Optional Kitchen

Because recipes are just the beginning.

Main Menu

Skip to content
  • About

Tag Archives: coconut

Closeup on a spoon of black-eyed pea and okra curry, with rice, sitting in the midst of the larger plateful, the delicate white grains of rice contrasting with the hearty thickness of brown, red, olive, and green curry ingredients.

Black-eyed pea and okra curry

January 6, 2017by Mike Bierschenk Leave a comment

Earthy, hearty black-eyed peas in a thick, satisfying sauce brightened by tomato and spices, sweetened by coconut, and studded with tender green okra: I can think of no better start to a new year.

Read Article →
Main Dishes, Stuff on Rice, Veg*n or veg*n-possible
In focus in the foreground, a tawny brown curried pumpkin mini-muffin, split and spread with cream cheese frosting in the middle. Behind it, out of focus, part of a mound of those muffins on a turquoise enamel plate.

Curried pumpkin mini-muffins with cream cheese frosting

November 21, 2016by Mike Bierschenk Leave a comment

These little gems are basically everything I want to eat in the fall, all packed into a tiny two-bite package: pumpkin, curry, coconut, cream cheese frosting — I tell you what.

Read Article →
Desserts/Sweet Things

Coconut creamed spinach

December 31, 2015by Mike Bierschenk 6 Comments

Absolutely the best spinach I’ve had to date. A half-hour simmer transforms a pile of disconnected vegetables into a rich stew with flavor far beyond its components.

Read Article →
Main Dishes, Side Dishes, Stuff on Rice, Veg*n or veg*n-possible
A bowl of mushroom bisque, in close-up filling almost the whole frame, with a small cluster of mushroom quarters and fried shallots floating in the middle of the bowl.

Mushroom bisque

November 11, 2015by Mike Bierschenk 2 Comments

This is a rich, thick soup with a secret ingredient: coconut milk gives heft, but fades to the barest whisper of an aroma. Serve it in a mug for a simple midweek lunch, or use your finest china for an elegant Thanksgiving starter — it can do both!

Read Article →
Soups, Veg*n or veg*n-possible
One pristine Abject apology bar is propped up in the foreground, with others, unfocused behind, and canisters of sugar and flour still further behind.

Abject apology bars (with dates, chocolate chips, pecan, and coconut)

October 13, 2015by Mike Bierschenk Leave a comment

Sticky-sweet dates, rich pecans, crowd-favorite chocolate chips, and fragrant coconut come together to sweeten a co-worker’s soured disposition. Obviously, do your best not to mess up. But if you do? Abject apology bars to the rescue.

Read Article →
Desserts/Sweet Things
Cilantro Smoothie

Cilantro smoothie

February 16, 2015by Mike Bierschenk Leave a comment

I started working on this recipe a few months back. I can’t remember how or why, but somehow I stumbled across a recipe for a “Tropical Smoothie” on the Kitchn, […]

Read Article →
Drinks

Post navigation

Categories

Search for past posts

Tags

avocado bacon banana beans broccoli buttermilk cabbage cake cardamom carrot casserole celery cheese chicken chickpeas chiles Chinese chocolate cilantro citrus coconut coffee cookie cranberries easy egg fall ginger grapefruit green beans greens hearty honey jalapeño kale lemon lime Mexican Mexico: The Cookbook noodles nuts oats orange orange juice pasta peaches peas pecan pinto beans potato pumpkin quick quinoa raisins rice sausage scallion seitan simple spinach steel-cut oats summer summer squash sweet potato tacos tahini tex-mex Texas Thanksgiving tomato tortillas turkey walnut winter squash zucchini

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new posts by email.

Flickr Photos

Shredded chickenThose peppers are just so redBroccoli MountainAlarmingly giant spoon handleLet’s just pretend that’s a snowscape, not a blown-out car windshield
More Photos
All text and photos © Mike Bierschenk, 2014-2016
Blog at WordPress.com.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Optional Kitchen
    • Join 85 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Optional Kitchen
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar