Sunday in the kitchen

I've been trying hard to not let this over-the-top winter get the best of me. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy those frequent snow days that came our way back in December. And we've had lots of fun tobogganing, hiking, building snow forts, and all of those fun winter activities, but I haven't been out of Goderich in several weeks and I have a bad case of cabin fever! The weather has been so unpredictable this season that we've been hesitant to make plans that involved any sort of travel. But when we were invited to join family and friends in Bayfield for a night of great music with Denmark's A Friend in London, we jumped at the opportunity to get the heck out of town! The forecast leading up to the weekend was very promising - rain for Saturday with temperatures well above 0C. No worries! Babysitter booked! Ready to go! Wait...not so fast! Remember, this is Huron County. A land where winter plays such cruel tricks that it will bring rain to wash away the snow one minute, before blowing in enough snow to make the roads impassable. Twice we got bundled up to see if we could make our way 15 minutes down the road. Twice we decided it wasn't worth the risk. Foiled again by Ole Man Winter! But all was not lost as we did enjoy a lovely evening in town with good friends, good drinks, and entertaining karaoke!


What's up with that delicious looking pie overlooking the freshly fallen snow? And how exactly does it relate to my winter whining, you ask? So disappointed that winter had dumped on our heads again I made a desperate trail to the grocery store this morning for something, anything, that looked like and tasted like spring. Even if it travelled all the way from Mexico - desperate times call for desperate measures!

 Strawberry Coconut Cream Pie
1 can of coconut milk 
1/4 C rice syrup
1/3 C shredded unsweetened coconut
2 tbsp arrowroot starch
Sliced strawberries - enough to cover top of pie
In a medium saucepan, whisk together above ingredients and bring to a boil over med/high heat. Whisk frequently. Cook until thickened. Let cool at room temperature before pouring into pie crust. Top with strawberries and refrigerate about 1 hour. You can use your favourite pie crust recipe, but for this pie I tried a new crust recipe from Jonsi (another Scandinavian musical genius!) and Alex. It is, perhaps, the best pie crust I have ever tasted! I subbed the almonds for sunflower seeds which worked out really well! Love their recipe videos so much! http://jonsiandalex.com/recipes Oh, and you'll be in for a real musical treat by checking out the music videos too!