Will bought coconut oil in order to make a vegan ginger cookie lemon-tofu-custard and pear tart. It was amazing! I only post my own recipes here, otherwise I’d post it (and I cannot find it). Coconut oil took on the properties of his beloved lard for the crust. It was an amazing dessert which tasted great with coffee.

As he was pondering which coconut oil to buy, a man in the Central Co-Op informed Will of all of coconut oil’s miraculous qualities. We have not road tested these… all we can say is that it is tasty stuff.

Today, I was having a weird couple of cravings: coconut and collard greens. It seemed to say “Thai” to me, so I went around the kitchen to see what I could whip up. This recipe was inspired by a coconut curry dish I had at Jup Jup Jup, a restaurant not too far away from where I live. The food was excellent,offsetting the bad day Will and I had prior to going there.

Without further ado… Coconut, lentils, collards and rice!

1 cup basmati rice
1 cup red lentils
4 cups water
1 tbsp coconut oil
Pinch salt

An acquaintance (I am lead to believe also vegan) told me that he’d cook them all in the same pot. So that’s what I did this time around. You get overcooked rice and just cooked lentils. For me, in my hungry state, that was fine.

1 bunch Collard Greens, chopped like there is no tomorrow
1 clove elephant garlic, coarse chopped (larger pieces)
2 mild hot peppers, finely diced
2 eggplant, shredded, and then squeezed to get the liquid out
1 tbsp coconut oil

Heat the coconut oil on medium-high heat, watching it. Add the garlic, pepper and eggplant, sautee for a few minutes. Add collard greens and stir frequently. I let it sautee about six minutes, then I covered it. Keep an eye on it, or it will burn.

Sauce!

1 tbsp coconut oil
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp flour
1 cup soy milk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
Pinch salt

Here is the tricky part.
Heat the oil in medium high heat.
Add the garlic, sautee.
Add the flour, and make sure it is well mixed. It will be a paste at this point.
Add the soy milk SLOWLY, making sure it’s evenly distributed before adding more.
Let it simmer for a little bit, then add the spices. If you want it spicier, you could add more.
Simmer it a bit.

Assemble and enjoy :D