed the strawberry, vanilla and chocolate and enjoyed it that way.  We also ran out of fresh bananas to put on top (somebody kept on snacking on the banana slices!) so only a part of our pie was nicely decorated.

Ingredients:

Almond Coconut Crust

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
• 1 cup ground almonds (or you can use any ground nuts) Dorie’s recipe used butter cookies crushed into crumbs
• 1 ripe banana

Filling

• 2 ripe bananas mashed
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 pint ice cream (your choice of flavor, just keep in mind the the bananas will color our ice cream if you use vanilla or any light-colored flavor)

Topping

• 1 ripe banana, sliced
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. To make crust, melt butter in pan and toast shredded coconut until light brown.  Remove from pan and add ground almonds. Mix and press on a greased 9-inch pie plate.  Freeze for 30 minutes. When ready to bake, line crust with sliced banana.
2. To make filling, combine bananas, lemon juice and lemon zest in a food processor. Process until smooth. Add ice cream and pulse until combined.  Do not process too long or ice cream will melt.
3. Scrape ice cream onto prepared pie crust, smoothing the top.   Cover with plastic and freeze for at least 4 hours.  When ready to serve, toss lemon juice and banana slices and layer on top of pie.

I made a batch of these Filipino rice cake snack last Saturday for my girlfriend’s daughter’s graduation party.  I was in a hurry that I forgot all about it and only realized I had left the container  on the drive halfway to her house.  Well, we had so much delicious food that day that nobody missed it.  It was great to see my high school classmates again, especially since one of them was just here for a short visit from Manila.  A few hours later, as we were getting ready to head home, the girls decided to schedule a movie night on Monday.  And the request? That I bring the espasol! Hmmmm… I think I’d rather have buttered popcorn…!

Here’s the recipe I used which was adapted from an old Filipino cookbook I had. I didn’t have all the ingredients handy so I tweaked it a little bit.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups toasted glutinous rice flour, reserving 1/2 cup for rolling
• 2 cups vanilla soy milk (original recipe called for coconut milk)
• 1 cup agave nectar (original recipe called for 2 cups sugar!)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup shredded coconut unsweetened

Directions:

1. Heat milk in a saucepan until boiling. Add agave nectar (or sugar if that is what you’re using), vanilla extract, salt, shredded coconut and lemon zest and stir until combined.
2. Slowly add toasted glutinous rice flour, stirring  to avoid clumps.  Reduce heat to low and continue stirring and cooking until thick and coming off the sides of the saucepan. I used a non-stick pan so mine took only 10 minutes.  This part can take as long as 1 hour.
3. Remove from heat.  Transfer cake onto rice flour dusted work surface and let cool to room temperature.
4. Divide  in equal portions, rolling on the flour to form cylinders. Alternatively, you can cut using a cookie cutter instead.
5. Wrap in paper or banana leaves until ready to eat.

Note: It is not advisable to refrigerate these as they get tough and chewy.  Best to eat the day they are made.

Last month, I got a very nice Le Creuset tagine for my birthday. I told my husband that’s what he got me for my birthday.  LOL.  I’ve always wanted one ever since we visited Marrakesh years ago and enjoyed an amazing Moroccan meal cooked and served in these clay pots. Although  my tagine is an enamel-coated cast iron version, we still enjoyed this mouth-watering dish.  I decided to make a fish  dish to christen the tagine.

Ingredients:

• 3 pieces large white fish fillets cut into bite size pieces (tilapia, halibut, masaka will do)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 medium roma tomatoes, quartered
• 1 medium lemon, quartered
• 3 round eggplants, quartered
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or crushed chili pepper
• 2 tbs chopped parsley
• 1 tsp chopped fresh mint
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix cumin, cinnamon, chilli, cayenne pepper, half of parsley and 1 tbs olive oil.  Add fish pieces, stir to coat.  Set aside.
2. Place tagine base on electric stove and heat on medium.  Add rest of olive oil.  Spread garlic, onions, tomatoes and lemon quarters.
3. Add fish pieces of top of spices.  Top with eggplant and mint.  Add 1/4 cup water. Cover tagine and reduce heat to low.
4. Let cook for 20 minutes, checking after 10 minutes for doneness.  Add more water if required and make sure to spoon juices over fish when checking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Serve with couscous or turmeric rice.