Honestly I have been trying to write this post for several days now but I just couldn’t. Like so many others I have been caught up in the events of the past week. With so many suffering in Boston and Texas I just wasn’t in the mood to talk about a recipe I love. At least Boston can now begin the road to recovery but poor West, Texas, still so many unaccounted for, it’s tragic.
I will say I am having trouble reconciling with the fact that we (the United States) gave these terror people asylum in this country, we gave them citizenship and now our doctors work to save one of their lives and look what they gave us; fear, death and destruction to a country that welcomed them with open arms. What a different way of thinking an ideology we will never understand. It’s unreal.
Okay enough of that, the only way to drive out darkness is light. So let’s lighten this up.
It’s Spring, but you really wouldn’t know it where I live. The rain has been relentless. But strawberries are in season and the stores are filled with rows and rows of these beauties.
Have you ever paired strawberry and basil together? It’s a magical combination. Couple that with a vanilla infused coconut pudding and you’ll swear you’ve been transported to an island somewhere.
This is a lovely way to end dinner or a brunch, it’s pretty too!
Coconut Milk Tapioca Pudding with Strawberries and Basil
Ingredients
- 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise and seeds scraped
- 2-3/4 cups coconut milk plus whole milk (see instructions for explanation)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Minute Tapioca
- 1 large egg, well beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups diced strawberries
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped basil
Directions
- Scrape vanilla bean seeds into a large sauce pan, add scraped bean pod too. In a large measuring cup that measures at least three cups, pour one can of coconut milk (which will give you about 1-3/4 cups) into the measuring cup. Add whole milk until measuring cup is filled to the 2-3/4 cup mark. (You can use all coconut milk but you will need more than one regular sized can.) Scald milk over low heat, just until steaming. Remove from heat and set aside for one hour. Strain and pour liquid back into saucepan.
- Combine sugar, tapioca and egg with coconut milk mixture in the saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature.
- Combine strawberries, sugar and basil. Add half the mixture to a food processor and puree until smooth. Stir the puree back into the diced strawberries.
- Divide half of the fruit into the bottom of four glasses. Top each glass with tapioca pudding then top with remaining fruit. Refrigerate for four hours and serve.
So much to love here, I hope you can experience it soon.
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Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
I loooove the sound of this!!
Karen @BakingInATornado says
First I want to say that we are wine lovers so I’m glad to be here.
Second, although not there now, I’m from Boston and have gone from frantically searching for my family and friends early last week to biting my nails while they were all in lockdown yesterday. But I find cooking and baking comforting, and serving the results is an expression of love. So this is the perfect time for me to have found your delicious recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
Cathy says
Such a scary time. Food does help calm the nerves. Thanks for coming by.
Bev says
Just a brief comment about Boston — if the doctors don’t save his life we’ll never know why they did it in the first place!
As for your recipe, I am definitely going to make it. Thanks!
Barb W says
Bev I think it’s obvious the author of this KNOWS we have to save him but the difference here is that he will be treated with dignity and respect in our hospital unlike if it was one of our citizens who committed this crime in one those terror countries.
Terry Covington says
I don’t think one can generalize about an entire country and say all of its population are terrorists. Also, these young men came to the U.S. when the youngest one was only age 7. There was no way of knowing what they would grow up to do. We did not give them asylum; the oldest one had a Visa, the youngest was a naturalized U.S. citizen. We cannot generalize about someone’s ethnicity, religion, or background and say that everyone from that group is going to commit an act of terror.
Cindy says
Wow, what blog post are you reading? There is no generalizing here. Where does it say that? This family was given political asylum and allowed to come here with their children. Sure, no one knew the children would become terrorists but it’s upsetting after what the U.S. did for their family that these idiot children did this to our country…their country. This country must stop the politcal correctness and call out the groups and religions that are causing trouble in this world. And I think we all know what religion is causing the trouble right now. Open your eyes, stop being a sympathizer. Call it for what it is. This country GAVE to these kids and their families and they crapped all over us. Even these kids parents are delusional, wanting their proof…it’s on video for god’s sake!! Your comment is off base.
Terry Covington says
Let me make myself clear, and then I will stop because this is not what Cathy’s blog post meant, I don’t think. She was talking about using love to counteract hatred, and I totally agree with that. I am hardly a sympathizer. My ex-husband served in Afghanistan, I have been a military wife. Just because I think that people shouldn’t generalize doesn’t mean that I think what these two men did was correct. Not at all. I grieve for the victims. People were talking in the comments about “terror countries,” and that is what I meant about not generalizing. There are American citizens who have committed murders, too. Remember Newtown, Connecticut? Remember the Oklahoma City bombing?
Patricia says
Your observations on the evilness (my word) of people who hate America even though we go to great lengths to improve their opportunities and future, was very insightful.
We already know WHY they did such evil, hopefully we will learn WHO instructed and helped them.
Yes, darkness can only be illuminated with the light of Truth
VB says
Great comments! I agree we know WHY-the Truth stands that Islamic faith considers non-Muslims or “infidels”, the enemy, and want to destroy us. It IS important to know WHO helped them. Unfortunately, most Americans want to live in peace with our neighbors in the world, but Evil walks among us.
Yes, luscious desserts do make life in this unstable world more bearable and joyful! I will be trying this one for sure! I love coconut milk and the strawberry/basil combination sounds very interesting! Thanks for sharing and in the end peace will prevail!
V
Mark says
First let me say we love strawberries and tapioca in our house, it just goes together so well.
And let me say it’s bad enough when one of the idiots from our own country commits a crime against its citizens but to have these people from other places come and use all of our resoures we give them freely and then decide to go crazy..well it stings more so I hear you.
We are making this dessert tonight.
Erica says
Hi Cathy! I’m planning to make this yumminess soon. It contains all my favorite treats! Can I ask for a quick clarification? Am I supposed to scald the milk with the vanilla bean seeds? Or do I not cook/heat the vanilla at all and just add the seeds into the mixture later?
Thanks!
Cathy says
Yes, that is how you are going to infuse the vanilla flavor into the pudding, with heat.