Well Written Wednesdays: like you was so high and mighty

It was then that Calpurnia requested my presence in the kitchen.

She was furious, and when she was furious Calpurnia's grammar became erratic. When in tranquility, her grammar was as good as anybody's in Maycomb. Atticus said Calpurnia had more education than most colored folks.

When she squinted down at me the tiny lines around her eyes deepened. "There's some folks who don't eat like us," she whispered fiercely, "but you ain't called on to contradict 'em at the table when they don't. That boy's yo' comp'ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?"

"He ain't company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham--"

"Hush your mouth! Don't matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house's yo' comp'ny, and don't you let me catch you remarkin' on their ways like you was so high and mighty! Yo' folks might be better'n the Cunninghams but it don't count for nothin' the way you're disgracin' 'em-- if you can't act fit to eat at the table you can just set here and eat in the kitchen!"

-from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I love Calpurnia.

one killer salad

Well, really, it's all about the dressing. I could eat this all day.

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Vietnamese-Style Chicken Salad
(loosely adapted from here)

Salad:
1/2 a Savoy cabbage, shredded*
2 medium carrots, grated
3-4 green onions, sliced thinly (include some of the green part)
1 mango, peeled and cut into matchsticks
3 cups cubed cooked chicken**
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil***
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sriracha
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

1) Toss together all salad ingredients, except peanuts, in large bowl.
2) Shake together dressing ingredients in small jar or bottle. Pour over salad and toss to coat.
3) Divide between three bowls or plates and garnish with peanuts. Serve.

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This salad is beautiful! It also travels well, even if you've already added the dressing; the Savoy cabbage does not wilt like lettuce would. Leftovers are equally delicious.

*This was about 6 cups of cabbage for me.
**Left over from a roast chicken, perhaps, or you can quickly poach a couple thighs or breasts.
***If you don't have sesame oil, improvise with an additional tablespoon of olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds. But the sesame oil is really the best!

{image credit: Campobello Island}

Weekend linkage

The hubs and I went to see Le Vent du Nord last night. It was a concert at Longwood, free since we're members there, so we just went on a whim. Quebecois music? That sounded cool.

Okay. So. They were AWESOME. Amazing musicians, and such fun on stage. It was like four (incredibly talented) friends were jamming in the living room. Here are three songs: Les Amants du Saint Laurent, Tour a Bois, and Lainlaire. (In Lainlaire you can see Olivier doing foot percussion, which is totally sweet; here is a video in which he "explains" it.)

I would definitely wear this shirt.

Mmm... tasty.

An obituary slash mini biography of Nancy Wake, "White Mouse" of WWII. My goodness.

on the coconut bandwagon

Yes, I know: all. the. real. food. blogs. are. doing it. But now that I am doing it too, (like everyone else) I have my own particular method. And it's a pretty exciting thing to make!

So. Bandwagon or not, this warrants a post. Let us proceed.

Easy Homemade Coconut Milk 

2 cups dried shredded coconut (unsweetened)
5 cups hot water, divided

1) Process coconut and 3 cups water in blender for 3 minutes-- in the Blendtec I run it on the lowest speed, which is still very powerful, so in a typical blender you'd want a medium-high speed. (You are going for "finely chopped coconut" rather than "completely pulverized," so no need to put the thing on full blast.)
2) Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve and press on chopped coconut with a spatula to squeeze out the coconut milk you've just created. (If it is not white, you just need to process it some more.) Make sure that your milk is thoroughly strained, which may take a few pourings through the sieve.
3) Now put the coconut back into the blender and add the remaining 2 cups water. Process and strain as before. Now you have a good 5 cups of delicious coconut milk. Ta-da!
4) Pour coconut milk into a glass jar or pitcher and refrigerate. The coconut oil will rise to the top, and you can skim that off before using the milk. Use the oil as you would butter or olive oil in cooking.

As for the chopped and squeezed coconut, you could put it in cookies or granola or what-have you-- either dry it out a bit first or reduce the liquids in the recipe. Personally, I am working on figuring out how to make coconut flour. :)

{image credit: thienzieyung}

this is for the ladies

One of my new favorite things . . . it's rather luscious. My goal is to have fewer and fewer "conventional" products in the bathroom, the kind with five hundred unpronounceable ingredients, and replace them with the simplest elements (like pure almond oil) or homemade blends like this one. 

Creamy Body Butter

3/4 cup raw shea butter or kpangnan butter
1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 teaspoon arrowroot
2-3 capsules vitamin E
1 tablespoon essential oils, your choice*

1) Melt shea butter and coconut oil together on very low heat, just until liquid, stirring frequently. Don't overheat or the mixture may become gritty.
2) Pour into stainless steel bowl and add remaining ingredients. (Puncture the vitamin E capsules and squeeze out the contents into the bowl.)
3) Using electric beaters, whip ingredients together for 1-2 minutes. I just use my stand mixer for this.
4) Pour mixture into a pretty glass jar and screw on the lid. Place in freezer for several hours until body butter has firmer consistency, then store at room temperature, where it should have a soft and creamy texture. Use as you would any all-over moisturizer.

*I used a combination of lavender and ylang-ylang.