One of three

[clevermanka]

The knowledge that I only need to work three days of five this week is what's keeping me from abject despair.

I had a stomach pain episode again last night. I think that's the third one this year. I'm grateful that it only lasted a couple hours and it wasn't as bad as others I've had. Not feeling great today. Very fragile and delicate. Also hungry, but no way I'm ready to put more than ginger tea with honey and coconut milk in me, though. I'm exhausted. Even though it wasn't as bad as they've been, that sort of pain really takes it out of ya.

Does anyone who still reads my LJ sell stuff on Etsy? I cannot figure out how to add more than one shipping profile to my items in Etsy, which means I can only ship things to US costumers. I hate selling stuff online.

The due South Sekrit Santa piece is done, though. Yay! It looks fantastic. I'll be able to link to it sometime in late December or early January, once they reveal the names of participants. Not that my particular art style isn't immediately obvious, but I like to play by the rules.

Several months ago I finally found coconut milk in aseptic packaging which was great because hurray no BPA and also, cheaper. So of course suddenly the supplier stopped supplying it. I stopped by the Asian grocer on a whim yesterday and they had a different brand of aseptic coconut milk in stock. It was Aroy-D (the previous one was Chakoh) and although I like Chakoh in the can a bit better than Aroy-D, Aroy-D in a can is quite fine so I felt safe in stocking up. Of course, this was not a great plan because this coconut milk is just awful. The fat does not mingle with the fluids and it's not smooth. When I put it in tea, the fat floats to the surface and, if left overnight, actually solidifies in the cold liquid. You can imagine the state of the unused portion of the container that I put in the fridge. This morning I attempted to emulsify it in the Vitamix, but I wound up basically making coconut butter and whey. I left the solids in the fridge at home and am interested to experiment with them. I have no idea what to do with the other nine boxes of this stuff I bought. I guess maybe I can cook with it? But the soup won't be creamy, since the fat just separates out and floats on top and really just doesn't look very appealing.

I am freezing in my office again today but that might just be lack of food and sleep.

Comments

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you're having such a crappy time right now, but I'm with you in the "yay short work week" boat!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

AND HOW. God, I can't wait until 5pm Wednesday.

[kalimeg.livejournal.com]

Use it for baking? Flour is usually very good at soaking up fat and getting it to mix.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Well, except I don't bake.

[seascribe.livejournal.com]

Not sure if you can substitute enough of the stuff in this recipe to make it worth your while, but might use up some of the coconut solids? http://crumbsandcookies.blogspot.sg/2013/05/chocolate-coconut-milk-cake.html It's a good recipe.

I hope a little more energy and sleep find you for the next two days of the week.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't really bake, though. And the things I bake are so outside the rules of regular baking that it's pretty hazardous to try to sub stuff. =/

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

that stinks about buying so much of the coconut milk that isn't good, but you are creative enough in the kitchen that I am sure you'll find some way to use it all up!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think this one has me beat. It's all going back to the store. Well, the packages that are left. They might not give me my money back, but they need to know it's unusable.

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

"they need to know it's unusable"

This is true. And if it is the usual kind of place you shop, I am sure they will appreciate that info.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Ugh I'm sorry your stomach acted up again.

I found some coconut milk in a pouch at HyVee but I haven't tried it yet. I'm nervous because it does have guar gum in it.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Guar gum is actually considered the safest of the thickeners, so there's that. I might have mckitterick look for that next time he's at Hy-Vee since he goes there every Saturday to have breakfast with Jim Gunn.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Oh cool. I found the site, although they don't show the pouched version of it.
http://www.kame.com/products/ingredients/coconut-milks/coconut-milk

[manintheboat.livejournal.com]

So Delicious now has culinary coconut milk in a BPA free container.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

HOLY CRAP THANK YOU FOR THE HEADS-UP. Wow! WOW!

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

Does the culinary have carrageenan in it?

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Their website says no.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

SCORE!!

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

Hmm, maybe make a dessert with it, like blend with cocoa and honey for truffles or something like that? Put on warm fruit, blend with spices to spread on other things (like a herbed butter), or top onto warm foods (I'm thinking warm things so it may melt a bit).

Yes. Three day week. Thank goodness. I picked up our fresh local turkey today and had a surprise: they all ran large so my 15-18# bird is #23 and THAT is not fitting in the fryer. So, we are spatchcocking it, so 30 minutes with shears, a knife, and a HAMMER and there is a somewhat flat bird covered in a salt and herb mix in my oven. I had about an hour "WHAT THE FUCK" freak out this morning and now? I'm dealing with things. Our latest foster kitten was picked up by his adopter tonight, and though I'd sad to see him go it's going to be a lot easier to do holiday prep w/o an energetic 12 week old kitten in the mix.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

The problem is, it separates. So if it's cold, you have a bunch of cold fat on the top and if it's warm, you have an oil slick on top. There's really no using this stuff and it's disappointing. =(

Spatchcocking a twenty-three pound bird oh my god.

[monka.livejournal.com]

(sorry for butting in, run into this entry by chance)

I actually searched for milk that separates well, because the hard part (coconut cream) is used to make vegan whipped cream (you basically just whip it with sugar and vanilla extract or whatnot). Interesting that the same quality is desirable for some people and terrible for others!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Ha! Yes. That's...kind of true of LIFE now that I think about it.

The hard part of this wasn't coconut cream, though. It was watery watery water and clumpy clumps of fat. Yuck.