Dessert By Candy

A Different Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie

Are you ready to celebrate Pi Day this Friday with pies? My friends and I continued our proud tradition of a pie-centric potluck party leading up to March 14 (last year was epic too). It was an indulgent lunch of sampling a buffet of savoury and sweet pies. With so many culinary enthusiasts under one roof, it went without saying that the pie selection was anything but ordinary. We seized the opportunity to tackle unusual recipes, complicated multi-day productions, or pies that fell out of favour long ago. It was absolutely a treat to sample and take home such a variety.

row 1: Basteeya, Keller’s Quiche Lorraine, ADPC’s Tourtiere, Cottage Pie
row 2: Keller’s Chicken Pot Pie, Tuscan Sweet Spinach Pie, Nesselrode Pie, Milk Chocolate Pudding Pie with Salted Peanuts
row 3: Eccles Hand Pies, Key Lime Pie with Chocolate Almond Crust, Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie, Buttermilk Maple Pie
row 4: Rhubarb Almond Tart, Shaker Lemon Pie, Moon Pie, Chocolate Marshmallow Pie
Check out boneats' amazing album for all the pies!

I originally planned on an encore of Tangerine Almond Shortbread Tart, reliable and just on the side of unusual. About a week before the party, inspiration struck. I had vision of chocolate and coconut creamy confection. Despite of the pedestrian name Chocolate Coconut Cream Pie, it was anything but.

Kale Salmon Farro Salad

Sunday family dinner can be inspiring as a successful result of pantry diving. Lately I am not motivated to tackle any complicated cooking projects even for the weekends. When Sunday 5pm rolls around, I panic a little trying to figure out what to serve. Luckily I found a new staple that bailed me out of trouble the last few weeks: prewashed chopped rainbow kale! The clamshell box looks similar to most salad greens but it offers so much more. You don’t need me to extol the nutritious virtue of kale. What I can tell you is its versatility.

Eaten straight out of the box, I can’t say I’m a fan. The pieces are too large, too unwieldy for a fork. Mature kale doesn’t have the tenderness of most salad greens I’m used to. Munching on them makes me feel like a grazing cow. The magic happens once I shred them into tiny pieces with my trusty food processor. The shredded dark green leaves hold up well in the fridge even after tossed with salad dressing. In fact, they wilt just enough to be flavourful and easier on the teeth. Similar to cooked grains, they add so much bulk to whatever salad I make too. But unlike grains, shredded kale contribute mega vitamins without mega calories. There is so much to love.

Three Ingredients Dessert

Given the right balance, simplicity and nostalgia have the power to create something beautiful. I grew up in Hong Kong in the 80s and the iconic soy milk brand Vitasoy is forever part of my childhood. Even their popular jingle agrees. On cold winter days, I remember the warmth of holding a glass bottle of Vitasoy bought from the corner store. The metallic cooler would swap out its icy cold water from sweltering summer days to a warm bath in which the shapely glass bottles waited for eager hands. It was an occasional treat and I remember the difficult decision to choose between regular or malted flavour. While malted milk powder is associated with retro soda fountains in North America, I always think of it as a winter flavour that is a star in its own right.

I went to the local Chinese grocery store to pick up a few things last weekend. Right next to the checkout counter was a shelf loaded with large Tetra-pack containers of Vitasoy soy milk. I never saw them come in 1L size before so I picked up a box of malted flavour without any second thought. The obvious choice would be warming up a mug to sip by the fireplace. But I had other plans.

Sausage Fingerling Potato Salad with Peas

For the first time since I started writing at Dessert By Candy, I have a whole week of recipes lined up. I did not spend the whole weekend slaving away in the kitchen. Quite the contrary, in fact. With a water heater repair appointment on Saturday and racing the Chilly Half Marathon on Sunday, I did my best to avoid the kitchen all weekend. Hot water is now flowing from the tap and I notched another sub-1:50 running race in my belt. Can’t say I am dissatisfied with my weekend activities.

I changed my mind a million times about racing the Chilly Half. It is my traditional mid-winter fitness test and the result helps me gauge my current fitness level. Running is one of the toughest cardio activities and there is no faking. After losing two months of off-season training from ankle surgery recovery, I knew that my training is behind schedule. I honestly do not need to pay almost a hundred dollars in registration fee and drive over an hour to a miserable cold race in order to find out that I am not as fit as I normally am. However, I had been running well the last two weeks in training. Racing in Burlington also gave me a valid excuse to skip indoor skating practice on Sunday. I signed up at the eleventh hour as the last online registration entry. I did not realize the ridiculousness of my action until I tell my friends “I am running a half marathon on Sunday at –13C temperature so I will not see my ex at practice. Hurts too much.”. You gotta do what you gotta do, you know? (and that includes a post-race selfie, of course)

On Saturday, I quickly prepared a couple of substantial salads for weekend dinners. I wanted nourishing food for pre-race and post-race dinner. The salads must hold well in the fridge over the weekend. I cannot think of easier alternatives. Seriously, putting dinner on the table took less than one minute. Take salads out of fridge. Set bowls and cutleries on table. Eat.