February 2021 Challenge - Palm produce

[eastshores]

Well another first for me. I've never worked with dates before. Talk about sticky.. everything was sticky. The goat cheese.. the dates. It was like working with honeycomb. So I did two types of stuffed dates. The first is a garlic herb goat cheese with pistachios. The second is a really delicious Danish blue cheese wrapped in prosciutto. I do find it a bit hilarious that these fancy little dates are sharing the plate with my giant smoked "atomic buffalo turds" .. i.e. bacon wrapped, pimento stuffed jalapeno peppers. Now off to my brothers to see if this Florida team can win the Super Bowl!

I was surprised to see these dates are from Lakeland Florida!


I don't know what this is. Something to ponder I suppose


Here's the spread with the ATB's in the background

 

[harpua]

So I don't have a photo, and I didn't make it, but we had a very "palmy" afternoon. I picked up some acai bowls which included raw coconut and date syrup. We proceeded to watch the Amazon episode of No Reservations which featured acai berries and how they are harvested.

Looking forward to using some ingredients for the challenge.

 

[butzy]

Come on, guys!
February is only a short month. We are almost half-way and only a couple on entries. Outstanding ones, though!
It can't be that hard.
Think coconut based curries, cookies, cocktails....
Use coconut milk, cream, fresh, dessicated....
Or any of the other palm products!
Palm sugar and palm oil shouldn't be hard to get!

 

[butzy]

OK, I'm going to cook in my own challenge.
The shops are not very well stocked these days. I couldn't find coconut milk or cream, but I still had this:


Used some tamarind:

Mixed with homemade sambal and the coconut powder to make a marinade

Marinated the chicken thighs


Prepared a drip pan with potatoes, garlic, onions and bacon (bacon not in the pic)
And put the lot on the small Weber smoky mountain.


After a while:


And

 

[brianshaw]

Never seen powder coconut cream before... very convenient!

Part of the reason for coconut milk shortages could be recent boycotting of some companies that are alleged to us forced monkey labor to harvest the coconuts. That has impacted availability somewhat in my part of Earth.

 

[cheflayne]

Used some tamarind:

Butzy, I love love love tamarind, but you don't stop there...you add bacon, onions, garlic, potatoes...you are playing my song with those ingredients...yummm!!!

 

[butzy]

Never seen powder coconut cream before... very convenient!

Part of the reason for coconut milk shortages could be recent boycotting of some companies that are alleged to us forced monkey labor to harvest the coconuts. That has impacted availability somewhat in my part of Earth.

Honestly: that would probably mean more availability here...
But really, the shops in the area I am in only cater for real basics. Our currency is devaluating and with that beef fillet and rump steak seem to have disappeared, same as the better cordials, proper brand whiskies, fresh herbs etc.

Powdered coconut is a bit of a stock item for me. Same as santen (to follow in a coming post). I'm surprised it is not commonly available. It's easy to use and store

 

[phatch]

I have some powdered Cocounut Cream. It's getting pretty old though. I should check in on it. For technical reasons, I can't cook for a few more days though.

 

[butzy]

Just a little more than 10 days left.....

 

[eastshores]

Meet Fred. Fred is going to do his best to participate in this months challenge. Be like Fred.

 

[butzy]

Fred is my new hero

 

[loomchick]

February challenge accepted!

Three objectives

1. Use the leftover rotisserie chicken
2. Incorporate a palm product
3. Make something on a gray wet wintery night with some flavor

How about red curry chicken!

Aided for the first time by my new sous chef, Maddie (16-week-old Golden Retriever), the chicken was removed and the carcass was placed in a pot to make stock (probably to use in a warming soup later this week).



Maddie, a first-time sous chef, says "Let's eat the chicken!" No, Maddie. We're going to make something else.



C'mon, Maddie . . . this is a challenge. We have to use a palm product. Maddie says "No. Eat chicken! Looks good!"



Okay, Maddie. We have a palm product. Now, let's assemble some really great flavors! Maddie says "Eat chicken! Now!"



Okay, Maddie. Let's chop up some stuff. How about chopping up some scallions, mincing some garlic, mincing a jalapeno pepper, and dicing up a red bell pepper? Maddie says "No. Eat chicken!"



Now, we're going to combine all of the ingredients together. Maddie says "Looks good. Can I eat chicken now?"



Okay, Maddie. Let's squeeze some lime juice. Maddie says "Ick! No like citrus. Eat chicken!"



Now we can add the chicken, blend it all together, and serve it over Basmati rice. Chop up some cilantro and sprinkle it on top. Cut a wedge of lime and we're ready to eat. Maddie says "NOOOO! You took my chicken. No like cooking!"



Maddie, the first-time sous chef, was not happy and went and curled up to go to sleep. Perhaps her next experience as a sous chef will be more to her liking.

 

[Hank]

Those dates look fantastic eastshores!

Sorry to not have participated yet butzy. I have a little something coming.

 

[butzy]

Very nice @loomchick !
And what a cute dog

 

[loomchick]

Very nice @loomchick !
And what a cute dog

Thanks! She waited patiently . . . probably hoping I would drop something.

 

[cheflayne]

Not submitted as entry for the monthly challenge.

Palm products used: Coconut Milk, Coconut, Palm Sugar, Dates, Silan



Date Panna Cotta made with Unsweetened Coconut Milk and Palm Sugar

Garnished with Silan, toasted Coconut, Pistachios, and Agar Pearls made from Pomegranate Juice

 

[butzy]

Looks beautiful and interesting.
Gonna have to google "silan"

 

[teamfat]

Wow. I can't believe I actually made this about two weeks ago and am just now posting it. Really been slacking this month, I guess.


The Players



A slice of pork loin, heart of palm, green onion, soy sauce and shaoxing wine.


The Process



Pork is diced, marinating in the soy sauce, wine and a bit of cornstarch.



Veggies prepped.



Pork, white parts of the scallion and the palm hearts into the wok.

Pork and palm hearts


The Product




It was pretty tasty!

mjb.

 

[teamfat]

Uh, no. This is not what I wanted to see.



Off to the store, time for Plan B.

mjb.

 

[eastshores]

Fred has a disease it seems